MONIQUE WRIGHT:
Treasurer Jim Chalmers joins us now live. Morning to you, Treasurer. Good to see you.
JIM CHALMERS:
Good morning, Monique.
WRIGHT:
Just talk to us first about what’s prompted the fight to save cash, because we know that the majority of Australians are using digital payments.
CHALMERS:
It’s true, Monique, that a lot of Australians are increasingly using digital payments, but for about 1.5 million Australians they still rely primarily on cash and we want to make sure that they’re not left behind. We’re making sure that people can pay cash for essential items if they want to and if they need to. Cash can be a really important lifeline, an important backup, it gives people a sense of security and a sense of peace of mind. Under this government, cash will be an ongoing feature of our economy, even as we move increasingly to these digital payments.
WRIGHT:
Ok, so you’ve got to make sure that that is for supermarkets and certainly for bigger businesses. What about small businesses, will anyone be exempt?
CHALMERS:
We’ll be working up some appropriate carve‑outs for small business. We want to make sure we get the balance right here. Big focus on essential items, as you rightly point out, supermarkets, pharmacies, petrol and the like. But making sure that we’ve got a focus on the regions, making sure that we’ve got appropriate carve‑outs for small business – this is really important. Something like 94 per cent of businesses still accept cash, but that’s down from 99 per cent just before COVID. We want to make sure that people can access all of the benefits of digital payments, we want to make sure that we modernise our financial system without leaving those 1.5 million Australians behind. I think people understand that even if they prefer to use digital payments, cash is a really important lifeline, a really important backup, and we want to make sure that it doesn’t disappear.
WRIGHT:
Yep, for digital outages, natural disasters, those sorts of things. I want to talk to you about the cost‑of‑living pressures, it’s something that Sunrise viewers are constantly talking to us about is that they’re feeling that the big banks are not doing enough to help them, particularly when they’re seeking financial hardship assistance. Are the big banks doing enough to help?
CHALMERS:
I think it’s true that they always need to be up to the mark when it comes to helping people doing it tough. I raise it with the bank CEOs relatively frequently to make sure that when people are in strife, or fear that they might get into strife, that they can have those conversations with the banks. Typically what the banks will say is if you get in and have that conversation, then they will try and accommodate you somehow, subject to your own conditions. Now I can’t give your viewers financial advice, but I can very strongly recommend that if anyone is under extreme pressure when it comes to paying that mortgage, get in touch with your bank as soon as you can and see if there’s something they can do for you.
WRIGHT:
Lots of people are saying that they’re doing that, they’re trying that and they’re not getting the help that they need.
CHALMERS:
I’m prepared to raise that again with them. I’ve got meetings with each of the major banks actually this week, and I am prepared to raise that with them once again. I think they do know that a lot of their customers are under pressure, and we understand that too as a government, that’s why cost of living is our major focus. That’s why it’s pleasing to see inflation coming down, wages going up and the cost‑of‑living relief rolling out. But we know that people are still under pressure. We’ve all got a role to play to ease that pressure where we can, including the government, including the banks.
WRIGHT:
Ok, Treasurer, will you come back on after you’ve had those meetings? Because we’d love to know, is there one bank, 2 banks that you’re not happy with? Will you come back on after you’ve had those meetings this week?
CHALMERS:
I’d be happy to do that if I can, if the schedule permits. But certainly, I’ll come back to you with the outcomes of those discussions, I’ll be able to raise those sorts of things midweek.
WRIGHT:
Yep, we really appreciate that. All right, Jim Chalmers, thank you.
CHALMERS:
Thanks, Monique.