SARAH ABO:
Treasurer, good morning. Good to see you.
Now, not sure if you saw that headline in the Financial Review, ‘Jim Chalmers is a doctor of spin, not economics’ by economist Steven Hamilton. That’s a bit mean, isn’t it?
JIM CHALMERS:
Good morning, Sarah. I think you take the good with the bad, and especially in that newspaper they’re using one of my opponents’ lines as a headline, unfortunately. But so be it. My job is to focus on the objective commentary. My job is to focus on fighting inflation without smashing the economy, and that’s what I’m doing.
ABO:
All right. Well, back to that soft landing that you are talking about that you described in your speech yesterday, what exactly does that mean?
CHALMERS:
What it means is providing cost‑of‑living relief to people doing it tough and fighting inflation and repairing the budget at the same time as we don’t smash the economy or put additional pressure on people. And so what we’ve seen in our economy is growth, it’s been there but it’s been soft. The economy was barely growing at the start of the year. Inflation has been moderating but we need it to moderate further and faster. The jobs market has been a source of strength, unemployment still with a 4 in front of it, and we’ll learn a bit more about the jobs market later today.
And so it’s really all about recognising the primary fight against inflation, but also we’ve got weak growth in our economy and people are under pressure. And so our Budget is all about striking a careful, methodical, responsible balance between all of those pressures to get people through what is a difficult period.
ABO:
Yeah, and, look, obviously inflation continues to be a bother and a priority for you. And that’s before the state premiers start meddling. I mean, have you been on the phone with your mate Steven Miles in Queensland to ask him to stop splashing all that cash? That can’t be helping inflation.
CHALMERS:
Look, every time I’m asked about this Sarah, whether it’s the Queensland Government or others around Australia, I welcome the help that the state governments are providing for people who are under the pump. You know, I thought that Queensland budget in a number of ways, a whole range of ways, doesn’t just recognise that Queenslanders are doing it tough; it’s responding to that as well. And I welcome the help.
You know, in our Budget we’re providing substantial cost‑of‑living relief in a meaningful but responsible way. Those tax cuts for every taxpayer kick in in a few weeks time, energy bill relief, cheaper medicines, help with rent, help with student debt. And the state governments are trying to do their bit as well. We’re doing that in the most responsible way that we can, recognising the pressures that people are under. And so I welcome the contribution from the Miles government and others.
ABO:
Well, it could lead to another state in crippling debt, as we’ve seen in the southern states. But let’s quickly move on; there are a couple of things I want to get you on as well, Treasurer, this morning. The unions, both the CFMEU and the TWU, is their behaviour acceptable? I mean, holding the AFL and Virgin to ransom because they don’t like the people they’ve appointed, I mean, that’s bully boy tactics, isn’t it? That should be condemned.
CHALMERS:
Look, our focus isn’t on who runs the umpires at the AFL; our focus is on good pay and fair conditions –
ABO:
– well, it shouldn’t be theirs, either, should it?
CHALMERS:
The unions will make their views known about these sorts of things. Our job is to make sure we get the overall system right. The overall system should be about decent pay, job security, safety at work –
ABO:
Of course it should be, Treasurer, but when you come out and you use that colourful and violent language that we’ve seen, I mean, that has to be contempt. It’s unacceptable. You know, you are accepting money from these unions at the end of the day. Is that not then condoning that kind of behaviour?
CHALMERS:
Well, they need to explain their own language and I’m accountable for my language and for my priorities. And my priorities are making sure that people can earn more and keep more of what they earn. That’s the focus of our industrial relations regime.
ABO:
So you’ll continue to accept donations from them?
CHALMERS:
Well, I think for a long time now the Labor Party has had a good working relationship with the unions because they represent millions of working people. And we in our government have made it really clear that we are the party of the workers. And that’s why such a big priority is getting wages moving again so people can earn more and keep more of what they earn with these tax cuts for every taxpayer. These are our priorities. This is our focus. Those union leaders can explain and defend their own comments. I focus on what I’m responsible for.
ABO:
Well, behaviour should be a priority, I would have thought, from them too, Treasurer. Thank you so much for joining us today.
CHALMERS:
Thanks, Sarah.