Jim Chalmers:
On Monday I’ll be releasing the Intergenerational Report. The technological revolution will be absolutely front and centre in the Intergenerational Report and in our economy over the next 4 decades or so.
AI is the most transformative technology that we will see. It will be the defining influence on our economy and our prosperity into the future, and that’s why we are confident that we’ll get it right. We’re confident that we can maximise the upsides and the opportunities of technology at the same time as we manage and minimise the considerable risks.
We understand that with this transformative technology comes a lot of opportunity, but also a lot of risks that need to be carefully managed, and that’s the government’s approach.
We are confident we can maximise the upside, we are confident that we can minimise the risks, but we’re not complacent about that because the stakes are really high.
This transformative technology will influence every part of our society and every part of our economy in the decades to come, and that’s why it is such a big focus of the Albanese Labor government.
Today I’m here with the students and staff at Griffith University on Nathan Campus. I went to this university a long time ago. Just like the economy, it is changing fast to catch up and keep up with the major technological changes.
Our success into the future will be determined by our ability to adapt and adopt technology in the interests of our people. That’s the government’s goal, and that’s why places like Griffith here are so important.
So I’m here today previewing the Intergenerational Report on Monday, which will have AI front and centre, and technological change as the defining influence on our economy and our society in the decades to come.
But right across the Albanese cabinet, ministers are working on important elements of this. The Prime Minister is leading internationally and here in Australia, making sure that we have the right standards to make the most of this technology and minimise the risks.
Minister Ayres today is releasing the discussion paper on the world leading national standards for AI, and especially data centres.
Minister Rishworth is convening major employers to make sure that our people are beneficiaries and not victims of this change as it rolls through our workplaces.
Jo Briskey is convening the first meeting of the bipartisan committee on artificial intelligence to make sure that the parliament plays a meaningful and bipartisan role in these issues that we are working through.
Minister Gallagher is advancing and exploring a ban on so‑called smart glasses in Commonwealth workplaces, recognising the threat to privacy which is posed by these so‑called smart glasses.
So right across the government, right across the cabinet, this Albanese Labor government is very focused on the opportunities of technology and minimising the risks. The Intergenerational Report will show just how important that is to the future of our country, our people and their economy, and that’s why today is such an important day, and Monday similarly will be an important day as we lay out the big shifts, the big changes, the accelerating change in our economy which will be the major influences on our people in the decades to come in the period covered by the Intergenerational Report.
Journalist:
The International Monetary Fund had a pretty harsh assessment on the Australian economy. Will the government pull back spending like it suggests?
Chalmers:
Well, the International Monetary Fund issued a very supportive report on the Australian economy and the government’s efforts. If you look at the report itself rather than the reporting of the report, you will see a couple of key points were made. The International Monetary Fund made it very clear that Australia’s debt position is much stronger than other countries. That’s because of our responsible economic management.
The IMF made it really clear that our focus on productivity is the appropriate one as we implement the biggest and broadest budget package on productivity in some decades.
The IMF made it very clear that they’re very supportive of our ambitious tax reforms, particularly as they go to the housing market, making it easier for first‑home buyers to buy their first home.
And so, overwhelmingly, a very positive report about Australia, which reflects we do have very serious risks in our economy, but Australia has very substantial advantages when it comes to dealing with all of this uncertainty in the world.
The report makes it clear, and other sensible contributions have made it clear, that there is a lot of volatility in the world, but Australia is better placed and better prepared than other countries. We’ve also got a better plan, and important aspects of that plan were endorsed by the IMF.
Journalist:
Will the 3 rate hikes, as some economists are forecasting, smash the economy?
Chalmers:
Well, I’m not going to pre‑empt or predict future movements in interest rates determined independently by the Reserve Bank. We’ve made it very clear that we do not intend to interfere with the independence of the Reserve Bank. That’s an important feature of our system.
It is already clear that the interest rate rises in the system are putting a lot of pressure on people with a mortgage. We do understand that people are under pressure, that’s why we’re rolling out cost‑of‑living help and tax cuts. It’s why we are managing the budget in the most responsible way that we can. It’s why we’ve got debt much lower than the trajectory that we inherited, it’s why we’ve got the deficits smaller than they were even in the last couple of updates, it’s why we find savings in the budget, banking upward revisions to revenue.
We are managing the budget in a very responsible way. You can see that reflected in Australia’s very low debt levels compared to other countries. We know that there is almost always more work to do. I’m focused on my element of that, the Reserve Bank will determine their part of that independently, as is appropriate.
Journalist:
It’s almost a certainty, though, would you not be preparing for another hike?
Chalmers:
Again, I’m not going to make a prediction about future movements –
Journalist:
But how do you position yourself?
Chalmers:
– in interest rates. There are good reasons why Treasurers of both political persuasions haven’t done that and don’t do that.
My job is to focus on providing the responsible economic management which has seen our debt levels much lower than the rest of the world, the lowest gross debt‑to‑GDP ratio than any major advanced economy, that’s because we do take the challenges in our economy very seriously, whether they be inflation, productivity or this global volatility, which is impacting every country around the world.
