JIM CHALMERS:
We’re relieved that former president Trump is okay and our hearts go out to the family of the man whose life was lost in the crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania yesterday. We can’t let violence and extremism become the norm in democratic societies around the world. I think like a lot of Australians, it is deeply concerning to see how ugly and divisive and extreme and sometimes violent politics has become. Democracy is supposed to help us mend and moderate our differences, not magnify and horrify them. But what we saw in Butler, Pennsylvania was horrific. They were extraordinary scenes and for a lot of people it will only exacerbate the very real and genuine fears they have about the ugliness, the division, the extreme polarisation and the violence that we see all too frequently in the democratic world.
We’ve got a big chance around the world, in democratic societies, to take a step back from the normalisation of polarisation and extremism and violence. We should be able to settle our differences with votes, not violence. Given the magnitude of our challenges around the world, we need more vigilance and not more violence. We need to be able to settle our differences with votes, not violence. And unfortunately what we saw – whether it’s in Butler, Pennsylvania yesterday or on the steps of the Capitol not that long ago, the events of January 6 – unfortunately, we’re seeing more violence in our politics, more ugly politics, more divisive and polarised in extreme ways and we’ve got an opportunity to take a step back from that and we should take that opportunity.
I wanted to also say something about the tax cuts which are rolling out right now. Today the Tax Office tells us about 750,000 Australians will be getting a tax cut. Already, something like 8.8 million Australians have their tax cut. Today another 750,000. That’s part of 2 million Australians who will get their tax cut over the course of the next fortnight. A lot of Australians get paid monthly and for a big chunk of them they get paid on the 15th of the month which is today and that’s why 750,000 Australians will get the tax cut that they need and deserve to help them with these cost‑of‑living pressures.
This is all about ensuring that Australians can earn more and keep more of what they earn. Every single Australian taxpayer gets a tax cut because of this Albanese Labor government. It’s all about helping people with these cost‑of‑living pressures. A tax cut for every taxpayer, energy bill relief for every Australian household and other ways that we’re helping take some of the sting out of these cost‑of‑living pressures.
This cost‑of‑living relief is meaningful, it’s substantial, but it’s also responsible. We’re providing cost‑of‑living relief at the same time as we are managing the Budget and managing the economy in the most responsible way. Two surpluses in 2 years are a powerful demonstration of our responsible economic management. We will be delivering the first back‑to‑back surpluses in almost 2 decades and about half a dozen treasurers. The Reserve Bank Governor has made it clear just how important those 2 surpluses are to the fight against inflation because by turning big Liberal deficits into big Labor surpluses, we are managing the Budget in the most responsible way, not instead of providing cost‑of‑living relief but in addition to providing cost‑of‑living relief.
And because of our responsible economic management, we expect the surplus for the year just finished to be in the middle teens of billions. That means something like a $100 billion turnaround in our first year, a $70 billion improvement in our second year, turning those big Liberal deficits into Labor surpluses. If it comes in around the middle teens and we’ll know more in September, that would be the biggest back‑to‑back surpluses on record and again a powerful demonstration of the responsible way that we’ve gone about managing the Budget and managing the economy in uncertain times, providing cost‑of‑living relief, repairing the Budget and investing in the industries which will power good jobs and strong communities into the future as well.
JOURNALIST:
Is there a link that can be drawn between the scenes you described in the USA and on January 6 with the escalating tensions in protests we’ve seen at Parliament House and outside MPs’ offices?
CHALMERS:
We want to make sure that we can disagree peacefully in nonviolent ways. There is a role for peaceful protest in our communities, in our society. It’s a crucial element of a good democratic society to be able to disagree and protest in nonviolent ways. Unfortunately, what we saw in Pennsylvania was the ugliness of our politics taken to its most extreme and deadly conclusion and we don’t want to see that become the norm in societies around the world. I think, really, in the last 24 hours or so but for a longer period as well, Australians have been concerned about the ugliness of our politics, the divisiveness of it, the polarisation in quite extreme ways, and we’ve got an opportunity here to take a step back from that and we should take it.
