Sabra Lane:
Later today, the federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down the mid‑year budget update known as MYEFO. He’s also a permanent member of the government’s National Security Committee of Cabinet. Normally, the economic numbers would be front and centre of political debate, instead, the government’s facing multiple questions over the Bondi massacre. The Treasurer joined me a short time ago.
Jim Chalmers, we’ll get to the mid‑year budget update in a moment. First, these gunmen trained in the Philippines prior to the attack. The father was licensed with 6 weapons. The son was investigated 6 years ago for links with others associated with ISIS, dismissed at the time for not meeting the threshold. In this era of big data, why doesn’t ASIO, the federal police and state policing agencies have shared data that might have raised red flags on all of this?
Jim Chalmers:
Well, all of this will be part of the investigation that our agencies are conducting, and I think there are good reasons not to get into some of those details or to speculate. We have to let our agencies do their job, and part of doing their job will be conducting a really thorough investigation into what’s gone on here.
Lane:
Australia’s social cohesion is being tested now like never before. Former Prime Minister John Howard says the government’s focus on gun law reform is a distraction from Anthony Albanese’s greatest failure, they’re Mr Howard’s words, to not provide the moral leadership that a Prime Minister can in denouncing antisemitism since the October the 7th attacks. How do you respond to that?
Chalmers:
Well, a couple of things about that. I mean, first of all, I’ve been working very closely with the PM this week, as we all have, I’ve seen the way that he’s been leading the Cabinet and leading the National Security Committee of Cabinet, and I know that he doesn’t see this as an either/or and we don’t see this as an either/or. We’re focused on both of those things simultaneously. Countering these horrifying and evil acts of antisemitism, at the same time as we tighten our gun laws.
And frankly, in relation to Mr Howard, I don’t know why in the week of a mass shooting some politicians, some current and some former, are trying to diminish our efforts to tighten our gun laws. John Howard of all people should understand how important this is. We are capable of dealing with both serious issues at once, and that’s the Prime Minister’s approach to it. It’s not an either/or, and I find it strange in the extreme that in the week of a mass shooting that some politicians are trying to diminish or downplay the important role that tighter gun laws could play in our response to this.
Lane:
It’s not just Mr Howard, the Jewish community has warned for a long time that the community didn’t feel safe, it wanted more than words. Three former security chiefs today have lashed the government in The Australian newspaper for not doing enough. The Opposition has set up its own task force today to respond. Perceptions are everything in politics, and the government is looking a bit flat‑footed.
Chalmers:
Well first of all, I understand that the Jewish community’s extremely angry, and so are we, and we understand that emotions are raw, and for good reasons. This was a horrific, evil act of antisemitism in one of our most iconic communities, and so I understand that people are hurting. I think the whole country is hurting.
And it needs to be said that we can always do more, and we should always do more, but the government has acted on a number of the Segal Report recommendations. We’ve also taken some very decisive steps to combat antisemitism. I mean, there’s a long list of things that we have progressed. You know, the new sanctions on Terrorgram, the landmark ban on the Nazi salute, the criminalising of doxxing, the hate crimes database, the extra money for security around schools and synagogues, the legislation around hate speech.
The government has acted on a number of fronts, but we say that, understanding that the Jewish community would like us to do more, the Australian community would like us to do more, and we will.
Lane:
To today’s budget update, there still will be deficits for the next 10 years. Will you give a specific figure today of government spending as a percentage of GDP, as was the practice up until your first budget?
Chalmers:
We have always given a number on government spending as a proportion of GDP. We’ve got spending as a proportion of the economy down from almost a third under our predecessors, we’ve got it down to about a quarter. Now it’s in the high 26 per cents, and it will go down over the course of the forward estimates. So that’s a number which is a consistent feature of budgets and budget updates, and what it will show is that spending as a share of the economy is lower than the peak that we saw under our predecessors and will get lower still.
Lane:
Many people are worried about the legacy being left for younger Australians in terms of debts and deficits, and the inability of young people to buy a first home in the cities, that prices just keep going up. Will your government address the structural imbalances in a real way in the next budget in May, or perhaps leave it to another federal election agenda?
Chalmers:
When it comes to debt, one of the things that people will see, even in this mid‑year budget update that Katie Gallagher and I release later today, is that debt will be down compared to the trajectory that we inherited. And what people will also see is the bottom line is better in every year over the forward estimates because we’ve managed the budget sensibly and responsibly. And that’s what this mid‑year budget update is all about. It’s about responsible economic management.
Now, you also mentioned housing. So even in a mid‑year update, which isn’t a mini budget, there aren’t lots and lots of new initiatives, we are delivering on our commitment in this mid‑year update to build an extra 100,000 homes for first‑home buyers. We are delivering our commitments here on mental health, $1.1 billion, and fast‑tracking tradies, another $100 million. But there are a couple of new elements too. There will be an extra $233 million for the CSIRO, the science organisation. That has been something that we’ve committed to for some time, an extra $45 million in the last budget, an extra $233 million in this budget. And also, our boost to low‑income super contributions, which will overwhelmingly benefit the young and people on lower incomes, so that they get a better balance when they retire.
Lane:
Dr Chalmers, thanks for joining AM this morning.
Chalmers:
Thanks very much, Sabra.
Lane:
The federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers.