JIM CHALMERS:
A big focus on the Budget on Tuesday night was affordable housing, and this project that we're turning the sod on today is exactly the kind of project that we want to see as a consequence of our new tax breaks to incentivise investment in build‑to‑rent properties. We want more affordable homes for people to live in near where the jobs and opportunities are being created. We've got an issue in our economy when it comes to the supply of housing, there's no doubt about that. And that's why so much of what the Budget did on Tuesday night was to fund and support investment in build‑to‑rent properties, but also the biggest increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance in 30 years, also supporting the National Housing Infrastructure Facility to lend money to community housing providers. Also the National Housing Accord where I've brought together big investors, state and local government and the building industry to make sure that we can build more properties. And then, of course, the Housing Australia Future Fund, which is held up in the Senate by this unusual coalition of the Liberals, Nationals and Greens in the Senate, who are voting against more social and affordable housing in our economy, which beggars belief given the pressures on housing. And so a big priority in the Budget is building more housing at the same time as we support people who are renting and doing it tough. Now, our efforts on housing are of a piece with the cost‑of‑living relief in the Budget, which is designed to take some of the pressure off people without adding to inflation.
And today from the Commonwealth Bank we received a big endorsement of our efforts to provide cost‑of‑living relief without adding to inflation. The Commonwealth Bank economists and a range of other economists have pointed out that what we're doing here - whether it's the energy bill relief and the energy price caps, whether it's our other efforts on rent and payments, and in other areas - will take some of the sting out of these cost‑of‑living pressures without adding to inflation in our economy. Inflation is the defining influence on our economy right now. The Budget was geared to address it without adding to it. And that's why so many economists have come out and backed the strategy that we announced on Budget night.
JOURNALIST:
Treasurer, would you be open to allowing job seekers to work more hours before their benefits are reduced?
CHALMERS:
First of all, we've already got a big agenda when it comes to encouraging more people into work. And our participation agenda, whether it's our cheaper early childhood education, whether it's the big investment in foundational skills and training, really right across the board, our big objective here is to get more people into work if they want to and can work. And we've got an Employment White Paper, which I'll released later in the year where some of these questions will be central as well, and we're working on employment services too. So the government's already got a really big agenda when it comes to making it easier for people to work more and earn more. We've got wages moving again in our economy after a decade of deliberate wage suppression and wage stagnation so we're working on the wages front, employment services, Employment White Paper, cheaper early childhood education, foundational skills - it's a long list of things that we're doing to help people into work.
JOURNALIST:
Homelessness in Brisbane and Southeast Queensland is not just a crisis, but it's been called a catastrophe right now. We need housing, we need it instantly. There's Pinkenba sitting there, empty, 500 beds available. Will the Federal government open it up to the state government to use [inaudible]?
CHALMERS:
First of all, we extended the $1.6 billion National Agreement on Housing and Homelessness in recognition that there are too many people sleeping rough and too many people who are homeless. And so we've done that, in addition to all of the other measures that I've mentioned to build more homes in our communities and in our economy. Now, when it comes to Pinkenba, we are always prepared to work with state and territory governments to find common ground and to work together to achieve our objectives. I'm not aware yet of an approach from the state government but if and when that comes, obviously we will do what we can to work together.
JOURNALIST:
The [Queensland] Government says it's going to be too expensive to rent it from you. Is there some way you can waive the rent or reduce it significantly so it is an option?
CHALMERS:
We're prepared to work with state governments of both political persuasions right around the country. I'm not aware yet of an approach from the state government. If and when that comes, obviously we'll consider it on its merits.
JOURNALIST:
What's your response to Peter Dutton's Budget reply?
CHALMERS:
It was divisive, it was dishonest and it was backward looking. All of the things that we've come to associate with Peter Dutton. Peter Dutton is long on division and long on dishonesty but short of credibility, particularly when it comes to the economy. Now I sat there for half an hour and listened to this long defence of the Morrison government, but not much in the way of coherent, credible ideas for the future. Peter Dutton tried to pretend in his Budget reply - and this is why it was so dishonest - Peter Dutton thinks you can spend more, tax less and get bigger surpluses. And that's the kind of dishonesty at the core of his Budget reply. He's a very divisive figure, he's a very backward‑looking figure, but not an especially credible one and we saw that in his Budget reply.
JOURNALIST:
In Queensland, about $500 million in federal road projects have been pushed back on the timeline. You've previously noted that the government will delay infrastructure spending amid construction sector labour shortages and high costs. In pushing back the spend, has it also been in your mind that the federal government could pull the lever on a bank of shovel‑ready projects as a way to stimulate the economy if there was a recession or uncomfortably slow growth?
CHALMERS:
First of all, the $120 billion, 10‑year infrastructure pipeline is still in the Budget. And what we're talking about with this short, sharp review of infrastructure projects is making sure that we're getting maximum value for money, and that we are recognising the changing costs of projects, which come from material shortages and labour shortages and other pressures, and where a project has begun or where we've committed to it in the election. We are committed to proceeding with that. But I think the Australian people and the people of Queensland expect us to try and get maximum value for money from our $120 billion, 10‑year infrastructure pipeline. It's not unusual for governments of either political persuasion to push projects back or forward to try and get value for money and to recognise the pressures on building and construction right now, and that's simply what we are doing.
JOURNALIST:
Is Peter Dutton dog whistling on immigration? Does he have a point that we need to think about reducing it until we get the housing infrastructure in place?
