PETER STEFANOVIC:
Overseas investors with a proven track record will receive accelerated approvals under a revamp designed to lure foreign capital into Australian shores.
Joining us live is the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. Treasurer, good to see you this morning. Thanks for your time. So who will be getting the rails run here on foreign investment?
JIM CHALMERS:
Morning, Pete. What this overhaul of our foreign investment framework is all about is strengthening it so that we can minimise risk, but also where there is investment which is clearly in our national interest to streamline it where we can.
What happens right now is the system gets more or less gummed up by spending a lot of time and resources on low‑risk proposals. We want to spend more time and effort and energy and resources on the higher risk proposals in some of our critical industries, and that's why we are substantially strengthening the foreign investment regime, making it more robust so that we can minimise risk and maximise the right kind of investment.
STEFANOVIC:
Okay. The concern from the Opposition, and they've already been on about this today, around while it does support foreign investment when it's in our national interests, their concern is that by favouring preferred industries, you make things harder for other industries. Is that the case?
CHALMERS:
Of course not. They’re not awash with economic credibility, we understand that every time that they open their mouth. If they don't want Australian workers and businesses to get a bigger slice of the action as the global economy changes, they should just say so.
That's what a Future Made in Australia is all about. It's not about manufacturing the past, it's about powering the future, it's about making ourselves an indispensable part of the global net zero transformation. That's what the Future Made in Australia is all about.
It is only partly about substantial public investment, it's also about attracting private investment from around Australia, and indeed from around the world, but making sure that where it comes from other parts of the world that it's in our national interest, and that's why we're strengthening the foreign investment framework.
STEFANOVIC:
Your own hand‑picked Productivity Commissioner though is concerned about a Future Made in Australia. Rod Sims says it will worsen inflation by exacerbating existing labour shortages. So is there a danger that all of this backfires?
CHALMERS:
No, in short. And I obviously listened closely to the head of the PC, Danielle Wood, I thought she made some important but relatively self‑evident points. We need to get value for money; there needs to be off‑ramps; we need to make sure that there are strict frameworks governing the sorts of investments that we will make.
And so I think some of those points are the sorts of things that we have been taking into consideration as we finalise this package for the Budget.
We will get value for money, we will be more focused on economic security, we will be focused on making our economy more competitive and more productive, making ourselves an indispensable part of the global net zero economy, and making sure that we're investing in the capabilities of our people and our regions.
These are the sorts of very strict tests and frameworks which we intend to legislate, which will govern our public investment in these important objectives, but again, recognising that the public investment is not about replacing private investment, it's about attracting it.
STEFANOVIC:
Yes, okay. Now just on the Budget, just weeks away, there are claims, or were claims yesterday, of a $12 billion cost over‑run. So are you focusing too much on growth and not enough on tackling inflation?
CHALMERS:
Of course not. You know, the fight against inflation is still a primary focus of the Budget that I hand down in 13 days' time, but it's not the sole focus.
What we've shown in our first 2 Budgets is we're able to focus primarily on the cost‑of‑living pressures that people are under at the same time as we lay the foundations for future growth and get the Budget into better nick.
The Budget is much stronger now that when we came to office. We've seen inflation almost halve since we came to office, we’d like it to moderate further and faster. We know that people are under the pump and what they can expect to see in the Budget is more cost‑of‑living help but designed in a way to take the edge of this inflationary problem in our economy rather than add to it.
STEFANOVIC:
I know this isn't part of your portfolio, but why is your government moving so slowly on these released detainees who are continuing to conduct allegedly criminal behaviour?
CHALMERS:
I don't think that we are. I think that we're doing as much as we can as soon as we can. We need the help of the parliament, frankly, in some of these areas. We want to see the Opposition become part of the solution rather than continue to be part of the problem with their usual nasty and negative politics.
We got dealt a High Court decision that we didn't want to see, and we've been responding to it, trying to make sure that the regime is as tight as it can be after that decision from the High Court, and dealing with some legacy issues in the system.
And so we are doing what we can as soon as we can, and we require the support of the parliament to tighten up these arrangements, and nobody wants to see the sorts of things that we saw in WA, I think particularly when it comes to the 73‑year‑old victim, an absolutely horrific ordeal, and nobody should have to go through that, and that is one of the reasons why we need to make sure we're doing as much as we can as soon as we can, and that's our focus.
STEFANOVIC:
Jim Chalmers, we'll leave it there. Thanks for your time.