JOURNALIST:
Are Australia’s gun laws the only thing protecting us from the escalation that we’ve seen in the United States?
CHALMERS:
Well, gun laws, I think, are an important feature of our defences against some of the mass shootings that we’ve seen in other parts of the world, including the US. Here I pay tribute to former Prime Minister John Howard for the gutsy steps he took all of those years ago. But we need ongoing vigilance when it comes to this violence. We can’t assume that just because we see violence in other parts of the world that we are immune from it here in Australia. We need ongoing vigilance, not violence, because the sorts of developments we’ve seen around the world, in the US, but not just in the US – these are really troubling developments and I think Australians and others around the world are rightly concerned. And so, we need ongoing vigilance, not violence and we need to take a step back from the normalisation of extremism in our politics.
JOURNALIST:
King Charles will be visiting Australia amongst this very atmosphere of violence. There was actually an attempt on his life in Sydney, I think it was back in the nineties. How important is it and does this raise the security environment for the government trying to have to manage his visit?
CHALMERS:
Well, the King and Queen are very welcome in Australia and I think a lot of Australians will be looking forward to the visit. We have very, very professional people in charge of providing security whether it’s the King and Queen or to other senior people in our society. We take their work and their advice very seriously. I think, like a lot of countries, our agencies will be looking at what happened in the US and seeing if there’s anything that they can learn from that. Our security agencies are always trying to adapt and keep up with developments as they see them. They’re incredibly professional people, incredibly brave people, and they’ll do a wonderful job on behalf of the King and Queen when they visit.
JOURNALIST:
Does the Prime Minister intend to raise the push to a republic with the King and Queen when they’re here?
CHALMERS:
I think you’ll have to ask the Prime Minister that. I don’t think it would be a surprise to King Charles that a lot of us want to see an Australian republic in our lifetime. The Prime Minister’s in the cart for that, as am I, and I think it’s been raised with him in different ways over the years. I think we should have one of our own as our head of state but that’s not to disrespect or diminish the important role that the King has or the affection that a lot of Australians have for King Charles and for his family. We can be an Australian republic and maintain that respect and that regard for King Charles and for his family and I think that’s the course that we should take when we can manage it.
JOURNALIST:
You spoke about professionalism earlier. The ADF hired an alleged Russian spy, even had her as the star of a recruitment campaign when she was basically the fox in charge of the henhouse when it came to communication information security. Does there need to be an overhaul of recruitment practices here?
CHALMERS:
I’m sure the Defence Force is having a very close look at recruitment in light of the really quite extraordinary revelations of the end of last week. Again, here I pay tribute to Mike and Reece and our agencies for the work that they’ve done here. These are incredibly, incredibly concerning revelations and allegations. Obviously, there’s a process to follow now and if there are lessons to be learned from it, those lessons will be learned.
JOURNALIST:
Treasurer, should the CFMEU be broken up?
CHALMERS:
Well, that’s one of the options that the Industrial Relations Minister, Tony Burke, is considering. And I’ll say this about the CFMEU in Victoria under John Setka – my experience of trade unions in the labour movement is that they are overwhelmingly a force for good in our society and in our economy, and my experience of trade union leaders is that they are overwhelmingly good and decent people who just want good outcomes for their members. You can’t say either of those things about John Setka’s CFMEU. And so, these revelations over the weekend, these allegations, are abhorrent. They are completely and utterly unacceptable and the Industrial Relations Minister, Tony Burke, is right to consider all of the options before us.
We need to clean up the CFMEU in Victoria. These allegations and revelations make that abundantly clear. Tony Burke, with the full support of the Prime Minister and myself and others in the Cabinet, will see what is the best and most effective way to clean up this union so it can go back to delivering for the people it’s supposed to represent.
Thanks very much.