JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS NEWSDAY
FRIDAY, 7 MAY 2021
 
SUBJECTS: Morrison Government’s failure to deliver on Budget rhetoric; Budget waste and rorts; Morrison Government’s record debt level prior to the pandemic; Morrison Government’s failures on vaccines and quarantine; Morrison Government leaving behind stranded Australian citizens; Hawke preselection.
 
TOM CONNELL, HOST: Welcome back. Well, a significant change of tack this week from the Government. The whole idea of budget repair, and when that will happen has changed. The unemployment rate marker, if you like, changing significantly, in pushing that day out. So, what is Labor's reaction going to be to this? Joining me live is Shadow Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, from Brisbane. Thanks very much for your time. Did this decision wrong foot Labor?
 
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: I don't think so, Tom. I mean, everybody else has understood for some time now, that now's not the time to flick the switch to austerity, with deep and damaging cuts in the budget. All of the respected economists, and Labor, have been saying for some time now, that we need to be shooting for something a bit closer to full employment. Because we've got all of this underemployment, all of this job insecurity, all of these stagnant wages, which have been a feature of the economy, not just for the last year or two, but for much of the last eight years of this coalition Government. So, we've been saying for some time, that the Government needs to be more ambitious than they have been when it comes to jobs. And let's see what actually happens in the Budget. There was a rhetorical shift from the Treasurer, which was more about trying to get them through an election, than trying to get to a good economic outcome. Let's see what the budget actually delivers, and not just what the fancy marketing spin around it is.
 
CONNELL: Your Leader, this week, has pledged to be a cautious spender if he wins Government. Does that mean Labor will, again, take overall policies to the election that will mean the nation is in less debt under the Labor Party compared to the coalition?
 
CHALMERS: Well, we don't know how much debt we would inherit from the coalition, Tom. I think that's really important to recognise. We still don't know, even until next week, or there might be another Budget after that, so we don't yet know what level of debt we would inherit, but it would be north of a trillion dollars, which is many multiples of what this Government inherited from Labor. 
 
And I think the point that Anthony made really well yesterday, when he was talking about being a cautious spender, is to recognise that there are mountains, and mountains of debt in the coalition's budget. Every additional dollar spent, is a dollar borrowed. And so, we need to get maximum advantage out of that. We need to get maximum bang for buck. That's what it means to be cautious in the Budget. It doesn't mean not to invest in people, and their jobs, and opportunities, and in the future, but it means to ensure that every dollar of investment brings some benefit to the Australian people. 
 
One of the things we've been so critical about of the Government, when it comes to their trillion dollars in debt, is that so much of it has been wasted - on sports rorts, and dodgy land deals, and JobKeeper for already profitable companies that didn't need it, and marketing, and political advertising, and market research and all of the rest of it. So, there has been a lot of waste. And what Anthony's talking about, and something that we've been talking about for some time, is being cautious, being prudent, being smart about Government investment. Every dollar is borrowed, we need to get a dividend for the public out of whatever we spend.
 
CONNELL: Right, so we don't know that the debt just now, but, as you alluded to, it's going to be massive. The last two elections, you said the nation will have less debt under Labor. Are you going to say that again?
 
CHALMERS: We'll make our position on the Budget clear once we know what kind of Budget we would inherit, Tom. I think it would be unusual for me to say, four days out from the Budget, what our relative debt position would be, not knowing what the Government's debt position is, but I think what people can expect from us, Tom, and we've made clear for some time, and Anthony made very clear, very effectively yesterday, is that we think taxpayers dollars are precious. We would inherit a mountain of debt from the coalition, despite all their rhetoric about debt and deficit disasters. So, every investment needs to have a tangible benefit for people, and we measure that benefit by what it means for their jobs and opportunities.
 
CONNELL: Will Labor make a decision on whether it would adopt an Aged Care Funding Levy after this budget?
 
CHALMERS: Well, again, let's see what the Government does on aged care. They've flagged that they will do something. It's obviously a massive problem that has developed over the last eight years of this coalition Government. It's been neglected for so long. That's why the Royal Commission Interim Report was titled Neglect. So, there's a lot that needs to be done in aged care. We're not quite sure yet what the Government intends to do in the Budget. It depends what needs to be, what gaps, or what holes that they might leave, and if and when we have to go down that path, we'll obviously consider how its funded.
 
