PETER STEFANOVIC:
The federal government is pushing to raise the minimum wage in line with inflation for a third straight year. Let’s go to Canberra now. Joining us is the Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Treasurer, good to see you. Thanks for your time this morning. So, what will your submission be?
JIM CHALMERS:
We’ll make a submission on Thursday, Pete, that the wages of Australia’s lowest paid workers don’t go backwards. We are enthusiastic champions of the low paid in our country, and our submission will reflect that. But our focus this week – indeed, every week – is ensuring that Australians can earn more and keep more of what they earn, and our submission will reflect that.
STEFANOVIC:
Okay. So if I’m working things out from the desk here, Jim, if CPI is roughly at about 3 per cent by June, is that a figure that you’re leaning towards – 3 to 4 per cent?
CHALMERS:
As you know, we don’t put a figure on it in the submission that we make. We make it clear this time, like we did on the first two occasions in government that we don’t want to see low‑paid workers go backwards. The definition of low‑paid worker is a matter for the commission, and the commission will take into consideration all of the economic data, including the inflation numbers.
But one of the reasons why we’ve got wages growth in our economy after a decade of deliberate wage stagnation is the way that this Albanese Labor government has championed the prospects and priorities of low‑paid workers in our country and in our economy, and people can expect to see that again on Thursday when we make that submission.
STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Once you’ve got this wage increase, though, then you’ve got the tax cuts that start on July 1. Won’t that just drive inflation, making your job and the RBA’s more difficult?
CHALMERS:
No. And the reason for that is we don’t have an inflation challenge in our economy because our lowest paid workers are earning too much. And we’ve been very careful with the design of the tax cuts which will ensure that every taxpayer gets a tax cut on 1 July and 84 per cent of Australians will get a bigger tax cut. What we’ve done is we’ve made sure that that doesn’t put additional pressure on inflation. It’s the same sized tax cut overall in total as the one that it replaces, and so we don’t expect that to put additional pressure on inflation. The Treasury and the Reserve Bank have made similar comments over recent months.
What we’ve been doing is we’ve been providing this cost‑of‑living help in a way that takes some of the edge off inflation rather than add to it. And we recognise that when it comes to these cost‑of‑living pressures that people are under one of the best ways to help people deal with that is to make sure they’re getting decent pay and also to make sure they’re keeping more of what they earn. Our submission to the minimum wage decision is part of that, and the tax cuts on 1 July are part of that too.
STEFANOVIC:
Newspoll has got you heading for minority government next year, Treasurer. That’s a trend that we saw in Tasmania over the weekend. Will that make your task more difficult?
CHALMERS:
First of all, the Tassies have got a very different electoral system, and when it comes to opinion polls, they don’t always pick the outcome of elections even a week or two out from election day. And it’s probably around a year from election day. And so the thing I would say about those opinion polls is we have always anticipated that the next election will be close and hard fought. We don’t take any outcomes for granted when it comes to the next election. We are working our tails off around the clock to try and give people the government that they need and deserve. A big part of that is helping to ease some of these cost‑of‑living pressures that people are under.
My job is not to respond to the political cycle when I put the Budget together; it’s to respond to the economic cycle. And that’s why you’ll see a combination of cost‑of‑living relief, Budget repair and also laying the foundations for longer term growth in our economy by focusing on investment.
STEFANOVIC:
All right. Just finally, as one of Brisbane’s highest profile figures, we have done plenty of coverage on the Olympics and the missteps so far by the state government. Have you got any concerns about stadium plans so far, Treasurer?
CHALMERS:
No, I think the Olympics are going to be amazing, Pete. And I think all of southeast Queensland, indeed, all of Australia, will be very proud of the Olympics that are delivered in 2032. It’s not unusual for there to be a range of views about the best way to go about building these stadiums. But I think the Olympics are going to be incredible. I’m very, very optimistic about what they will mean for Queensland but for Australia more broadly as well. We will build what needs to be built and it will be the kind of Olympics which is befitting a great sporting nation like Australia.
STEFANOVIC:
Wouldn’t a new – just wrapping up here, though – wouldn’t a new stadium have been a true legacy item, though, instead of heading off to Nathan at a stadium that the Broncos didn’t want 20 years ago?
CHALMERS:
I had lots of good afternoons at QEII when the Broncos were playing there.
STEFANOVIC:
No, I have recollections there too. Geez, there’s some cobwebs and some dust there now.
CHALMERS:
I thought it was wonderful – it was about 2 minutes’ walk from my mate Duke’s house, so I thought it was brilliant when they were playing at QEII. Some very fun afternoons around that time. But I understand there’s also a range of views about stadiums. The federal government is playing its part investing billions after dollars in the Olympics, and that’s because we believe in it. And I believe that the state government will land something that we can all be proud of.