ASHLEIGH GILLON:
Treasurer, good to see you. Appreciate your time, thank you. We were just discussing this with our political reporter as to what those figures that you were reacting to today mean for Australians with mortgages. What's your message to Australians watching these numbers now praying for another pause on rate hikes on Tuesday? Do these numbers give them cause to get their hopes up, do you think?
JIM CHALMERS:
Well, thanks for having me back on your show, Ash. First of all, we recognise that people are still under the pump and inflation will be higher than we'd like for longer than we'd like but these numbers show that we are making welcome progress. Inflation is moderating from the high quarterly peak we saw before the election and the high annual peak we saw around Christmas time and that is a good thing but it doesn't mean that all of these inflationary pressures have all of a sudden disappeared ‑ inflation is still the biggest challenge in our economy and so it's still the primary focus of the Albanese government and our economic plan. We are rolling out billions of dollars in cost‑of‑living help in ways that don't add to this inflation problem but do help to take some of the edge off cost‑of‑living pressures that people are feeling.
Now, the consequences for interest rates ‑ obviously I don't get into pre‑empting or second guessing the deliberations of the independent Reserve Bank, I think that the view of most commentators will be similar to the view that we just heard from Ross a moment ago, but my job really is to roll out that three‑part economic plan ‑ cost‑of‑living help, a bigger surplus to take the pressure off inflation, and invest in the supply side of the economy and by doing that we have shown that we can make this welcome progress that we're seeing today.
GILLON:
Okay, so even though Australians are still feeling under pressure, these figures do take the pressure off the RBA itself, though, don't they? Without wanting you to pre‑empt any sort of decision on Tuesday...
CHALMERS:
Obviously they'll weigh up this new inflation data that we've got today, it has come in a little bit better than what the market was expecting ‑ they'll weigh that up against all of the other usual considerations ‑ global and domestic ‑ and they'll come to a view independently but from our point of view, as a government, we very deliberately made this fight against inflation our number one priority. Our biggest focus right now is rolling out this cost‑of‑living help for people doing it tough and in areas where inflation is most acute, for example, in rent, out‑of‑pocket health costs, electricity bill rebates and the like. So that's our job, we're focused on doing it, we're pleased to see that in our efforts to combat this inflation we are making some progress but we're realistic about it as well ‑ it's higher than we'd like, it will be the case for a little while longer but it's pleasing and welcome to see the efforts that we've put in are contributing to this moderating in inflation today.
GILLON:
Treasurer, keen for you on another matter while we've got you. Today the former Prime Minister John Howard is predicting the Voice referendum will fail. I'm sure you'd like to think you've got your finger on the political pulse there in your state of Queensland so I'm wondering how worried you're getting considering we're seeing several polls now suggesting the majority of Queenslanders are planning to vote no. And would you be open to that vote being delayed if the polls do continue to track that way?
CHALMERS:
The timing of the referendum is overwhelmingly a matter for the PM with input from the rest of us. I'm not anticipating and I'm certainly not urging that we change the timeframe that the Prime Minister and Minister Burney and others have talked about in the past. This fundamentally is about recognition and it's about listening and it's about making a tangible difference to the lives of First Nations people but it's also a big opportunity for our country to move forward together in a spirit of unity and respect. I'm under no illusions about how difficult constitutional change is in this country and perhaps particularly in my home state of Queensland, so we've got to put in the work and we will, there's still a ways to go yet. Obviously, we have always known that constitutional change is hard fought, particularly in the more conservative parts of Australia but we are all ready, willing and able to play a role in getting this amendment up so that we can engage in this great national act of recognition and listening and to make the difference that people want to see amongst our First Nations communities. We've got a Productivity Commission report out today which rang the alarm bells once again about the status quo when it comes to closing the gap. The status quo isn't working, we need to do things differently and I think recognition and listening gives us the best possible chance of advancing this cause and closing the gap.
GILLON:
What's your assessment of the tone of the campaign so far? You're someone who is no stranger to political campaigning, it's in your blood after a couple of decades of being involved in politics. I'm sure you welcome debate on an issue of national significance like this but do you have concerns about the way the no side has been conducting its campaign? Are you worried that misinformation is muddying the waters?
CHALMERS:
I don't fear a robust, rational national debate about this. I think it's an issue of sufficient importance that it warrants a robust, rational debate amongst people of goodwill. I am deeply, deeply troubled by the tone of the no campaign and I don't want to pretend otherwise. It is deeply, deeply troubling to see some elements of this no campaign and the way that they are prosecuting their case on social media and elsewhere. Our country is better than some of the quite absurd scare mongering that we've seen from parts of the no campaign and that's not to pretend that there should be a unanimous view about some of these big questions in our society ‑ there will never be unanimity, we understand that, but we need a reasonable and rational debate and I think elements of the no campaign have proven themselves incapable of that and I'm deeply troubled by that.
GILLON:
Treasurer Jim Chalmers, appreciate your time. Thank you.
CHALMERS:
Thanks, Ash.