DANNY KENNEDY:
Earlier this year we heard a regional study hub would be coming to western Queensland. And one in Longreach is officially opening today with federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Senator Anthony Chisholm in town for the occasion. And before the big opening, they’ve dropped by to have a chat to us. Good morning to you both. Thanks for coming in this morning.
ANTHONY CHISHOLM:
Good morning. Good to be with you and the listeners.
KENNEDY:
And firstly, Jim, you’re in town to launch officially this regional university study hub. What do you hope to achieve with these hubs?
JIM CHALMERS:
We want to make it easier for people to access higher education in places like western Queensland.
It’s wonderful to be back here again in Longreach with Anthony Chisholm. It’s a real tribute to Anthony and to the Education Minister, Jason Clare, and the Prime Minister that we’ve made access to education in regional Queensland and regional Australia a really high priority for us because we know that if people want access to a great education, whether it be TAFE or uni, they should be able to access that closer to home, whether it’s western Queensland, western Sydney, Western Australia.
We want to make sure that more people can get a great education or help them get high‑paid, rewarding jobs and to not have to travel to the other side of the country to get it.
KENNEDY:
Nearly half of young people, I think, in the country, as in nationally, hold a qualification, but out this way, it’s only 23 per cent. So, I would say that’s what you want changed?
CHALMERS:
First of all, we acknowledge that there are all kinds of ways to get a great job. Uni is not for everyone, TAFE’s not for everyone. There are all kinds of pathways that people can choose, but we want to make that choice easier for people if they want to get a university degree.
We don’t think it’s a good thing that it’s that much harder to get a university degree in regional Queensland, in western Queensland, we want to make it easier.
Shifting that number that you reference, about half the population of Australia has a tertiary qualification, but in the bush, it’s about half of that, again, about a quarter.
We want to provide more choice to people. If they want to go to university, they should be able to do that closer to home and get that qualification.
What this means is obviously great for Longreach, where we are today, but really right across the central west, Barcaldine and Blackall and some of these other wonderful towns, there will be an opportunity in these towns as well, for people to study and to get people into one place. Like the old pastoral college here in town in Longreach. Get people into one place, great wi‑fi, opportunity to interact with each other, an opportunity to learn and get those degrees without having to go to Brisbane or further afield.
KENNEDY:
Now that’s, I suppose, probably the start of your time out here. What else are you doing while you’re in the region?
CHALMERS:
We’re in the middle of a 3‑day big swing through regional Queensland. We’re going to cover something like 6000 k, hit 5 or 6 different towns.
Today we’ll be catching up with the mayor, Tony Rayner. We’ve had a bit of a chat already, but we’ll be having a meeting with him as well. We’re very grateful to Mayor Rayner. He’s got his council meeting today and he’s found room for us. We always try to catch up with Tony when we’re in town. We get a lot out of those conversations.
We’ll catch up with Tony, we’ll do the university hubs and then we’re off to Cloncurry to meet with the beef industry and some of the local government mayors and others as well.
This is all about making sure that we listen to regional communities, particularly in regional Queensland.
We’re both Queenslanders, very, very proud Queenslanders, and we take every opportunity we can to interact with the communities of regional Queensland and the industries of regional Queensland. Because I know as the country’s Treasurer, if we want the national economy to be strong, we need regional Queensland’s economies to be strong as well. Whether it’s ag, tourism, education, the provision of health services, very, very high priority for us.
That means getting out and about on the ground and listening.
KENNEDY:
And speaking of councils, Senator Chisholm, we’ve been hearing from local councils out this way that they’re struggling to complete infrastructure projects. Of course, there’s rising costs. They receive funding through federal programs and those increase, I suppose, hitting everyone. Have you been chatting to councils about how best to support them? Particularly those that haven’t got large ratepayer bases, which a lot of the councils out here haven’t.
CHISHOLM:
No, and it’s an enormous challenge and I often get to the local council meetings when they have their regional groupings, the opportunity to catch up with mayors and have a chat about those conditions.
