MARK RILEY:
Treasurer, thanks for joining us.
JIM CHALMERS:
Thanks, Mark.
RILEY:
People might be asking, why a $4 billion surplus? Why not spend that money to give families a bit more support?
CHALMERS:
Well, because if we want to provide the help that we want to provide to people and we want to invest in the future, then we've got to get the Budget in much better nick and that's what we've been able to do in this Budget. We get the Budget on a much more sustainable footing at the same time as we are providing a comprehensive cost‑of‑living relief package to make life a little bit easier for people facing this combination of cost‑of‑living pressures.
RILEY:
One of those things you're doing to ease those pressures, tripling the bulk billing incentives. How will that affect people going to see the GP and what will it do to take pressure off hospital EDs?
CHALMERS:
Well, for too many people, they can't find a bulk billing doctor. It's one of the main concerns that people talk to you about in communities like mine and others around Australia. And so that means that the out‑of‑pocket costs mean that often they're substituting other parts of the household Budget if the kids get sick. And so it's too hard to find a bulk billing doctor. We want to make it easier. In order to do that, you've got to incentivise the doctors to bulk bill. We are tripling the bulk billing incentive in this Budget. It is a centrepiece of the Budget, $3.5 billion of investment in strengthening Medicare.
RILEY:
And that's for all children aged under 16, not means tested?
CHALMERS:
No. And there's concession card holders and the like as well. And it's part of a much bigger suite of investments we're making in strengthening Medicare. More than $5 billion in total, 11.6 million Australians will benefit from our plans and we see it as a really crucial investment in healthcare. Most importantly, but also in alleviating, some of these cost‑of‑living pressures.
RILEY:
So, increasing JobSeeker by $40 a fortnight, you know, advocates are going to say it's not enough, and also increasing the rate for people between 55 and 60. Is this just the beginning where you're looking at further increases in future Budgets?
CHALMERS:
I understand that good people in good faith would rather us do more than what we're doing in this Budget. I do accept and understand and respect that. Some people would rather we didn't do anything. There'll be people calling for us not to increase it at all. We think we've struck the right balance. We've done what we can afford, what is responsible. We want to provide this assistance without blowing the Budget. And also, a lot of people who are on JobSeeker who received this $40 a fortnight will also be eligible for the Commonwealth Rent Assistance increase and or the energy bill relief. And so I encourage people to look right across what we're doing for cost of living.
RILEY:
And the low cost loans to improve energy efficiency in the home, how will they work? How will people get them, and what can they buy with them?
CHALMERS:
Yes, so this is about making homes more energy efficient, because one of the ways you can get your bills down is if you invest in energy efficiency. So, for example, if you're a one star home and you go to a three star home, in the language, the lingo, if you go from one star to three stars, you can decrease your energy usage by about 30 per cent. And that obviously has implications for your bills. So, what it is, it's a billion dollars in loans working with private institutions, you get a concessional loan. You might be able to invest in solar panels or batteries or in other ways to get your energy efficiency up in your home so that it's cheaper to cool your house in summer and warm your house in winter, and you get those bills down.
RILEY:
Okay, you're spending $20 billion to give or take a few zacks, how is this anti‑inflationary?
CHALMERS:
Because if you look at the areas where inflation is the most problematic, rent, out of pocket health costs we just talked about, and also energy, we're taking some of the edge off these price rises, and that has a downward impact on the forecast for inflation in the Budget. But more broadly, the reason we can provide this help without adding to inflation in our economy is because it's very targeted. It's over a period of time. It doesn't all hit the economy at once. And really, inflation is the main thing that's influenced us as we grappled with these Budgets - grappled with these decisions in the Budget. Whether it's the cost‑of‑living package, investing in the supply side of our economy, or showing restraint in the Budget, it's all in one way or another about trying to take some of the sting out of this inflation.
RILEY:
Now, you were there in Wayne Swan's office when he announced the four Budget surpluses that didn't materialise. How confident are you about this one? There's only a couple of months to go in the financial year, but something might come left field.
CHALMERS:
Obviously, this is a forecast surplus. We expect that there will be a surplus for 22‑23, but there are always good reasons to be cautious, historical and otherwise, reasons to be cautious. And I am. I mean, you've known me for a while, Mark. You know that I'm a pretty cautious person when it comes to these sorts of things. I won't be printing back in black mugs like Josh Frydenberg did, for example. We'll know in a couple of months. But we are forecasting a surplus, and we wouldn't be anywhere near that were it not for the responsible approach we've taken to the Budget.
RILEY:
Treasurer, thanks for your time.
CHALMERS:
Thanks, Mark.