JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
TODAY SHOW
MONDAY, 17 JANUARY 2022
SUBJECTS: Novak Djokovic; Australian Open begins; Australian’s paying more tax under the Morrison Government than the last Labor Government; You can’t have a healthy economy without healthy people; Australians can’t afford three more years like the last eight.
KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: This was the scene at Melbourne Airport late last night, the world's number one tennis player Novak Djokovic cutting a pretty lonely figure under police guard as he's deported out of the country ending eleven long days of legal wrangling. The whole saga leaving our relations with Serbia in absolute tatters this morning,
ALLISON LANGDON, HOST: So there is plenty to unpack. Let's discuss now with Nine sports presenter Tom Rehn who's at Melbourne Park. And in Queensland, the Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Nice to see you both this morning. Jim, when you're looking at how the last couple of days have played out, pretty well handled yeah?
(LAUGHTER)
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: I wouldn't have thought so. If they didn't want him here in the first place they shouldn't have given him a visa, and if they're prepared to be so hairy chested now about anti-vaxxers what about the anti-vaxxers in their own ranks? I think what's happened here Ally is that they've dragged this out for the best part of a week because it's a bit of a distraction from the fact that people still can't find rapid antigen tests, they can't find groceries, and people’s summers have been more or less ruined by the Government's failures. This is a big stuff-up but probably not as big a stuff-up as the one that's left people without groceries, or tests, or the ability to manage their own health.
STEFANOVIC: We'll circle back to that a second, but Tom this is a great tournament. It's a great tennis tournament and nothing will distract from that now. It'll be terrific to watch all these players come together, and look, for all those players so much work has been done to get to this point. They can now do their stuff free of all that?
TOM REHN, NINE NEWS: Karl, it's a great point you make and I think you hit the nail on the head a little bit earlier when you said Novak probably lost the lockerroom. I know being here yesterday, players were just at a wits end not knowing what time they're playing today. They knew they were playing but because we weren't sure whether or not Novak was going to be in the tournament, they're saying but what time? What court? Where am I going to be? So there was that real frustration and I think once you lose that playing group like he has and you started to see players actually publicly coming out, which is so rare, against him. I think now, finally, everyone can take a deep breath and push forward and hopefully the Tennis now can start to do the talking.
LANGDON: So you think that frustration from the other players, that has been directed at Novak Djokovic as opposed to say the federal government or Tennis Australia?
REHN: It's a good question. I think there's probably a bit of both. I think there's no doubt it could have been handled a lot better but I think as well there is a feeling amongst a lot of the players that perhaps Novak has let himself become the talking point rather than the sport itself. Rafael Nadal, you know, put that a couple of days ago when he said, you know, no one is bigger than the tournament. Albeit, Novak's the greatest player in terms of wins here on the men's side, looking for win number ten hard he played. I think there's been a real frustration that the spotlight Ally has shifted away from the tennis and it's been clearly centred around Novak's story, which has been a huge one. I mean, it's been global. I can't remember a reaction like this, any story I've ever covered, and I've covered sport for close to 20 years. It's been extraordinary and unprecedented, and I think a lot of the tennis players are a bit annoyed that it's taken away from the purity of the sport itself.
STEFANOVIC: Well it's, in the end, everyone knows the tournament's about the start, right, and so it will have a lot of eyes on it, which will be a good thing. Jim, you might very well find yourself in government in the next couple of months. Will you continue that federal government policy of not allowing anti-vaxxers into the country?
CHALMERS: Obviously Karl we'll apply the rules, and the rules are there for a reason. The issue that we've had with this whole Novak Djokovic thing is that the Government gave him a visa in the first place. If he didn't comply he shouldn't have got here. Instead, they let him and they stuffed around for a week or so, dragged it out, in the hope that that would dominate the front pages instead of some of these other mistakes that they're making. It's been a stuff-up from beginning to end but I agree with Tom, it's going to be an amazing tournament. It's going be an incredible tournament. The highest ranked player at the Australian Open is Ash Barty. There's a heap of really talented Australians. I'm soft on Kokkinakis, I think he had some great form in Adelaide...
STEFANOVIC: Wanna rephrase that?
CHALMERS:...during that tournament, beat some good players.
