CANBERRA, ACT, Aug. 18 -- The Treasurer of Australia issued the following transcript:
Note
Subjects: superannuation, cost of living relief, housing, tobacco excise.
Tom Steinfort:
Battle lines are being drawn this morning. Jim Chalmers vowing to defend compulsory superannuation after Pauline Hanson called the system broken. To discuss, the Treasurer joins me live from Canberra.
Good to see you, Treasurer. Let's go through this one. Pauline Hanson has made some big calls. You're saying, though, that Australians shouldn't have greater control over their own retirement savings. Why?
Jim Chalmers:
Good morning. That's not how I'd put it, Tom. In the last week or so, what the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation have all made really clear is that they don't support universal superannuation. Universal superannuation, with preservation at its core, is really the best way that we provide economic security and decent retirement incomes for millions of Australian workers. That's at risk now because all 3 of those parties have made it clear that they don't support the system which delivers that economic security and those decent retirement incomes.
We will defend superannuation, too right, we will. It's a really important thing that makes our Australian workers secure in retirement. It's the envy of the world. What this means, really, is that the next election will be a referendum on superannuation. The Labor Party backing workers, their wages and their super. The Liberals, Nationals and One Nation attacking all 3 of those things. They don't support superannuation because they don't support workers. It's that simple.
Steinfort:
Well, if we look at what's happening at the moment, we've got hardship super withdrawals. I think they've tripled in the last 5years. Isn't that showing that families do need this earlier access to cash right now?
Chalmers:
It shows that those existing arrangements are important. They are necessarily tight and focused to recognise those situations that you describe. But the best way to deal with these cost-of-living pressures is with the government's tax cuts and boosting wages and making medicines and Medicare cheaper. That's how we deal with these cost-of-living pressures at the same time as we build more homes and make it fairer for Australians trying to buy their first home. The answer to cost-of-living pressures isn't to destroy the economic security and retirement incomes of Australian workers. We can deal with these cost‑of‑living pressures. We can get inflation down over time, at the same time as we defend to our last breath this superannuation system which is such an important part, an essential part, of delivering decent retirement incomes for workers.
Steinfort:
Well, you touched on the tax system there. Let's get to your CGT changes from the latest budget. There have been critics left, right and centre. Now it's the retail sector getting on board. We've had JB Hi‑Fi give its sales update to the market and they've said that their sales have dropped pretty sharply since your budget came into effect. The retail sector is trying to point out that Aussies have really cut back on their spending because they've lost confidence in the economy since then. I mean, we're talking about the ramifications that you wanted to play out in terms of property prices, but this is really widespread now.
Chalmers:
That story about JB Hi‑Fi is about the impact on the prices of electronics from a shortage of computer chips. That's the primary point being made by that story. There are other -
Steinfort:
They're also saying that Australians are moving house less because they don't want to buy and everyone is a bit more hesitant on what they're spending.
Chalmers:
Yes, I was coming to that, Tom. You know that story's about computer chips, but there are broader pressures at play here. Confidence in the ANZ survey has actually come up a little bit since the Budget, but it is still quite low because people are under pressure.
More than just acknowledge that people are under pressure, we're acting on it. We're delivering these tax cuts, we're delivering higher wages, we're delivering cheaper medicines and more bulk billing. Because more than acknowledge that people are under pressure, we are doing something about it. Our political opponents don't support those efforts. They voted against those tax cuts. But we think they're really important because we do recognise that people are under pressure and we see that in the sorts of retail figures released by JB Hi‑Fi.
Steinfort:
Well, they might be under more pressure soon because we've got NAB out there today saying that your tax changes could be pushing rents up by 30percent. I mean, at what point do we say maybe this policy hasn't worked?
Chalmers:
No, that's not a forecast for rents. It doesn't take into consideration a whole range of factors, whether it's the design of our policy which grandfathers existing arrangements and incentivises new builds. It doesn't take into consideration broader developments in the housing market or in the economy more generally. That's acknowledged by the National Australia Bank in that note itself. So, it's not a forecast. It doesn't take into consideration whole range of factors. We expect the impact on rents to be much more modest than that. We expect that over time, as we build more homes and get more people out of renting, into owning a first home of their own, then those 2 things are the best way to put downward pressure on rents over time.
Also, Tom, it's important to remember - I heard it in your question a moment ago - the best way to assess the impact of these policies is over the next couple of years, not over the first couple of months. Certainly not from a rough rule of thumb provided by one institution and reported on the front of The Australian newspaper. I think people see beyond the clickbait headlines that they're reading and they understand we've got a big challenge in housing. Building more homes is our primary objective, but also reforming the tax system to make it fairer for first home buyers. Those 2 things over time will pay off. We assess the impact of those policies over the coming years, not over the last couple of months.
Steinfort:
All right, before we let you go, Pauline Hanson, another interesting policy idea from her. She wants to cut cigarette prices. We're looking at maybe halving the cost of a packet of cigarettes. This is part of a plan to stop black market fire bombings that have been happening in cities across Australia. Is there some merit to this idea?
Chalmers:
We've acknowledged on a number of occasions now that this is a very substantial challenge that we have and the government has been very focused on the law and order aspects of this, providing‑
Steinfort:
But would you consider cutting the cigarette excise?
Chalmers:
No, our focus has been on the law and order part of it, the enforcement and compliance part of it. We've provided more than $350million to support police and support the states in their efforts to crack down on this very substantial problem. We actually have seen some busts in recent times. I thank the police and the authorities for the work that has gone into that. But it remains a substantial challenge and the government will continue to focus on the compliance and enforcement elements of it.
Steinfort:
All right, Treasurer, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.
Chalmers:
Thanks, Tom.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
