James Glenday:
First, onto some federal politics to get through. Jim Chalmers, the Treasurer, joins us now live from Parliament House. Treasurer, good morning.
Jim Chalmers:
Good morning, James. Thanks for having me back.
Glenday:
You’ve run some numbers to spruik your tax cuts from last year. What do these figures show?
Chalmers:
Well, they show that the highest priority of our economic strategy is to ensure that more people are working, earning more and keeping more of what they earn. And as wages are growing in our economy and we get inflation down and we keep unemployment low, those tax cuts get bigger over time as people earn more. It’s important to remember that this Saturday is the anniversary, the one year anniversary of the decision that the Prime Minister and I took to recast the tax cuts to make sure that every Australian taxpayer got a tax cut, not just some Australian taxpayers.
Because of that decision that we took, which was fiercely opposed at the time, you know, the deputy Liberal leader was asked if they’d roll back the tax cuts. She said that was absolutely their position. The Shadow Treasurer said that there was no ambiguity, they opposed what we were doing. Without these tax cuts, Australians would be much worse off. Fewer Australians would be getting a tax cut to help with the cost of living. We’re very proud of the decision that we took a year ago on Saturday. It does mean that as people earn more, they will keep more of what they earn. And that is among the best ways that we can help people with these real and genuine cost‑of‑living pressures that they’re facing.
Glenday:
Your next Budget is scheduled for March. But most in Canberra think that we’ll be well and truly in an election campaign by then. The opinion polls are not great for your government. Why do you think Australians appear to be less supportive of you? Is it that you haven’t done enough to ease the cost of living? Is it simply you think that your colleagues aren’t doing what you’re doing, getting out up early in the morning to spruik cost‑of‑living measures you’ve taken?
Chalmers:
The whole government is completely focused on cost of living. You know, it beggars belief that our opponents are focused on picking kind of culture wars about all kinds of issues. The Albanese government, the Labor government, has been very focused on the cost of living throughout. That’s why we have made substantial progress on inflation.
Glenday:
But why do you think the opinion poll trend is not your friend at the moment then?
Chalmers:
A couple of things about that. First of all, I think it does reflect the genuine pressures that people are under despite the quite remarkable progress that Australians are making together. When it comes to the economy in aggregate, we know that that progress doesn’t always immediately translate to how people are feeling and faring in the economy. And there’s a political element to that. We understand that.
We’re responding to those cost‑of‑living pressures with the tax cuts, the energy bill relief and all of the other ways we’re getting wages moving again and helping people deal with these kinds of pressures. But every election, James, every election is tight in Australia. We expect this one to be very tight. And you see that reflected in the polls. So, a tight election and a very clear choice. You’ve got a Labor government under Anthony Albanese focused on the cost of living and strengthening Medicare and building Australia’s future, or you’ve got the risk posed by Peter Dutton and the Coalition. He’s come after Medicare before. They want to push wages down; they’ll push electricity prices up with this nuclear insanity and they’ll take Australia backwards. That’s the choice as we get closer to the election, whenever it is.
Glenday:
All right, plenty of time to have those debates in the next couple of months. I just want to go to the United States. Donald Trump signed a lot of executive orders. He was going to – he’s pulled America out of the World Health Organisation and the Paris Climate Accord. These are not things your government would support. When you meet your American counterparts, do you push back against this, where you say, hey, these are not things that we are doing, or do you just ignore it?
Chalmers:
I think our American counterparts understand the position that we take, and we believe in working with the international community on issues of public health, issues of climate change and cleaner and cheaper energy. I think that position is well known. We play an active role in the international community in multinational forums to advance these sorts of issues. We’re not going to engage in a running commentary of the decisions that the new American administration takes. We expect changes in policy from this change in administration. We’re confident in our ability to navigate those changes.
We’re well‑placed and well‑prepared to work closely with the Americans because the partnership that we have is close. It’s mutually beneficial. And I think that’s reflected in the fact that the new Secretary of State – Marco Rubio – has already met with Penny Wong the day after the inauguration of the new president. I think that augurs well for our ability to work closely with the United States.
Glenday:
Just in your portfolio, then. One thing that Donald Trump’s been pretty clear about is that he is a fan of tariffs. If big tariffs are slapped on Canada, Mexico and potentially China. That’s going to have a pretty massive impact on the Australian economy as well. How are you going to respond to that?
Chalmers:
We’ve done a lot of work to make sure that we’re well‑placed and well‑prepared for any of these sorts of changes which have been floated by President Trump. We did a lot of work before the election on these sorts of scenarios. But again, we are confident in our ability to navigate these sorts of policy changes. Obviously, Australia as a middle‑sized open economy is a big beneficiary of global trade where more trade exposed than a lot of other countries. So we consider these developments very closely. We do a lot of work behind the scenes, and we will work with the Americans again to make sure that we advance our national interest, including our national economic interest as these policies change.
Glenday:
Finally, Treasurer, because we are short on time, Peter Dutton is vowing to allow small businesses to deduct staff lunches. They’ve clarified that – the Coalition has clarified that booze and strip clubs will not be deductible. But the Coalition hasn’t said how much this policy will cost. Do you think it is a good use of taxpayer money at the moment?
Chalmers:
Of course not. And that’s why they won’t tell us how much it will cost. This policy is a complete farce. You’ve got Labor on the one hand providing cost‑of‑living relief, tax cuts, energy bill relief that our political opponents don’t support. But what they do want is taxpayer‑funded long lunches and golf days. And after 3 years of Opposition, this is the best they can come up with when it comes to economic policy.
Again, the contrast is clear, and the choice is really clear. We are getting wages growing for workers, giving them bigger tax cuts, providing cost‑of‑living help for families. Peter Dutton and Angus Taylor want to provide taxpayer‑funded long lunches and golf days for bosses. And I think that speaks to the difference between the 2 parties and to the choice at the election.
Chalmers:
Thanks, James.