CLINT STANAWAY:
We are joined by our Treasurer, Jim Chalmers from Springwood in Queensland. Treasurer, good morning. Look, we’re glad you’re with us today because the PM was also on the show yesterday morning, we can’t help but think you might be worried about something.
JIM CHALMERS:
I’m on the show because tomorrow is a really big day. Tomorrow every Australian taxpayer gets a tax cut, every household gets energy bill relief, millions of workers get a pay rise, there’ll be cheaper medicines and an extra couple of weeks of paid parental leave and that’s all because we do understand and recognise that people are under pressure and we’re actually doing something about it with this cost‑of‑living help which is substantial and meaningful but also responsible.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI:
You must have been concerned during the week though when you saw the inflation figures going not the way you would have wanted them to go. If that leads to another hike from the RBA, are all these measures that you’re mentioning going to make any difference at all?
CHALMERS:
Well, a couple of things about that. First of all, I don’t make predictions about decisions that the independent Reserve Bank Board takes, but in relation to those inflation figures last week, we’ve seen around the world over the last little while that even though inflation has come off really substantially, it doesn’t come off in a straight line, it zigs and zags a bit on the way down. We saw that earlier in the year in the US, we saw that last week in Canada. And so our experience here is not that different to what we’ve seen around the world. Inflation is still too high, but it’s much lower than what we inherited when we came to office and our policies are helping. And one of the reasons they’re helping is whether it’s energy bill relief or rent assistance or some of these other policies, we know from the Bureau of Stats and the competition watchdog that inflation would be much higher without our efforts.
STANAWAY:
Ok, so if inflation does continue to climb, what other levers do you have to pull as Treasurer?
CHALMERS:
One of the 2 most important things you can do is run a pretty tight ship on the Budget, and that’s what we’re doing. We turned 2 big Liberal deficits into 2 Labor surpluses, and we know the Reserve Bank Governor and others have said that those 2 surpluses are helping in the fight against inflation. So, ongoing budget discipline is really important but at the same time as we provide this cost‑of‑living relief in that substantial and meaningful but also responsible way, and what that means is designing this cost‑of‑living relief so that it takes the edge off inflation rather than add to it. We’ve seen in energy bills, we’ve seen in childcare, we’ve seen in rent assistance that even though prices have been rising, they would have risen by much, much more were it not for the way that we’ve designed our policies. And so going forward, we expect our policies to continue to be helpful in the fight against inflation, even though we recognise right now that inflation is higher than anyone would like.
AZZOPARDI:
Treasurer, another thing that happens on July 1 is that all federal politicians like yourself get a pay rise, 3 and a half per cent. It will take your pay packet to more than $438,000. Do you think on that that you can really understand how much regular Aussies are really struggling at the moment?
CHALMERS:
Oh, we do understand and one of the most important changes which is coming in from tomorrow is that millions of Australian workers on award wages will get a bigger pay rise than the one that you just described in percentage terms, 3.75 per cent pay rise for millions of people on an award and what that goes to really is, first of all, acknowledging that we are well paid – we acknowledge that, we’re upfront about that but our job as a Labor government is to try and get wages moving more broadly and they have been growing much quicker over the last couple of years than in the decade before that and that’s a deliberate thing by a Labor government because we’re all about people earning more and keeping more of what they earn and those changes which come in tomorrow, the tax cuts for every taxpayer, combined with wage rises for millions of workers on awards that will help people earn more and keep more.
STANAWAY:
And Jim Chalmers, you’re joining us this morning from your home state in Queensland. The Courier Mail this morning labels that state the crime capital of Australia. I guess the question is, do you think your state colleagues in an election year are doing enough to turn things around there?
CHALMERS:
Yes, I do believe so. And, you know, I engage, as you’d expect, regularly, enthusiastically, with my state colleagues here in the great state of Queensland. And I know they are pouring substantial resources, extra resources into keeping people safe and that’s because they acknowledge and recognise some of these issues which have been canvassed in the paper today and they’re responding to that. I’m confident that they are responding to that in an effective way.
STANAWAY:
This is like Christmas for you. Do you have a July 1 party tonight?
CHALMERS:
No. No, we don’t, but I am really proud of this relief that’s coming in tomorrow, because we know people are under the pump, we’re helping people with their cost of living, that’s really important. And so tomorrow is a really important day.
AZZOPARDI:
Well, I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of your face on our TV screens tomorrow too Treasurer. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
CHALMERS:
Thanks for the opportunity.