E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS AM AGENDA
THURSDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 2016

SUBJECT/S: Turnbull Government’s big business tax cuts; Trump election; US Alliance; 457 Visas; Section 18C

KIERAN GILBERT: This is AM Agenda. With me now, the Shadow Finance Minister Jim Chalmers. Mr Chalmers, first of all, I want to ask you about the call by Jennifer Westacott. It's the front of the AFR that says – and she's going to make this point at the BCA's annual dinner tonight – that Australia needs to pursue the tax cuts proposed by the Coalition just to keep pace with the US under Donald Trump's plans. What's your reaction to that?

JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Those tax cuts aren't implemented in the US yet and no doubt President-elect Trump and his transition team will be working their way through the various commitments to see if and when they can be implemented. But I don't think many Australians would conclude that the main take out from Donald Trump's victory last week is that Australia needs to hand $50 billion to big multinational companies, particularly when that comes at the expense of investing properly in schools or infrastructure or preserving Medicare. It's no use pretending that a tax cut in Australia will have an immediate or meaningful impact on investment or wages or any of those things that are claimed, when the Government's own figures say that any benefit would be small and down the track. We think that Australia can't afford that tax cut, particularly when that money could be better invested in properly resourcing our schools or investing in infrastructure, which many economists conclude would do our economy more good anyway when it comes to jobs and growth.

GILBERT: What about getting the investment into the country though? Do you accept that argument in terms of competitiveness or you believe that companies and international businesses would invest here anyway?

CHALMERS: We always want to do what we can to be competitive, but the tax cut they're referring to in the United States doesn't exist yet and also the impact of the Government's planned tax cut is pretty small and down the track. I think if we're serious about where our money is best spent and getting best value for money in the Budget, we'd be better off investing in productivity which means the education system and human capital and it also means infrastructure. The country can't afford to gift that $50 billion to big business in Australia.

GILBERT: You've heard what the Minister Dan Tehan said this morning in relation to the Alliance. The Prime Minister had a fair crack yesterday as well, saying Labor's hopelessly divided between the right and left of the party; that Penny Wong wants to put some distance between the Labor Party and the Alliance, or Australia and the Alliance; then others like Richard Marles and so on embracing the US and Washington. Is this a fair criticism?

CHALMERS: I thought that was pretty ridiculous yesterday and a bit unbecoming of the Prime Minister as he fumbles and flails around for a distraction from the failures of his economic agenda. In the Labor Party we have always believed in three things, which won't change: one, the alliance with the United States; two, proper engagement with the Asian region; and thirdly, showing leadership in international forums like the United Nations and the G20. And as I said, those fundamental pillars of our approach won't change. But, the Prime Minister is kidding himself if he thinks that Trump's election won't have consequences for Asia and he is negligent if he's not thinking through what that means for Australia. The point that Penny was making – the good point – is that we do need to consider what the election of Donald Trump means for Australia and what that means for our foreign policy, but that's within the Alliance framework that Labor has believed in for some time and which won't change.

GILBERT: On to some other related matters, the Opposition Leader has raised some concerns about the 457 visa program. Is it a bit rich for him to be doing this given that, when he was the Minister for Employment, the levels of 457 visa were at record numbers, and now he is making a big deal of it, raising concern about foreign workers?

CHALMERS: You've got to laugh at some of that commentary sometimes Kieran, that pretty shallow commentary. Of course, after John Howard relaxed the requirements of the 457 visa program, there was a spike in 457s, which occurred during the mining boom. When Bill Shorten was minister that's when we began tightening the arrangements and that's one of the reasons why the numbers came down but also of course, the changing composition of the mining boom.

I think when it comes to this issue, Kieran, it's very important to remember that we have record underemployment in this country; we have pockets of high unemployment, including but not just exclusively among our young people. It's not just reasonable, it's not just sensible to look at these arrangements around foreign workers, it's also essential because it's desirable for us to fill local jobs with Australians when we can. The current list that allows cooks, nurses and carpenters to come in under some of these arrangements is clearly not appropriate for today's labour market, and we want to fix that up.

GILBERT: Do you need to be careful not to make foreign workers the issue in terms of criticism of them as a cohort? You might raise concerns about xenophobia and so on.

CHALMERS: Our issue is not with foreign workers. Our issue is with filling Australian vacancies with Australian workers where we can; making sure the arrangements are appropriate. Sometimes there are genuine shortages in parts of the economy and they need to be filled by foreign workers. There's no drama about that. But we want to make sure that this program is based on genuine need; that the list of occupations keeps pace with how the workforce is changing and that employers are doing what they can to fill those jobs by seeking Australians to fill their vacancies in the first instance. 

GILBERT: We only have about thirty seconds left but I do want to quickly get your thoughts on this letter to ethnic groups from Bill Shorten on 18C. Can you explain Labor's position on that?

CHALMERS: This is an obsession of the far right of the Liberal Party and when they pull on the leash, the Prime Minister meekly follows. Bill Shorten is showing the leadership that Malcolm Turnbull should be showing, by reassuring our multicultural communities around the country that we will stand up for them, and that now is the time for more respect and more understanding, not less. We shouldn't be marching to the tune of the far right of the Liberal Party when it comes to this issue like Malcolm Turnbull is. 

ENDS