JOURNALIST:
Are you willing to negotiate with the Greens on the housing bill? They've said they're willing to accept something between 500 million and two and a half billion. Why not offer more than the 2 billion the government already has on the table?
JIM CHALMERS:
It's time to end the ambit claims and the political games that the Greens party is playing in the Senate over housing. The Greens are more interested in fighting with Labor than fighting for vulnerable people who need us to build more social and affordable housing. We have got a broad and ambitious housing agenda: an extra $2 billion for public housing, the Housing Australia Future Fund, the biggest increase in rent assistance in 30 years and more initiatives on top of that. The government is investing billions of new dollars in social and affordable housing. It's time for the Greens to put a stop to these political games that they're playing in the Senate. If they really want to build more homes for people who are vulnerable, people who desperately need homes, then they'll vote for it in the Senate.
JOURNALIST:
How are discussions going on the half‑price medicines. With the Coalition opposed, is the government confident the Greens will be on board and the crossbench?
CHALMERS:
Mark Butler is obviously engaged in all of those consultations and negotiations. This is an opportunity for the Senate to vote for cheaper medicines. Now, Australians are under the pump and we want to make things easier for them when it comes to the cost of medicine. We want to make it easier and cheaper to see a bulk billing doctor, and this is an important part of our efforts to address the cost‑of‑living pressures that people feel. The government's number one priority is easing the cost‑of‑living pressures that people are under. Our number one priority is rolling out billions of dollars in cost‑of‑living relief in a way that makes the job of the independent Reserve Bank easier, not harder. And that's our focus and medicines are an important part of that.
JOURNALIST:
Treasurer, how much more can Australians take if there is another interest rate rise today and how many more Australians are about to come off a fixed rate loan?
CHALMERS:
Australians are under the pump and higher interest rates have been part of that. Interest rates started going up before the election and continued afterwards, and that's because inflation has been too high in our economy ever since the quarterly peak, which was March of 2022. So Australians are under the pump and higher interest rates have been part of that, and people are having to make difficult decisions about their household finances. We understand that. The government's number one priority is taking the edge off some of these cost‑of‑living pressures without adding to inflation. We've seen welcome progress when it comes to inflation moderating in our economy but we know that the fight with inflation, when it comes to government policy, is not yet over. That's why we're rolling out billions of dollars in relief, it's why we've got the Budget in much better nick when inflation was at its most pressing, and it's why we're investing in the supply side of the economy.
Obviously, people ‑ coming off fixed rates on to variable rates ‑ are put under extra pressure when interest rates go up. Now the peak in people coming off fixed on to variable was actually last quarter but there's still a substantial amount of people coming off this quarter. About 19 per cent of people with a fixed loan came off in the June quarter, we expect about 17 per cent to come off in September quarter, which is fewer than in June but still a substantial number. When people come off fixed on to variable when interest rates have been going up since before the election, obviously that puts extra pressure on them. I've spoken with the big bank CEOs and the other bank CEOs about people who will find it too hard to deal with these higher interest rates or going on to higher interest rates. The banks have a process for determining how they can accommodate people who are under extreme pressure. Their advice and my advice is for people to engage with their bank as soon as possible, as soon as they know they're in trouble so that they can investigate whether there's some kind of accommodation which can be provided.
JOURNALIST:
On the PRRT, the Senate crossbench says that they want to see that cap on expenses reduced to 80 per cent for their support in the Senate. Are you open to that or are you confident you can get the Coalition on board for the 90 per cent cap?
CHALMERS:
We intend to legislate the changes to the PRRT that we announced in the Budget. They came after a considered methodical and long process, which landed on our three options from the Treasury. We chose the Treasury recommendation that provided the most return sooner when it comes to offshore LNG, and that's the design, that's the policy that we intend to legislate. This does put pressure on the Coalition, in particular, to vote for our plan to get more revenue sooner from offshore LNG to help fund priorities like Medicare and bulk billing or this cost‑of‑living help that we're rolling out. The Senate has an opportunity to vote for more revenue sooner from offshore LNG, and it should take it.
JOURNALIST:
Can Australians cope with more mortgage stress or do you expect to see more people defaulting on their loans?
CHALMERS:
It remains to be seen and I don't want to make predictions about that sort of thing, but I think it's self‑evident Australians are under the pump and interest rate rises have been a big part of that. Over the last 12 months or so ‑ 12, 15 months or so. Our job is not to pre‑empt or second guess decisions taken independently by the Reserve Bank. The job that I take responsibility for is rolling out billions of dollars in cost‑of‑living help, which is our highest priority, but at the same time as we get the Budget in much better nick, a bigger surplus to take the pressure off inflation, and also investing in the supply side challenges in our economy. We've seen some welcome progress when it comes to inflation moderating in our economy, but people are still under the pump.