JIM CHALMERS MP 
SHADOW TREASURER 
MEMBER FOR RANKIN

 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT 
TELEVISION INTERVIEW 
SKY NEWS AFTERNOON AGENDA
TUESDAY, 20 JULY 2021 
 
SUBJECTS: Australia's two-speed economy; regional Queensland tour; Morrison Government's failures on vaccines and quarantine has costs and consequences for the economy; JobKeeper. 
 
 
KIERAN GILBERT, HOST: The Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers joins me from just outside Emerald in Queensland today. Jim Chalmers, thanks for your time. Are we seeing the tale of two economies of work here, those slammed by the shutdowns but other parts of the nation like where you are are doing very well.

JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER:Yep hi, Kieran, I think that's a useful way to think about it. I've spent the last couple of days here in Central Queensland. As you point out, we're at a farm just west of Emerald at the moment but we've been through some of the mines, railyards, some of the other businesses, transport logistics, and all the rest of it. And I think that there is pretty clearly a story of two economies. There is a two speed economy in this country. The parts that are struggling, the parts that are underperforming, are the parts that are most susceptible to Scott Morrison's failures on vaccines and quarantine. Those failures are putting the recovery at risk. There are some parts of the economy going relatively well in second or third gear, some parts of the economy are in reverse because of those lockdowns, which are made necessary by those failures on vaccines and quarantine, that's what we're seeing pretty clearly. 
 
So really, I think the whole nation owes its gratitude to two sets of people. Firstly, the people of regional Queensland and other areas like it keeping the wheels of the economy turning. But also, I think, especially to the people of Sydney, or Victoria, or South Australia, who are trying to do the right thing by each other to limit the spread of the virus. Until we get those vaccines and quarantine sorted out though by the federal Government, the recovery will be held back somewhat. 

GILBERT: How much will these shutdowns cost the national economy in your in your view?

CHALMERS:There are various estimates Kieran, and to some extent we need to see how long they go on for, how much they're extended, like they were to South Australia today. But certainly hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars. These are the costs and consequences of those failures on vaccines and quarantine, as well as what looks like a dumber decision by the day to end JobKeeper early and replace it with something which is far inferior. When you combine all of those decisions together, they are jeopardising the recovery, they are putting the recovery at risk. Some parts of Australia doing okay, locked-down parts of Australia are struggling. That will be incredibly costly to the national economy. We don't yet know just how costly, but we do know why there are costs and consequences in the economy and it all come back to vaccines and quarantine and that really dumb decision to end JobKeeper early. 

GILBERT:When you look at JobKeeper though this payment that's going out to those affected workers with reduced hours or not working at all is comparable to what the Government was paying in the December Quarter of last year on JobKeeper?

CHALMERS: But it doesn't have the same design features, Kieran. Obviously, we want support to flow to people who are doing it tough in those locked-down communities and we don't stand in the way of that support going out the door. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't point out that it's a very different design to JobKeeper. JobKeeper had its problems, obviously tens of billions of dollars spraying around to businesses that didn't need it, but it also had it's really important features - guaranteeing that link between employer and employee, and some of those other important features which the Government has, in my view, stupidly junked. The Government's had three cracks now at replacing JobKeeper. At every turn, they've come up with something inferior. We've said we're prepared to be sensible about it. If you don't want to call it JobKeeper call it something else, but maintain those key features. I think as time goes on, and we have these lockdowns in Sydney, Victoria, South Australia and elsewhere, and businesses impacted by these failures on vaccines and quarantine, it really does look like an incredibly stupid decision to end JobKeeper and replace it with something inferior. People are crying out in communities for a bit of assistance. And they're not getting sufficient assistance like they were before.

GILBERT: Explain your thinking on that because when you look at the situation the unemployment rate fell to 4.9% even after JobKeeper ended. Are you saying, you're saying that JobKeeper should have been kept in terms of its, you know, the structure but maybe dormant and brought back? Is that what you're saying because quite clearly the economy was pumping if the labour market got down to 4.9% jobless?

CHALMERS: A couple of things about that, Kieran. First of all 56,000 people lost their job when JobKeeper was ended by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, we shouldn't forget that. We shouldn't forget the 1.7 million Australians who either can't find a job or can't find enough hours. When the unemployment rate came down we said that was pleasing, we welcomed it, and we meant it. But it doesn't mean that there shouldn't be a JobKeeper style payment ready to be dialed up when Scott Morrison's failures on vaccines and quarantine warrant these kinds of lock downs. It was an incredibly stupid decision to do away with what was in many ways the most important aspect of our response to these lockdowns and replace it with something inferior - not just once, but three times. I don't think any objective observer thinks that the package that has been put in place by the Government since they cut JobKeeper has been as good or better than JobKeeper. It's been inferior. And that's why the small businesses and workers of these affected communities and these lockdown local economies are crying out for something more sufficient, something which looks a bit more like JobKeeper did last year. 

GILBERT: Now just finally, you're just outside of Emerald in Central Queensland. Give us a sense of the challenge that Labor faces. You've got to win back the regional vote, the blue collar vote, in Queensland while balancing your city support as well. And there's some challenges on that front, particularly when it comes to energy, and specifically coal. And as we saw your Leader wasn't so keen to publicise his recent visit to a coal mine.

CHALMERS: Look I don't accept that, I think he alerted the media when he was going to that mine as we did when we went to the mine yesterday. I don't think that's especially remarkable how that all played out. But I do think that there's a bigger story here, Kieran. Whether it's the industries of regional Queensland, like here in Central Queensland, whether it's the industries in the big cities, I think we do genuinely need to come together and recognise that there's no upside in playing the city off against the bush like the Prime Minister does. I think that there is an opportunity to recognise the industries which are making a big contribution to our national prosperity. We want to make sure that the whole economy recovers so there are more jobs, and more opportunities, for more people, in more corners of the country. And so we shouldn't be envious of the success of one part of the economy or another. We need to make sure that everybody can do well. That starts with recognising that places like this are going well and they need encouragement. And recognising as well that some people are doing it really tough and that they need the support of Government. That's why something that looks like JobKeeper is so important. 

GILBERT: Jim Chalmers joining us live from Emerald, thank you for that.
 
ENDS