JEROME LAXALE:
Hi everyone, I'm Jerome Laxale, the Member for Bennelong. It's great to be joined here today by the Treasurer, the Climate Change Minister, the Member for Reid, Saul and Matthew, to talk about some measures in the Budget last week on electrification. I really thank Matthew for having us and sharing his experience on how to electrify his home. He lives in a strata home, and told us all about that, and also accessing some federal government initiatives that have been extended in the Budget. Here in Bennelong, climate change, cost of living and electrification were major issues. It's great to be part of a government that takes all those three things seriously. And the great thing about what Matthew's done to his home is that we're making it easier for more and more Australians to do it. We reduce emissions by adding solar, reduce the cost of living by accessing cheaper power at night with the help of batteries and solar panels. It's what major economies like ours should be doing, it's great to be part of a government doing it. So with that, I thank you all for coming today. Thanks, Matthew for hosting us, and I pass on to Treasurer Chalmers.
JIM CHALMERS:
Thanks everyone for having us in your patch, I acknowledge you and Chris, and Sally, of course, and Saul, who we'll hear from in a moment, but most of all, thanks, Matt, for having us at your place. Matt's in on the secret which is when you install energy saving and energy storing devices, you can make big savings on your energy bills. And so I really did want to thank you, Matt, for the opportunity to talk with you about it today. Matt's setting a great example, here in Dundas, and we're very pleased to be with him today.
The Budget is all about cost‑of‑living relief in middle Australia and investing in the future. And our $1.6 billion investment brings all of that together. And I'm really pleased to be here in Dundas to talk about it because $1.3 billion invested in household energy efficiency, whether it is loans via the CEFC or help for social housing, means that more people can access these quite remarkable opportunities that come from renewable energy and energy saving and energy storing devices. And that is a big part of what the Budget was all about. Also more than $300 million to support small businesses to make them more energy efficient, as well. And investments in the ratings system too. The best way to think about this is if you go from a one star property to a three star property, you save 30 per cent of energy, you can imagine what that means for your energy bills as well. I'm really proud to be working with Chris Bowen, on a broad suite of measures, which are all about taking some of the edge off these energy price pressures that people are feeling here, and right around the country. Whether it's the caps that we've put on gas and coal, whether it's the energy bill relief, or these really important investments in energy efficiency, energy saving, energy storing, renewable energy. This is a crucial part of our efforts in Tuesday night's Budget to provide cost‑of‑living relief in middle Australia, at the same time as we invest in the future. I'll hand you over to Chris and then Saul.
CHRIS BOWEN:
Thanks very much, Jim. Well, as Jim said, this is all about reducing bills and reducing emissions. And right across Australia, families like Matt's have made the investment in solar panels and batteries, and double glazing and energy efficiency measures, with the help of low interest loans. But we want many, many more Australians to have that potential as well. So that's really at the centrepiece of this household savings package that the Treasurer announced on Budget night. A billion dollars into the CEFC because there are loans available, but we want more loans available. We want the best possible loans available for Australians who are at various points on their journey to decarbonisation and reducing their bills. Importantly, people in public and community housing should not be left behind, and under our government never will be left behind. A lot of our social housing stock is old and it's very energy inefficient, and that's bad for the tenants, it's bad for their health, it's bad for their bills, it's bad for the environment. And so our $300 million investment which we're partnering with the states, is vital to ensure that no Australian misses out on the chance to participate in this important journey. As Jim said, small and medium business will always be at the centre for our government as well. A lot of energy intensive businesses ‑ think of your local delicatessen with all fridges running, think of your local fast food place, think of your local restaurant, or think of your local small to medium sized factory using a lot of energy ‑ a big part of their ongoing costs. Businesses want to reduce emissions and their bills ‑ in our government, we get it. Reducing emissions and reducing bills are the same thing. Not everybody in the parliament gets it but we get it. And so this package is really important. The Property Council on Saturday called this package a game changer. A game changer for electrification across Australia, and it really is, a big step forward in our journey to reduce emissions and reduce bills for so many Australians. I want to congratulate Matt for the investments he's taken, but we want so many more Australians to have the same opportunities.