CONNELL: But would that be, after this Budget, you'll have all those bits of information you were just talking about, so once we have that, will you make a call on whether you would introduce an Aged Care Levy?
 
CHALMERS: Well, between the Budget and the election, Tom, we'll make it clear what, if anything, additional we intend to do on aged care, and how we would fund it. We'll do that for all of our policies, right across the board. What we've said, and which follows a bit on from the conversation you just had with the panellists on your on your show, is we've said repeatedly that we won't be any less ambitious with the policies that we take to the next election, but we will be more focused. We do want to make sure that our priority is jobs and opportunities. And making sure that we can make the economy stronger after COVID than it was before COVID. We'll be more focused about how we go about that, but we'll be responsible about any commitments that we make, including the funding of them.
 
CONNELL: Okay, so there's a bit to fill in between now and the election, but that is, I suppose, the cycle we're in, or the point in the cycle. A couple of other quick issues, if I could get to them. Labor's being quite critical of the Government on the position to do with India. Why is it not okay for Australians to be locked out of Australia but, according to Labor, it has been okay for Queenslanders to be locked out of Queensland?
 
CHALMERS: Well, our concern is with the federal government. You're asking the federal Shadow Treasurer about federal policies. And one of the issues here, even if you agree that the very concerning, if not distressing, situation in India warrants the federal government to take steps, even potentially drastic steps, the Government made a mess of this from the beginning. It's been a complete shambles. You know, they announced, in the dead of night, the stiff penalties. And then Scott Morrison tried to say 'oh we weren't talking about penalties', even though it's in the Government's press release. They were talking about a review mid-May, and then they said they'd review it before. Now, they're scrambling to talk about repatriation flights. 
 
I think, when you're dealing with something this big, and this serious, with potentially, you know, monumental consequences for health and the economy here in Australia, we've got a responsibility to get it right. And the Government has been all over the place when it comes to this. And I think Australians, who are trying to get home, deserve a bit of clarity about what the arrangements are. And I think that, as Australians, we have a responsibility to help people get home. And it all comes back to the Government's failures on vaccinations and quarantine. If those things weren't such a shambles as well, then so many of these Australians stuck in India wouldn't be in this position.
 
CONNELL: Right. I understand you're a federal MP, you've got that view, and that's been expressed, and that's fair enough, but Labor, federally, has been very supportive Annastacia Palaszczuk's position on borders, which has locked Queenslanders out of Queensland. Why is that okay?
 
CHALMERS: Because we're talking about the responsibilities of the federal government, in relation to Australian citizens stuck overseas. You know, and even if you support...
 
CONNELL: Do you support what Annastacia Palaszczuk's done as well?
 
CHALMERS: I've told you that, repeatedly, on your programme. And I've told your colleagues as well. And not just Annastaciaia Palaszczuk, the Premiers of other political persuasions, have made some difficult decisions. And not everybody has been happy about it, but they've worked. What we're saying here, is we don't deny when it comes to our international border, the need for difficult decisions to be made. What we're saying is, within that, we've got a responsibility, whether it's in quarantine, whether it's in vaccinations, whether it's the communication of these arrangements, whether it's a fines levied against Australians who want nothing more than to get home to safety, then the federal Government has a responsibility here. And they've been failing it.
 
CONNELL: Just ask you finally and briefly, Victorian ALP getting, well, in quite a bit of tension over this pre-selection for the seat of Hawke. For the ALP to get 45% of women in the party by 2022, this needs to be a woman. Do we need to make sure, does the Labor Party need to make sure, that happens? That it's a woman pre-selected?
 
CHALMERS: First of all, we've got a terrific record on affirmative action, of electing women into the Australian Parliament. We should begin by acknowledging that. 
 
Secondly, I'm not involved in that pre-selection. As a Queenslander, focused entirely on the Budget, I haven't been involved in those conversations. I'll leave that to the to the Party machinery and the people involved, but we've got a really good record of electing women to the Australian Parliament. That will continue whatever the outcome of this particular pre-selection.
 
CONNELL: Not long to go until we all know what's in the Budget. Will talk again after that, Jim Chalmers. Appreciate your time today, thank you.
 
CHALMERS: Appreciate your time, Tom. Thanks.
 
ENDS