(LAUGHTER)
CHALMERS: So we've got a great tournament ahead of us, but let's get the government focused on the things that really matter to people, which are those tests.
STEFANOVIC: I'm going to give you an opportunity to rephrase that.
(LAUGHTER)
CHALMERS: No, we'll just move on.
LANGDON: That's best. We know what you meant.
CHALMERS: Move on. We can fix that up in the transcript!
(LAUGHTER)
STEFANOVIC: It's a prerecord. It's a prerecord.
LANGDON: Fix it in post, that's what we always do, not a drama.
CHALMERS: Ask me again, Karl.
(LAUGHTER)
STEFANOVIC: Ok. What do you think...
(LAUGHTER)
LANGDON: Kokkinakis! He wants to hear the answer again!
(LAUGHTER)
STEFANOVIC: Anyhow. Listen. Jim, like I said, you might find yourself in government in the next couple of months. Are you going to increase taxes?
CHALMERS: We've made it clear for a really long time now Karl, that we're not taking those same tax increases to the next election that we talked to the last one. We've been saying that for some time now. That's the point that Anthony Albanese was making again today.
Taxes are actually higher under this government than they were under Labor, people are paying much more tax now than they were back then. We think the best way to deal with this trillion dollars in debt that we'll inherit from the Government if we're successful at the election is to invest the right way in growing the economy, deal with some of the rorts and waste that we've seen so far from the government over the last eight years or so. Also, there might be opportunities to make sure that multinational corporations pay their fair share of tax here in Australia. So there are lots of ways that we can try and deal with that debt when the time is right, but we've made it clear that those policies around negative gearing and franking credits and the like, they won't be something that we'll be taking to the next election.
LANGDON: Jim, just hearing a bit of talk over the last couple of weeks and months, and you guys are pushing the Medicare thing, you've got the Coalition talking about what you're going to do to taxes. Just makes me feel like it's going to get pretty ugly isn't it, this campaign?
CHALMERS: I think elections always pretty willing and there are serious issues at stake. We can't afford another three years like the last eight years - attacks on Medicare, attacks on wages and superannuation, and all the rest of it. The stakes are pretty high so it'll be pretty willing I would have thought. But I think what we've really learnt the last couple of years, when it comes to Medicare in particular, is you can't have a healthy economy without healthy people. That's why we can't have more of these attacks on Medicare. We need to strengthen Medicare and that's what we propose to do.
STEFANOVIC: Okay Tom, on a much lighter note. You're calling today. Have you called an Australian Open tennis game before? Excuse me for my ignorance if you have, but how excited are you?
REHN: I cannot wait, it's a real buzz. I've been lucky enough to be here for the last couple of years Karl, and it's wide open. 11 of the last 12 years on the men's side have been won by Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic, they're both not here. So for the first time in a long time, it is so open on the men's side. And the women's side is just as open, hopefully Ash Barty, as Jim alluded to, can take it out. But last year, for the fifth straight year, we had four winners of the four grand slams for the year. So it's anyone's guess. You could probably throw a dozen names out there. Hopefully it's Ash Barty, the first number one seed of the women's side since 2015, but can't wait. I'm calling the first match this morning, its Aleksandar Vukic Alexander against Lloyd Harris the South African, so let's hope it's a great day for the Aussies. Overcast but beautiful day really here in Melbourne. It should be outstanding. So I can't wait.
STEFANOVIC: Brilliant.
LANGDON: I think we all want to hear just a little bit of calling. So if you can picture this Tom - if you don't mind - one end is Stefanovic, other end is Langdon and I'm about to ace him - how would you call that my friend?
REHN: Okay. Three match points here for Langdon. It's been an incredible fight back. Stefanovic, he's struggling.
STEFANOVIC: Tight shorts.
REHN: She's done it! Can you believe it? She has taken it out against all the odds! Ally Langdon, the people's champion, beats the greatest villain of our time!
STEFANOVIC: Alright, that's something we'll cut out in post as well!
(LAUGHTER)
STEFANOVIC: Good to have you guys with us today. Good on you Jim, thank you. And happy calling today Tom, we love it. Good on you, buddy. Thank you.
LANGDON: I feel like a winner!
(LAUGHTER)
ENDS
