KATIE WOOLF:
Joining us live on the line is the federal Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. Good morning to you.
JIM CHALMERS:
Good morning, Katie. How’s the training going?
WOOLF:
For the marathon? Very well. I’ve got a niggly calf.
CHALMERS:
I thought I’d give you a chance to talk about this enormous run that you’re going to do before long.
WOOLF:
Yep, got the marathon in a couple of weeks. I’ve got a niggly calf, but hopefully it’s – hopefully I’m going to be all right because I’m heading to Noosa in a couple of weeks to run 42 kilometres, geez.
CHALMERS:
You’re going to smash it.
WOOLF:
Hopefully.
CHALMERS:
I’ve got full confidence in you Katie, with all that training.
WOOLF:
Hopefully. Let’s see how it goes now. Treasurer, big night for you last night, obviously, delivering the federal Budget. What’s in it for the Northern Territory?
CHALMERS:
The Northern Territory was really front and centre in the Budget that we handed down last night. In addition to all of the cost‑of‑living help that we’ll be providing Territorians, there will also be some quite specific investments in the NT. For example, a big schools deal that we did with the Territory government, a couple of billion dollars to improve the schools there. We’ve obviously also got the big remote housing investment in the Northern Territory, specific to the NT. And you’d know as well that we’re building a new medical school at CDU because we know that’s one of the things that has been missing in the university up there in Darwin. We know that we need to train lots more doctors and health professionals and so we’re creating that medical school as well.
WOOLF:
They are all great announcements. I know that one of the other things that has been called for for quite some time in the NT is needs‑based funding when it comes to domestic violence and tackling that really serious issue that we have with domestic violence. Is there any additional funding in that space?
CHALMERS:
There is some extra funding for people leaving violent situations, but I’ve got to be upfront with you, Katie. We know that even with these billions of dollars that we are pouring into domestic violence, we know that women are still not safe in our communities. And so we know we’ve got more work to do. We’re making some additional investment, but there’s a heap of work that we need to do together because this level of domestic violence we’re seeing in our communities is a national shame. Big priority for the government to see what we can do, including what more we can do to address it.
WOOLF:
Now, I know that in terms of the Future Made in Australia plan, there’s still some detail that, you know, that people are calling for. But for us here in the NT, how important is our gas and the development of the Middle Arm project in terms of that Future Made in Australia plan?
CHALMERS:
In the gas plan that my colleague Madeleine King released, I think last week, we made it clear that gas has got a role to play even as we transform our economy into one which is more heavily reliant on renewable energy. The big focus in the Budget was renewables. I know that Middle Arm, there’s an element of Middle Arm which is about renewable energy as well, not just traditional sources of energy. And so what we’re trying to do in a really sensible, common sense way, is to boost renewable energy in our economy at the same time as we recognise a role for gas for a bit longer. And also what we’re trying to do with this Future Made in Australia policy is to make sure that our huge advantages that we have, in energy, like hydrogen, in critical minerals and in other ways, that we’re making the most of that, so that communities and people in the Northern Territory and around Australia can be beneficiaries of the way that the global economy is changing.
WOOLF:
Treasurer, what do you say to people, though, who don’t want to see the development of gas? Because, I mean, for many of us here in the NT, we can see that it is in the Territory’s future. We were just talking to our Chief Minister, Eva Lawler, who has said that it is realistically part of the puzzle for us being able to get back on track when we’ve got an astronomical level of debt.
CHALMERS:
I can see that good people on both sides of this, some people say there should be no gas and some people say there should be more gas. And the role of the government like ours, which is a sensible, pragmatic, problem solving, practical government, is to work out how do we get more renewables in the system, into the grids, at the same time as we recognise the role of gas in that energy transformation, and so different parts of Australia might have different views about it, our view is pretty clear. The future is renewable. Lots of investment in the Budget, in renewable energy and the export opportunities, but also an ongoing role for the time being when it comes to gas.
