URSULA HEGER:
Thank you both for making the time to speak to us today. Pat, you've already run nearly 9,000 kilometres to drum up support for the Voice. What's been the reaction from people on the ground?
PAT FARMER:
Actually, it's been pretty good. There's been a lot of people come out and run with me. The most notable, of course, the Treasurer here today, but so many people from all walks of life. I was just chatting with a lady just a moment ago, she caught the tram down - she was huffing and puffing and she raced like a rocket to try and catch me today. She said 'I've been following your journey since she started in Hobart and I just wanted to have a chat with you.' She said, 'I'm a supporter of the Voice,' and she said, 'I've been following the commitment that you've put behind this, and for that reason I'll be voting yes.' So some people are voting yes because they can see the genuine commitment from me. A lot of people were, obviously, undecided because they didn't know the detail around and they've had the chance to come out and run with me, and I've been able to give them the answers that they're looking for. And I think that's all that most Australians want at the end of the day, is just the answers to everything. They've got their questions, but they need a forum where those questions can be answered, and public debate is the best way to have it.
HEGER:
Treasurer, the Garma Festival starts today, when can we expect an announcement on the referendum date? And how significant is it that Peter Dutton declined the PMs invitation to join him?
JIM CHALMERS:
First of all, I think the PM's made it clear that people shouldn't expect the date to be announced at Garma, but it's really important that the Prime Minister of this nation sits down with First Nations people at Garma. And it's deeply disappointing, frankly, that Peter Dutton is not joining him at the Garma Festival. But just to add to what Pat said a moment ago - what Pat's doing is really important. Pat's on a long and important and difficult journey, and Australia is on a long and important and difficult journey. And Pat and I have got a few things that we don't have in common - we serve different sides of politics, we're from different generations, he's a much better runner than me, obviously, we've probably got different tastes in music - but we share a belief in this country. And we share a belief, a really important belief which motivates the Voice, which is you get better outcomes if you listen to people. If you recognise people, if you listen to people, you get better outcomes. And I really appreciate what Pat's doing, it was a real honour to join him today because he's engaging with people in the towns and cities and out in the bush, right around this big, beautiful country of ours. And he's talking to people who agree with us, but also most importantly, talking to people who still need to be convinced. We know that there's a lot of people who still need to be convinced, and I say to them - this is a simple proposition. If we listen, if we recognise, we'll get better outcomes for First Nations people. We can't keep doing the same things, the same way that we've been doing and expect better outcomes. We've got to do things differently and that's what this is about.
HEGER:
Can I ask you very quickly on cost of living, we are starting to see some indication from economists and the big banks that the next cash rate move could be down instead of up? Do you agree? Is it all finally over?
CHALMERS:
As you know, I don't pre‑empt decisions of the independent Reserve Bank - we are seeing inflation moderate in welcome ways but people are still under the pump. We understand that as well. The government's highest priority is to roll out billions of dollars in cost‑of‑living relief, so that we can make things a little bit easier for people. Inflation has been coming off that quarterly peak that we saw at the beginning of last year. It's coming down in welcome ways, but we know people are still under pressure and that's why we're providing as much help as we can as soon as we can.
HEGER:
Just back on the Voice. A recent report found that farmers are, quote, paralysed with fear over how the Voice can impact land rights. What do you say to that?
FARMER:
Actually, if I could just say something on that front, I was a member of the government under John Howard many years ago back in the lead up to the 2007 election when we debated whether we should say sorry or not to the stolen generation. We had all the experts come in and say to us every Tuesday morning, ‘this is going to cost the country a fortune, farmers are going to lose their land, people are going to lose their houses, their properties, and it's going to change everything’ - the sky is going to fall in basically. And so we were, as a Coalition government, against that proposition. We lost the election in 2007. Kevin Rudd came in, and Kevin Rudd and Brendan Nelson stood side by side and I was there at the time. They apologised and nothing changed for every Australian in this country, nothing changed. But for those few that were directly affected by that, the healing process began, and it made a huge difference to their lives. And that taught me an important lesson and that's half the reason why I'm out here now. And it was also the person who's the Leader of the Opposition now that stated that they were sorry that they didn't attend. It's a shame that we're not seeing that same sort of support for this project right at this point in time as well.
HEGER:
Well, thank you both for your time today and Treasurer, good luck keeping up.
CHALMERS:
Ursula, between us, we've got three world records or something like that between us. He's a much better runner than me. It's a real buzz. He's been a hero of mine for a long time. I think the running community really has a deep, long‑standing regard and affection for Pat, and to be able to run with him for about 14 k's today and talk about life and running and most importantly, the Voice, has been a honour of a lifetime.
HEGER:
That's great. Thank you so much.