Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry
Sarah Abo:
Well, the new Labor Cabinet will be sworn in this morning after a cut‑throat reshuffle saw several MPs booted from their portfolios.
Joining us live from Canberra to discuss this is Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. Congratulations to you, Treasurer, you are back, and hasn’t your second term started without a hitch? Should we be worried about you – apparently there’s an assassin in your midst?
Jim Chalmers:
Good morning, Sarah, I don’t think I’m going to come at that, but I’m going to accept with good grace your congratulations. I appreciate it, looking forward to be sworn in today, and also I’m grateful to the PM for the first‑class team that he has assembled – including in my own Treasury portfolio – I’ve got some wonderful colleagues there, and I’m looking forward to working with them.
Abo:
It’s not quite the perfect start you were hoping for though, I imagine.
Chalmers:
I think inevitably when you’ve got so many good people to fit into a limited number of positions, then unfortunately, there are people, including very good people, who can get left out. And that’s what we saw last week; it was messy, and nobody would want that to happen, particularly to 2 people who are respected in our team.
But my focus is on the colleagues I’ll be working with in the economic team. We’ll be sworn in today, and we’re already hard at work.
Abo:
Would you describe the Deputy PM as a factional assassin?
Chalmers:
No, I don’t describe my colleagues like that, but again, people can choose their own words and their own language. I understand that if you’ve missed out on the ministry, including the 2 guys that you’re referring to I think in your questions, then I feel for them. I respect them, and I feel for them, and they’ve got a right to say what they think about that. I choose different words.
Abo:
Ed Husic did double down on that last night saying it was gratuitous to dump Dreyfus. Let’s have a quick listen.
[Excerpt]
Ed Husic:
Mark has been a big contributor, he should have been given dignity, there should have been some class extended to Mark frankly. I feel really bad for the way that he’s gone.
[End of Excerpt]
Abo:
That’s twice now he’s gone on the public record to make the way he feels known. Does he have a right to air his grievances in such a way?
Chalmers:
I think Ed’s entitled to his view, and –
Abo:
It does make you wonder though, I guess, Treasurer, whether the Albanese government does have a problem with dissent?
Chalmers:
I think that would be an unusual conclusion to draw given the totality of the last 3 years. Yes, it was a difficult week last week, yes it’s hard when good people are excluded from a very strong team. I think I’ve acknowledged that in a number of different ways today.
Our focus is on the team that we’ve put together, the hard work that we need to do for the Australian people at a time of global economic uncertainty, and that’s what I’ve been focused on, not on the internal machinations.
Abo:
All right. Well, let’s look at that new team in your Cabinet sworn in today. It does seem, I mean you can’t ignore it, some allies have been rewarded, others seemingly demoted. Did Tanya Plibersek get a bit of an unfair whack turfed from the environment portfolio?
Chalmers:
Not at all, and I’m delighted you asked me about this, Sarah. I spoke to Tanya yesterday; Tanya is absolutely delighted with this role. The social services role in a Labor government is absolutely key, and I see it and she sees it as a really terrific opportunity for Tanya.
As I’ve said, I’ve spoken to her about it already, the work that we will do together in that portfolio, she’s replacing a wonderful Cabinet Minister in Amanda Rishworth who was on the show before me, and Tanya’s really looking forward to it.
I read with a bit of curiosity this analysis about Tanya’s new job. In our government that job is absolutely key, and I think that she’s looking forward to getting stuck into it and I’m looking forward to working with her.
Abo:
Good to see her and the PM have kissed and made up then. All right. Well, meanwhile, China and the US have reached an agreement to pause tariffs for 90 days. Surely, Treasurer, the PM has to prioritise sitting down with Trump to talk trade now?
Chalmers:
We’re engaging with the Americans on trade, as you’d expected, we’ve been doing that for some time. The Prime Minister’s had a number of conversations with the President of the United States.
What we saw between the US and China in the last day or so is a very welcome development, a very pleasing development, reassuring in a way. But we also need to recognise that it’s not resolved yet; this is a pause, not a resolution. It means that there’s still a lot of uncertainty, volatility, unpredictability in the global economy, and that’s impacting us here in our own economy as well.
We’ve got a lot of skin in the game when it comes to a trade war between the US and China, we want to see these issues resolved in a permanent sense, not just in a temporary sense, but the developments of the last day or so have been very welcome and very pleasing.
Abo:
You have touched on that global uncertainty for a while, we know it was bad leading into this election, it’s unlikely to get much better in the months and perhaps years to come. But your portfolio has got some business leaders a little bit unhappy this morning. They reckon your timeline for improving productivity isn’t good enough. Are you dragging your feet here? You want a third term to fix this situation.
Chalmers:
Oh, there’s a business leader in The Australian called Chris Corrigan, we wouldn’t be surprised he’s got a different view of productivity to a Labor government. I’ve been engaging with business leaders on productivity, a number of them have reached out to me in the last week and a half to say how much they’re looking forward to working –
Abo:
It’s not just him, there are others. I mean you wanted to get this done, you wanted productivity lifted within this – by this second term. You’re now saying it might not be until the third?
Chalmers:
Not quite right, Sarah. We’ve got a productivity agenda, we’ve always said that it takes time to turn productivity around. This is a challenge that’s been in our economy for decades now, and it will take more than a couple of years to fix. We’ve been upfront about that all along.
We work closely with the business community and with others to make our economy more productive over time. We’ve already got an agenda on skills and infrastructure and technology and energy and the care economy, but we know that we need to do more.
Abo:
It’s dropping though, Treasurer, I mean it’s the weakest it’s been in the last 35 years.
Chalmers:
Well, actually, the weakest decade for productivity growth was the Coalition decade to 2020. If we want to introduce those facts, Sarah, the weakest period for productivity growth was the wasted decade under our predecessors. And we’re working hard to turn that around. And I’ll work closely with business leaders, I already am, and I will continue to do that because living standards in our economy do depend on us making it more productive over time. And that’s why it’s a big focus, not just of me as Treasurer, but the whole Labor government.
Abo:
All right. You’ll be hoping to wipe the slate clean, I’m sure, today once Cabinet is sworn in, but what about the other side? Do you care who the Coalition chooses as their leader?
Chalmers:
I haven’t given it a lot of thought, but I think it’s unusual that 2 of the 3 people most responsible for the debacle which was the Coalition over the last 3 years have put their hands up for leader. I think it’s strange that instead of asking their colleagues for forgiveness, they’re asking their colleagues for votes.
Abo:
Ooh. Maybe it should be Tim Wilson then. Is that an endorsement to the re‑elected Tim Wilson?
Chalmers:
I don’t think that would be an improvement. I think whoever wins this battle of the duds today –
Abo:
Oh, battle of the duds.
Chalmers:
– the Liberal Party will still be the party of lower wages, higher income taxes and nuclear reactors. And that will show that whoever wins this ballot today, they haven’t learned the lesson of the last 3 years.
Abo:
Wow. Shots fired from the Treasurer. I like it. All right. Strap yourselves in, folks, it’s going to be an interesting 3 years ahead. Thank you so much for joining us, Treasurer, appreciate it.
Chalmers:
Thanks, Sarah.
MIL OSI News –
