CANBERRA, ACT, April 30 -- The Treasurer of Australia issued the following transcript:
Note
Subjects: inflation data, May Budget, housing and tax, intergenerational fairness, resource tax, antisemitism Royal Commission interim report
Emma Rebellato:
The federal Treasurer joins us off the back of yesterday's inflation data and less than 2weeks out from the federal Budget. Jim Chalmers, good morning.
Jim Chalmers:
Good morning, Emma. Thanks for having me back.
Rebellato:
Inflation is above the RBA target range and you said it could go higher. Now, a lot of people are thinking, 'Well, how am I supposed to cope if things keep going up?' So, the question is what are you going to do for them?
Chalmers:
Well, first of all, we need to recognise that those inflation numbers were confronting yesterday. They show that Australians are paying a hefty price for this war in the Middle East, and we expect the costs and consequences of that conflict on the other side of the world to persist for a while longer yet. We're upfront with people about that.
My responsibility here is to do what we can to take some of the edge off these higher prices. That's why we are rolling out this halving of the petrol excise which is having an impact at the bowser. It's why we're helping with the cost of living and it's also why the Budget that we hand down in 2 Tuesdays' time will be a very, very responsible budget which will be focused on this inflation challenge but also focused on making our economy more resilient and also reforming our economy for the future.
Rebellato:
These inflation figures show that housing is going up, construction costs are going up. Now, your government wants to see more homes built, it's got its own targets, but who's going to be able to afford those homes?
Chalmers:
Well, primarily the pressure on prices is coming from petrol and diesel, fuel prices, and even today the global barrel price for oil is up near $120, and so you can see the impact that has primarily when it comes to fuel costs. That was overwhelming the driver of the higher inflation that we saw in the numbers released yesterday, but it does also have implications more broadly in our economy including in construction, as you rightly identify. We've had some cost pressures in construction already, the war in the Middle East will make that much worse. It will make it harder and more expensive to build the homes that we desperately need in our local communities like this one.
What you'll hear in the first instance from the Housing Minister later today is a bit more of a sense of those pressures in the housing market, what that means for our targets. But more broadly, what you'll see in the Budget is a real focus from the government on housing, on housing supply, but also trying to make it easier for people, and especially young people, to get a toehold in the market.
One of the big concerns that I hear moving around the country and moving around local communities like ours here in Logan is this sense that it's getting harder and harder for particularly younger people, younger families, to buy their first home. The proportion of younger people and owner occupiers in the housing market is a concern to a lot of Australians, and so we're working out whether or not we can responsibly respond to that.
Rebellato:
Treasurer, a lot of young people have bought their first home, but they've bought them out of the cities over the past few years. That was the only place they could afford, they're still living in the cities renting. Are they going to get caught up in changes to capital gains tax?
Chalmers:
First of all, we haven't finished the Budget yet. There's a lot of speculation about changes to the tax system with implications for the housing market, that's not unusual or unwelcome that people are talking about these sorts of issues in the lead up to the Budget. We haven't finalised the Budget yet, we've got a little bit more time to finalise the Budget, and so I'll have more to say about these sorts of issues in 2 Tuesdays' time.
We've been very upfront with people and said, when we think about the intergenerational unfairness in the budget, in our economy and our society more broadly, a couple of the drivers of that are in housing, are in the tax system. Already, we've been cutting taxes to help young people with the cost of living, we've made changes to superannuation. We've made a number of changes already which are all about trying to rebalance the tax system and the housing market so that younger people can get a fair go.
Rebellato:
Treasurer, there are a lot of calls for a gas export tax. Now, the Prime Minister ruled it out yesterday, saying now's not the time, and he said the Budget will not undermine existing contracts on gas exports. So when will you look at this again?
Chalmers:
First of all, I understand that there are really strong views about this and I certainly understand the arguments to go down that path. That's why I've already reformed the PRRT to try and get more revenue sooner for Australians so that these companies paying a fairer share of tax, and I understand that there is a constituency in the Australian community to go further than that.
But there are also, as the Prime Minister said, really good reasons to prioritise these international supply arrangements particularly during this oil shock. The focus of the government, you can see it with Penny Wong in China, we're all hands on deck engaging with our international colleagues and counterparts as I have been doing, the Prime Minister, the Trade Minister and others, the Energy Minister, the Resource Minister. All of us have been prioritising getting fuel for Australia and for Australians to keep the economy ticking over, and that's why there are good reasons for the comments that the Prime Minister made yesterday.
Rebellato:
Treasurer, just quickly, I know you have to go, but we've got this interim report coming on the Bondi attack just as we hear about a London terrorist attack, 2 Jewish men stabbed. What's your reaction to what's happened?
Chalmers:
Horrific. Absolutely horrific and antisemitism has no place in any society, not in ours, not in our friends in the UK's society either, so very troubling developments.
When it comes to the Royal Commission, this is a really important Royal Commission because it's all about learning from what happened and healing from what happened as well. I'm very, very grateful to the Royal Commissioner and her team. We'll see this interim report, the Prime Minister and others will respond in due course, but it's a really, really important opportunity to learn and to heal, and to make sure that we're doing everything we can to prevent these kinds of horrific attacks happening in the future.
Rebellato:
Treasurer, thanks for joining us.
Chalmers:
Thanks Emma.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
