Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ challenge is this: give the nation the fiscal restraint it needs without leaving Labor voters with buyer’s remorse.
If there is one thing Treasurer Jim Chalmers hates, it’s neoliberalism. Which is why it might come as a surprise to some that in his economic statement to parliament this week, he showed signs of developing into the type of treasurer the Australian Liberal Party has yearned to produce since Peter Costello.
Naturally, nobody pays too much attention to what politicians say while they’re in opposition. Communiques from exile are, of necessity, chiefly directed at colleagues. But these notes from the political underground can reveal a lot about what is going to happen once the pale creatures of the shadow ministries unfurl as they assume power.During the bitter years, Chalmers laid out the ideas that would inform his current role. Neoliberalism is broken, he told the progressive Australia Institute.
But, like Chalmers, most conservatives don’t see the answer to neoliberalism in yet another “ism” – the socialism of the big state. That is not just a philosophical stance; a good chunk of the conservative/liberal drift away from the former government at the last election was a result of the perception that prime minister Scott Morrison and treasurer Josh Frydenberg had become addicted to bribing the electorate with handouts and expanding government.
While Chalmers had no choice but to go along with the handouts in the lead-up to the election, lest the Australian public vote to remain attached to the taxpayer teat, he signalled then, as he is signalling strongly now, that a weaning is imminent.Chalmers’ challenge since the election has been to prepare Australia for the fiscal restraint he knows is necessary in a way that won’t leave Labor voters with buyer’s remorse. Upholding tradition, he has discovered a “fiscal black hole”.
It is moot that the “Liberal’s trillion dollars of debt” was run up with the support of Labor during the pandemic – the truth is it exists and Chalmers is the kind of guy who believes it’s a problem. So he has committed to addressing “waste and rorts” and, more importantly, he is “being upfront with the Australian people”.As such, the treasurer used his first major speech in parliament to warn that spending has to be about “building value, not buying votes”.