WOOLF:
I know you pressed for time this morning, but I want to ask. I will ask about some of those cost‑of‑living measures in just a moment. Firstly, though, the halving of those international students, it is going to make it really hard for Charles Darwin University. Is there any opportunity here that, you know, that there may be able to be sort of some different measures in place for different areas of Australia.
CHALMERS:
In short, yes. We’re big supporters of CDU. It’s a terrific university you’ve got up there, and we’re supporters of international education as well. It’s a really important industry for Australia. And what the ministers responsible here, a couple of my colleagues, are being asked to do, is to recognise the different pressures and opportunities on different universities, to recognise the important role of foreign students in our education system, but to make sure that we’re managing that growth, including making sure that we are building enough housing and student accommodation for these students that come to study here.
WOOLF:
Yeah, well, it’s going to have a big impact for us. I mean, we simply do not have enough housing for our international students at this point in time. But we need to make sure that we have got those students studying here in the Northern Territory and in a lot of cases, we’re wanting them to stay and fill jobs as well.
CHALMERS:
Absolutely. And that’s a really good sort of a summary of the challenge here. We want to make the most out of the fact that people want to study here. We want to make sure that people have a good experience while they’re here. And we want to make sure that we’re managing pressure on student accommodation and the housing market more broadly when people come here to study. And so that’s not beyond us. We’ve got a big opportunity here. We’re very lucky people want to come here and study. We want to make the most of that, but we also got to make sure that we can accommodate people.
WOOLF:
Treasurer, the Chief Minister has this morning has dubbed you ‘Jim Charming’. After you’ve announced that there’s going to be a GST windfall of an additional $750 million for the NT. Is that correct?
CHALMERS:
Well, I’m not used to kindness the day after the Budget, so tell Eva I’ll take it wherever I can get it. She’s a great person, Eva Lawler. I worked with her very closely when we were both treasurers before she got promoted, and became too cool for me. She’s a ripper of a Chief Minister and we’re very proud to be able to work closely with her to deliver for the people that we both represent in the Territory.
WOOLF:
Now, very quickly, what is in the Budget in terms of those cost‑of‑living measures? I know there’s certainly going to be that $300 energy rebate, amongst other things.
CHALMERS:
So, it’s a substantial cost‑of‑living package, but it’s a responsible cost-of-living package. Every tax paying Territorian will get a tax cut. Every household in the NT will get energy bill relief. And if you’re on rent assistance, you’ll get another increase in your rent assistance. And the other thing which is really important but hasn’t got a lot of attention is we’re making medicines cheaper as well. We’re freezing the PBS so that people who rely on medicines, particularly people on concession cards, but also people in the broader system, they’ll get a bit of relief there as well because out of pocket health costs are part of the story too. So, pretty broad package of cost of living. The highest priority in the Budget is to help people with their cost‑of‑living pressures and put downward pressure on inflation. And that’s what we’re doing.
WOOLF:
Well, look, you did say before a lot of people not so kind on the morning after Budget. A lot of people questioning why you’re not means testing some of these, some of these cost‑of‑living measures.
CHALMERS:
Because we understand that even people on middle incomes, they’re under pressure too. We think these cost‑of‑living pressures are being felt by people not just in the pensions and payments system, as important as they are, and a big priority for us as a Labor government, but people on middle incomes and in middle Australia are also under the pump. And so, we want to provide a bit of help there as well. In addition to the tax cut for every taxpayer, energy bill relief for every household, because we want to help people with their cost‑of‑living pressures.
WOOLF:
The Federal Opposition claims it is an election Budget. Is it?
CHALMERS:
I don’t see it that way and I don’t think the Prime Minister does either. This is a Budget which has the primary motivation of looking after people doing it tough. And my view, I’ve always had this view, whether it’s the first Budget after the election or the last Budget before an election or something else, is that if you make the right decisions for the right reasons, you put people front and center, then the politics will take care of themselves.
WOOLF:
Well, Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers, good to speak with you this morning. We really appreciate you taking the time to have a chat to Territorians today.
CHALMERS:
Thanks for having me back on the show, Katie. All the best and all the best for your big race as well, in a couple of weeks’ time.