SAUL GRIFFITH:
Saul Griffith from Rewiring Australia. Thanks to the Treasurer and Minister for being here. Thanks, Matt, for hosting us. This really is an historic moment. I think what was underappreciated in this Bill is that this is the recognition from the government that Australian households, Australian small businesses are a critical national energy infrastructure. By providing financing we are helping every Australian household go on the electrification journey. Matt just took us on a little trip in his garage, where he showed us that so far this year, he's already saved $1,000 through putting solar on his house and battery in his basement. And Matt's just beginning his electrification journey, he's thinking about electrifying the kitchen, electrifying the water heater, and [inaudible] even more thousands of dollars of savings a year. So it's a really fantastic move. And as Chris said, this is a game changer for the country, because it brings the demand side of energy to [inaudible] with the supply side, which is what we need if we're willing to make this transition cost effective to help every Australian household.
CHALMERS:
I'm happy to take your questions.
JOURNALIST:
Treasurer, you mentioned middle Australia with the rising cost of living. There's been criticism that the Budget doesn't actually go far enough to help middle Australians. For example, your bulk billing initiatives might not help a single woman in her 20s who is on a decent wage but still feeling that pressure. What do you say to those criticisms?
CHALMERS:
Broad support for middle Australia was absolutely central to the Budget that we handed down last week. Whether it's our investments in bulk billing, whether it's getting wages moving again, after a decade of deliberate suppression and stagnation, whether it's our investments in training, our game changing investments in early childhood education. There are a range of initiatives really right across the board, which are designed deliberately to support people in middle Australia doing it tough. What we showed in the responsible Budget that we handed down last week, is we can provide substantial help for middle Australia, at the same time as we don't forget our responsibilities to the most vulnerable. And so what the Budget was able to do on Tuesday night, was to show that we can make the budget much more responsible and much more sustainable at the same time as we support middle Australia, and don't forget our responsibilities to those doing it toughest.
JOURNALIST:
Treasurer, Mark Butler describes the Coalition's policies [inaudible] as lazy policy, do you agree with that terminology?
BOWEN:
Mark Butler is an excellent reforming health minister, and he's doing an excellent job on mental health. And of course, he's right. We know that one in three psychologists can't see any more patients as we speak. I know that as a member for an area just west of here, dealing with people going through tough times, trying to get them into see psychologists can be very hard work, to get them in. The previous government's approach is not the answer to that problem. And indeed, they knew that ‑ that's why their budget made the change, bringing it from 20 back down to 10, 20 was a temporary measure. Instead, Minister Butler has been working with the Treasurer and economic colleagues in investing in mental health, a big boost to mental health funding because we want to solve the workforce problem. It's a big issue. It won't be solved overnight. But there's a big workforce issue. We need to get more capacity into mental health for Australians. And Minister Butler is right in his description of the problem. There was a review, which found that the 20 sessions was not the answer to the challenges we are facing. It recommended a different approach. That's what Minister Butler has done and that's what any good reforming minister would do.
JOURNALIST:
Paul Keating's tax reforms helped spur the economy by cutting taxes. Will your income tax cuts do the same?
CHALMERS:
We've got a broad and ambitious agenda when it comes to tax reform. Tax reform is part of putting the Budget on a much more sustainable footing, whether it's multinationals, changes to PRRT or other changes which were in Tuesday night's Budget. And we have said repeatedly for some time, we support tax relief, particularly for people on low and middle incomes. We do understand that governments of both political persuasions ‑ from time to time when the budget circumstances permit ‑ will make an effort to return some of the bracket creep, which is in the Budget. We've acknowledged that, I acknowledged that yesterday and on other occasions as well. We have a broad ambitious agenda to support legitimate aspirations whether it's here in north‑western Sydney or right around Australia. We support the legitimate aspirations that people have when they work hard to get a fair return for that, to be able to provide for their loved ones. That is the motivation behind our efforts, over the first 12 months of this Albanese government, to get wages moving again after a decade of suppression and stagnation, which was a deliberate design feature of our predecessors' economic policy. We take a completely different approach. We want people to get a fair reward for their efforts, that begins with wages, and when the Budget can afford to return some bracket creep, that's a worthy and legitimate aspiration as well.