CHALMERS:
Well, a couple of points about that. The Budget was focused on building more affordable housing and that's what today is about. And if he cares about more social and affordable housing, he should vote for the Housing Australia Future Fund in the parliament. He's got a rolled gold opportunity to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to housing but as usual he's playing politics. Today we're talking about the sorts of tax breaks which are new in the Budget to incentivise more housing, and we've got a broad and ambitious policy agenda when it comes to housing affordability.
And when it comes to the migration forecasts in the Budget, it's important to remember that those numbers in the Budget are not government policy, they're not a target. They're not a lever that the government is pulling, they simply recognise that the students and long‑term tourists are coming back quicker than anticipated, and fewer Australians are leaving Australia to go and work overseas. And the Opposition has, in the past said they want the students and tourists to get back quicker. So there's an inconsistency there. The other important point is this - if you compare the forecasts for net overseas migration in my Budget, and compare them to the forecast from a couple of years ago in Coalition budgets, then Australia will be cumulatively smaller under my forecasts than under their forecasts. And that's because, for obvious reasons, during COVID, we were getting fewer migrants. And so even with this bounce back in students and tourists, we have still not gotten to the level that the last Coalition government forecast in their own Budget papers. So we need some honesty here from the Opposition. Once again, Peter Dutton is playing the usual divisive and dishonest politics when it comes to population. It's not a government policy, it's not a government target, and it is less cumulatively than what it would have been if their own forecasts a couple of years ago in their budget had eventuated.
JOURNALIST:
Recently, the Mining and Energy Union representative, Tony Maher, said that we need action now to avoid social and political failure and [inaudible] jobs in energy transition. On May Day, the Prime Minister said he [inaudible] with that transition issue involving thousands of jobs in Queensland. What does the Budget contains specifically to allay those specific concerns?
CHALMERS:
This was a huge emphasis of the Budget on Tuesday night. And I know Tony Maher, respect him and work closely with him. And his interest and my interest and the Prime Minister's interest is making sure that this energy transformation works for workers and not against them. And that's the motivation behind the Net Zero Authority that we announced in the Budget. That's the motivation behind $4 billion in new investment in the vast industrial opportunities of the clean energy transformation; a $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart; a whole bunch of other investments to make the total $40 billion in clean energy and related investment in the Budget. So Tony's heart is in the right place, as is ours. We've got a hard‑headed assessment of the opportunities here when it comes to cleaner and cheaper energy. We want to work with the workers and unions, investors and businesses, to make sure that we grab the opportunities of clean energy. We want to be beneficiaries, not victims of the way that the world is moving, and when it comes to clean energy.
JOURNALIST:
Is nuclear energy just confined to submarines at this point, or is it something you're prepared to contemplate?
CHALMERS:
Nuclear energy is the most expensive form of new energy. We've got other much better opportunities. And if Peter Dutton wants to build nuclear reactors in our suburbs, he should say which suburbs he wants to build them in. That was the big hole in the big nuclear play last night, from Peter Dutton. He won't tell people where he wants to build the reactors. Now, is he going to build it in Dickson? Is he going to build it in - which suburbs around here is he going to build the nuclear reactors? That's the challenge for Peter Dutton. And they've got an ideological view about nuclear power, which doesn't stack up economically. And if he wants to build nuclear reactors, tell the people of Australia whose suburbs is he going to build them in.
JOURNALIST:
Is it fair to say that the end of the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset is a sneaky $1,500 tax hike?
CHALMERS:
Of course not, this is complete and utter rubbish from the Opposition. This is a lie from beginning to end. Josh Frydenberg ended the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset last year, and we said that we wouldn't be restarting it. In the March 2022 Budget, Josh Frydenberg said this is not an ongoing feature of the tax system, and this will end in 2022. And then I was asked, would I be extending it? I said, we wouldn't be able to afford to do it. This was last year. And now the Coalition, in their typically divisive and dishonest way, wants to pretend that there's been some kind of new announcement. The Coalition ended the LMITO, not the Labor Party, they should be honest about it.
JOURNALIST:
But you're in government now, and you have the power to extend it if you want to. Can't you see that millions of Australians are going to be worse off now under your government because it's not being extended?
CHALMERS:
It ended under the former government. We said last year that it wasn't our intention to restart it. We are providing billions of dollars in cost‑of‑living assistance to the middle Australia and the most vulnerable people. We've got billions of dollars of investment to deal with the out‑of‑pocket costs in health, to deal with energy prices, to deal with higher rents, billions of dollars of assistance for middle Australia. And in their usual dishonest, deceptive, and divisive way, the Coalition wants to pretend that a tax break that they ended in 2022 has been ended by me in 2023. It is complete and utter rubbish.
JOURNALIST:
Treasurer, just back with infrastructure - you spoke about, I guess, the need for best value for money. There's two major rail projects, I guess that are Olympics adjacent on the Coasts either side of us, as part of that audit. Will that audit look at other factors such as the need to reduce congestion, the need to accommodate for population growth as part of that, and how concerned should Queenslanders be about the future of those projects?
CHALMERS:
Well, obviously, it will take into consideration all of the pressures, congestion pressures, and other pressures in our local communities. What we want to do here is to build $120 billion worth of infrastructure projects over 10 years. Obviously, southeast Queensland will get a big chunk of that investment. Because southeast Queensland is a priority for us, partly because of the Olympics, but not exclusively because of the Olympics. We recognise the pressure on local communities, we want to build great infrastructure to help people get to and from work quicker and safer. We want to do all of those things, we want to do it in the most responsible way. And it's of a piece with the rest of the Budget. I mean, this is a Budget, which is a responsible Budget in the service of our immediate priorities and our generational responsibilities, and infrastructure will be a big part of it. Thanks very much. Thanks, everyone.