JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN

 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SKY AFTERNOON AGENDA
WEDNESDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2022

SUBJECTS: Real wages going backwards as the costs of living skyrocket; Russian invasion of Ukraine; Federal election and national security. 
 
ANDREW CLENNELL, HOST: Joining me now is Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Mr. Chalmers, thanks for joining us. I might ask you first about the situation in the Ukraine. What's your reaction to the government's announcements on sanctions? And what do you fear in terms of Vladimir Putin's actions here?
 
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: We strongly support the announcement today, of the targeted sanctions by our government in concert with likeminded countries around the world who see this for what it is, an act of Russian aggression which should be condemned. Both sides of politics support the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of Ukraine. So this is an important step, to show that there are consequences for this act of Russian aggression.
 
CLENNELL: When these sorts of events happen, it often benefits the incumbent politically. I hate to bring politics into such a serious matter but we are only three months from an election. Are you concerned it could harm your chances at all?
 
CHALMERS: I'm not, Andrew. There is an element, as there should be, of bipartisanship when it comes to an issue like this. The consequences of what's happening in the Ukraine will be felt, no matter who wins office in the election most likely in May. Thinking about the pressure on energy prices or food security in Europe, or the damage that might be being done to investor certainty around the world, those are not Liberal issues or Labor issues. There is an element of bipartisanship here. It’s important that we speak with one voice about this act of Russian aggression. That we speak up in support of the people of Ukraine. These sanctions that the Prime Minister has announced in concert with our friends around the world are an important step that we support. So there's not an element of political difference for the government or anybody else to capitalise on.
 
CLENNELL: On wages data out today, wages not rising at the same rate as inflation, but private sector wages have gone up. You'd prefer I suppose wages to be rising at 3.5 per cent, the same as CPI?
 
CHALMERS: The important issue there is whether or not working families in real communities around Australia can keep up with the skyrocketing costs of living. As you rightly point out, we've got inflation at about 3.5 per cent and today's wages data was about 2.3 per cent. So we're still seeing a substantial drop in real wages. That's why under this government prices are going through the roof, real wages are going backwards and working families are falling behind. That's the issue here and that should be an issue at this election because this is not a new phenomenon. We've had stagnant wages for much of the government's decade in office. In fact, stagnant wages at or near record lows for much of the last ten years that they have been the government. That's because as they have admitted, that stagnant wages are a deliberate design feature of their economic policy. That's why we've seen the undermining of job security, the attacks on penalty rates, and all the rest of it. 
 
So that's where there is a substantial difference between the parties. We think what matters here is whether working families can actually provide for their loved ones and get ahead. The evidence from the last decade in office is the government is unable to deliver those conditions. The big risk of re-electing Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg is another three years like the last ten with the stagnant wages and people falling behind.
 
CLENNELL: Mr. Chalmers, what would a Labor government do about wages, and about petrol prices? We saw in 1983, high inflation, high unemployment, and we had the Accord out of that. Is there some sort of grand plan here from the Labor side to lift wages in this country?
 
CHALMERS: We do have a plan to get wages growing sustainably again. It begins by recognising that the cost of living pressures don't come from just one place. Petrol is part of the story, but so is childcare, so is rent and so are groceries. There are a whole number of sources of this cost of living pressure.
 
So what we need to be able to do at two levels is first of all, grow the economy the right way which includes our investments in skills, cleaner and cheaper energy to get power bills down and do something about childcare costs. This is all part of our strategy to get the economy growing so we can get some of that wages growth, but also so we can help working families deal with the rising costs of living. 
 
The other thing which is ignored too often in this broader conversation about living standards, is whether or not people can access affordable health care. If you want to talk about an election in two or three months’ time, I think one of the other big defining differences is a government which has spent much of the last decade undermining Medicare, which has implications for the cost of healthcare for families versus the Labor party that wants to strengthen it. So right across the board, there are a number of ways we can attack, this substantial problem that we've had with stagnant wages growth and what that's meant for families not able to keep up with the rising costs of living. That's why our policies focus on power bills, childcare, Medicare, and getting the economy growing the right way.
 
CLENNELL: Mr. Chalmers, thanks for your time. 
 
CHALMERS: Thanks for your time, Andrew.
 
ENDS