We’ve got 2 programs that we’ve got going that help fund programs in regional rural councils, Growing Regions and the Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program. They’ve been funds that we’ve set up since we came to government that have been well received and there have been beneficiaries in many of the western Queensland councils.
We’re always open to dialogue about how we can get those programs operating better. We understand that there are cost challenges the further you get away from the capital cities. The mayors already had a chat to us about some of those challenges this morning. So, I’m confident that will be one of the things that we’ll pick up whilst we’re out here chatting to local government mayors about how we can best tailor those programs to meet those growing demands.
KENNEDY:
And I suppose in tandem with that, of course, we see the declines in population out this way, which is a big concern. Again, is this on your radar and the federal government looking at some help to prop up these towns?
CHISHOLM:
That’s where those programs come in that I mentioned before, and they go to the Regional Growth Fund, which really goes to identifying what we can do to support local government in developing jobs and industries and things that are going to attract people to the regions and then the Regional Precincts and Partnerships is about ensuring that those councils have the amenities that are going to keep families there or attract families. Whether it be a cultural hub or a sporting hub, something that is going to ensure that people stay around long term.
Because I think one of the great parts of Australia is regional economies and regional communities like Longreach, and I want to ensure they thrive into the future. That means that government has to be supportive of things that are going to ensure that that remains the case.
KENNEDY:
Seventeen to 8, you’re on ABC Western Queensland, I’m speaking with federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Senator Anthony Chisholm, who are in Longreach for a number of reasons, the Regional Study Hub opening a little bit later on this morning, is one of their priorities. Of course, talk has already started with you for a federal election next year. This is, I suppose, a strong national electorate. So, will we be seeing more of a Labor presence over the coming months?
CHALMERS:
Absolutely and not just over the coming months, not just when an election is near, but one of the things that Anthony Chisholm and our other senators, Murray Watt and Nita Green, have been really good at is making sure that they get cabinet ministers into regional communities. Because we take our responsibilities to regional Queensland really seriously.
We don’t need to hold the seat to spend time with local industries and local communities and local governments understanding the needs of these parts of Australia. There’s such wonderful opportunity creating, wealth creating parts of Australia.
What we’ve tried to do and what I’ve tried to do personally as Treasurer is to make sure I’m in these communities, whether they vote National or they vote Liberal or they vote Labor. What matters to us is that these wonderful thriving communities have strong local economies.
That’s why we’ve covered tens of thousands of kilometres together doing the sorts of things that we’re doing today. Speaking with communities and your good self, meeting with local governments and industries, so that the voices of regional Queensland are heard in our government and reflected in our economic policies.
KENNEDY:
So, it sounds like you’ve got a busy time till the next election of course. Have you got a date ready to go?
CHALMERS:
I don’t think the Prime Minister’s decided the precise date. It will be in the first half of next year, obviously.
If I did know, it would be career‑limiting in the extreme for me to say so on radio in Longreach this far out.
But we’ve got a lot to do, we’ve got a lot to finish before we go back to the people and ask them for the privilege of working for them for another term. We take no outcome in that election for granted. We’re working our tails off, really, all the way up to Christmas and straight after Christmas doing the sorts of things we’re doing today. Recognising, as you were talking to Anthony, about the pressures on local communities, whether it’s population, the need for people.
These study hubs are about making it easier for people to stay in town or to live nearby and just get the sort of education that Australians need and deserve. That’s what we’re all about. Whether there’s an election on or not. We’re in and around these communities all the time trying to work out how we can do the best that we can for them as an Albanese Labor government.
KENNEDY:
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Senator Anthony Chisholm, thanks for coming by this morning and all the best for your travels around the west this morning.
CHALMERS:
All the best to you, Danny, and to all your listeners as well. And can we say to them merry Christmas. I hope they enjoy the little bit of rain that’s been happening here in town. But merry Christmas to you and your loved ones and all of the local families from this wonderful part of Australia in western Queensland.
KENNEDY:
Thanks for dropping by this morning.