JOURNALIST:
We've heard some pretty harrowing stories of aged care residents getting just a quarter of the critical allied health and physiotherapy hours they need ‑ is that good enough?
CHALMERS:
Of course, it's not. And if you or your family member is not getting the allied health care that you need and deserve in aged care, then I'd encourage you to speak to the Aged Care Commission about that. Because the Aged Care Act requires aged care providers to provide a decent standard of allied health care. And nothing that we have changed with the new funding model for aged care in any way diminishes that. If anything, it supports that with more than $10 billion of new investment in aged care. And that's before we get to $11 billion for aged care workers. So if your family member or yourself, if you're not getting the life care that you are entitled to under the Act, that you need and deserve, I'd encourage you to approach the Commission. The Albanese government stands with you and is providing extra funding for the aged care system so that we can provide for older Australians with dignity and up to a standard that they deserve.
JOURNALIST:
But if providers are not meeting those targets, if it's being left to their discretion and they're failing, don't you think the government should be introducing mandatory minutes of care?
CHALMERS:
It's not left to their discretion when it's a key feature of the Aged Care Act that aged care providers provide a standard of allied health care. And that's the reality, that's what's happening, that is the basic minimum standard set out in the Aged Care Act. What we're doing is investing more in aged care and investing more in aged care workers to lift the standard of aged care which is being provided. And again, if you're not getting the standard that you need and deserve or your family member is not, I'd encourage you to approach the commission, that's what it's there for. If the aged care provider is not satisfying a pretty basic requirement of the Act, then the Commission needs to know about it.
JOURNALIST:
So the government won't step in in any further capacity, it's up to the person to chase it up with the Commission?
CHALMERS:
The government is stepping in with billions of dollars of new investment in the aged care system to lift the standard of care right across the board. And we insist on the standards of allied health care, which is set out in the Act.
JOURNALIST:
You haven't ruled out the Coalition's proposal to increase the JobSeeker income‑free threshold, but the Social Services Minister has dismissed it as a thought bubble with no substantive analysis behind it. Is it still something you're willing to consider adopting?
CHALMERS:
My position and Amanda Rishworth's position is entirely consistent. The point that I made yesterday is that we were putting substantial effort into getting more people into work before Peter Dutton started scratching around for something to say in Budget week. Now Peter Dutton hasn't said how much this idea will cost. If Labor had come forward with a policy on Budget reply night and not said how much it would cost, you would have legitimate questions for us. As far as I'm aware, Peter Dutton has not been asked to set out the costs of the policies that he announced on Thursday night. So let's see that. Part of what Amanda Rishworth was saying and part of what I was saying within an hour or two of each other yesterday is that we are the Labor Party and we will always ‑ as a central feature of our economic plan ‑ look to find more opportunities for more people in work. That is our reason for being. That's what motivates our early childhood education policies, our training policies, our paid parental leave policies, our efforts to get wages moving again, right across the board. And so our commitment to get people into work existed before Budget week, during Budget week and will continue after Budget week ‑ unlike Peter Dutton who was scratching around for ideas in Budget week in a speech which was almost entirely bereft of any substance whatsoever. And so let's have a bit of perspective and let's hear from Peter Dutton when he announced this policy, did he ask how much it costs? And if he hasn't, why not? And if he has, he should come clean today and say how much it costs. We work through these issues in a methodical way. We've got an Employment White Paper, we've handed down two budgets, we're doing work on employment services, we've made substantial changes and progress already. And we will continue to put front and centre in our economic plan efforts to get more people into more jobs. Thanks very much.