And if you look at the interest rate environment around the world, in every single major advanced economy, the market is expecting to see interest rate rises. Interest rates went up yesterday in the US. They went up, I think, last week in Europe. And the markets are expecting multiple interest rate hikes in other countries and that’s because the war in Iran, which has dragged on and dragged out for more than 6 months now, it has pushed up inflation very substantially, not just in Australia but around the world as well, and you can see that reflected in the decisions taken in other countries on interest rates.
Journalist:
Are you still considering cuts to the fuel excise, or is that back on the agenda?
Chalmers:
That’s not something that we’ve been considering. We’re providing cost‑of‑living relief in other permanent ways. Five different tax cuts are an important part of that. Cost‑of‑living relief via bulk billing and strengthening Medicare, making sure that wages are growing more than 3 per cent. These are the ways that we’re helping with the cost of living in an ongoing way after the end of some of that temporary relief, which was provided earlier in the year, which played a really important role.
But we’ve shifted from that temporary relief into permanent and ongoing relief via tax cuts for workers, bulk billing for families and pensioners, higher wages for workers, a fairer housing market for first‑home buyers – all of that is about providing cost‑of‑living relief and taking pressure off people in other ways, in other permanent and ongoing ways.
Journalist:
There’s some suggestions that it could get to, you know, toward $3 a litre, unleaded petrol. Is there a point where the fuel gets to a price where you will consider the discount again?
Chalmers:
Well, obviously, like all of these scenarios around this very substantial global volatility, we make the right decisions based on the conditions as we see them. We’ve done that from budget update to budget update, that’s obviously the only sensible way to go about it is to review all of our settings, not just that one, to make sure that they match the conditions that people are confronting.
It is the case that there are higher petrol and diesel prices as a consequence of the global oil price spiking in recent weeks. From an economic point of view, the war in Iran has been a disaster. It’s putting extra pressure on Australians and people right around the world, you can see that in the way the global oil price is playing out at the bowser. So obviously we’re aware of that, that’s why our cost‑of‑living relief is so important, it’s why our responsible economic management is so important. But really, right around the world, ordinary people are being absolutely smashed by the consequences of the war in Iran, and unfortunately Australia is no different.
Journalist:
Any questions from Channel 9?
Chalmers:
That’s very kind of you to do that.
Journalist:
Thank you. Sorry, Treasurer, the only one is the Prime Minister heading to the US. What will come out, what do you hope will come out of that from an AI point of view?
Chalmers:
Well, the Prime Minister’s engagement on the West Coast of the US and at the United Nations are absolutely central to our world leading agenda when it comes to artificial intelligence and the technological revolution.
The Prime Minister has shown, I think, and is showing, remarkable leadership when it comes to this defining technological change. His motivation, whether it’s engaging overseas or around Australia, the government’s motivation is to make sure that Australians can be beneficiaries and not victims of this accelerating technological change.
There is a lot of upside for Australia, but only if we manage the risks appropriately. That’s why our agenda is so important, that’s why the Prime Minister’s engagements overseas are so important.
I encourage you to see that as part of a government‑wide and economy‑wide effort here. The Prime Minister’s engagements overseas, Minister Rishworth on workers, Ayres on national standards, Jo Briskey’s work today, Andrew Charlton’s work as well, Katy Gallagher’s work, right across the Cabinet, right across the government, right across the country and internationally as well, the whole government is very engaged on this question because the stakes are extremely high.
This is the defining technology of our time. Our ability to adapt and adopt this technology in the interests of our people will determine our economic trajectory more than any other thing over the course of the next 40 years or so, and the Intergenerational Report that I release on Monday will make that really clear.
Journalist:
Just one question –
Journalist:
[inaudible] Intergenerational Report, how will government bridge the gap in a growing divide, basically for those who can afford to access technology and those who can’t?
Chalmers:
The ability for technological change to benefit more and more people will rest on our ability to teach and train our people to adapt and adopt technology, and to make sure that it is broadly and fairly diffused and distributed in our economy.
Overwhelmingly, people typically understand the growth opportunity from AI, but our job is to make sure that more Australians are beneficiaries of that change rather than victims of it. Teaching and training people to adapt and adopt this technology is absolutely key, and here I pay tribute once again to the teachers and students here at Griffith University who are engaged in that task on a daily basis.
Journalist:
Okay.
Chalmers:
Do you have one more?
Journalist:
Oh, I was just going to ask about the smart glasses. Were there internal questions and concerns raised about that?
Chalmers:
I think a lot of Australians are really worried about these so‑called smart glasses, and you can understand why people have extremely serious concerns about privacy in particular. And so what Katy Gallagher is doing on behalf of the government is exploring a ban on these smart glasses in Commonwealth workplaces as a start.
These smart glasses are really icky, and all of the feedback that we get is that people are genuinely worried about the privacy element of it. So, Katy Gallagher, as the Public Service Minister and the Minister for Women, is kicking this off by exploring a ban in Commonwealth workplaces. That’s a really good place to start, but I suspect that won’t be where this ends because I think Australians in all corners of the country, whether it’s parents or others, are extremely concerned about these so‑called smart glasses.
And so, a bit consistent with what we’re doing elsewhere when it comes to technological change, we’re making sure that we are reducing the harms here at the same time as we maximise elsewhere the economic opportunity of the vast technological change that we’re a part of.
Thanks very much, thank you.