DANICA DE GIORGIO:
Have you done enough in these 12 months to help Australians?
JIM CHALMERS:
Good morning, Danica. It's important to remember that the worst quarter for inflation in this country was actually the March quarter last year before the election and rates started going up before the last election as well. But certainly in the first 12 months of this Albanese government, our highest priority or one of our highest priorities has been to try and take some of the edge off these cost‑of‑living pressures without adding to inflation, that's largely what the second budget a couple of weeks ago was all about. Inflation is moderating in our economy now - not as fast as we would like, it's still unacceptably high, and inflation will be higher than we'd like for longer than we'd like but what we've been able to do by managing the economy responsibly and managing the budget responsibly, is to take some of the edge off those cost‑of‑living pressures. The other really important thing, something that really stands out from the first 12 months of the Albanese Labor government is we've had the strongest record of job creation of the first year of any government on record in Australia - jobs growth is faster than the major advanced economies and we're seeing the welcome beginnings of wages growth as well and that will help people deal with these cost‑of‑living pressures.
DE GIORGIO:
But how do you strike that balance between wages growth and inflation?
CHALMERS:
Well, when it comes to these cost‑of‑living pressures, decent wages growth is part of the solution, not part of the problem. We don't have too much inflation in our economy because people are getting paid too much. In fact, for too long now, the best part of the decade, we've had wage stagnation from our predecessors' deliberate wage suppression. We take a different view, we want to see wages growing strongly again in a sustainable way, we want businesses to be productive as well because an important part of dealing with these cost‑of‑living pressures is making sure that people who work hard can provide for their loved ones. And that's why we are so pleased and so proud to see the strongest wages growth for more than a decade, the strongest first 12 months in jobs growth for a new government on record, faster jobs growth than the major advanced economies - these are important opportunities and important reminders of what Australians have been able to achieve together under the first 12 months of our government.
DE GIORGIO:
Let's move on now. Buy now, pay later schemes are set to be regulated. What does this mean for users of the services?
CHALMERS:
Well, buy now, pay later has become very popular - there's something like seven million accounts in Australia and it's got a legitimate role to play in the financial system. But we've got to make sure that the harms in this system - which fall disproportionately often on the most vulnerable people - are regulated and that's why my colleague Stephen Jones will be talking today about legislating to regulate buy now, pay later. It does have a legitimate role, but it should be in the Credit Act so that we can manage some of the risks around hardship and marketing and some of these other issues.
DE GIORGIO:
I want to ask you - the Prime Minister said that he plans to accept an invitation from China to visit Beijing later this year. But the Opposition says that all trade matters should be sorted before he visits China. Is that a fair point?
CHALMERS:
Well, a couple of things about that, Danica. These trade restrictions were imposed in the life of the former government and so, for them to now be lecturing us about having them lifted, I think is typical but it doesn't really stack up. We think and we have shown that if you engage respectfully and try and manage this complex relationship in a considered and methodical way, that gives you the best opportunity, the best chance to stabilise this key relationship. And we've seen some progress already with these trade restrictions - I pay tribute to Don Farrell and Penny Wong and the Prime Minister for the progress that we have been able to make. It's in the interest of both countries for these trade restrictions to be lifted and we've got a lot at stake when it comes to a region which is stable and secure and peaceful and prosperous. And that's what our engagement and our efforts to stabilise this complex relationship are all about
DE GIORGIO:
G7 leaders over the weekend said that they had serious concerns about China. That's quite strong language. What's the priority for Australia - improving the trade relations or strengthening this rhetoric?
CHALMERS:
I think it's entirely consistent to say that we want a region which is stable and secure and peaceful and prosperous at the same time as we engage in a respectful way and in a meaningful way to try and manage this complex relationship with China. I think those two things are not mutually exclusive, I think they're actually complementary. As a middle‑sized trading nation in our part of the world, we've got so much to gain from getting this right and so much to lose from a region which isn't peaceful and prosperous and stable and secure and that's why we spend so much of our time and effort making sure that we're engaging respectfully, stabilising the relationship with China, at the same time as we work with all of our partners to make sure that this region is the right kind of region for our future prosperity.
DE GIORGIO:
Treasurer Jim Chalmers, we'll leave it there. Thank you very much for your time this morning.