CANBERRA, ACT, March 5 -- The Treasurer of Australia issued the following transcript:
Note
Subjects: economic impact of Middle East conflict, petrol prices, repatriation flights
Emma Rebellato:
We begin this hour with breaking news, and the federal government has confirmed that 3 more flights are due to leave the Middle East this morning that will allow more stranded Australians to come home. Last night there were emotional reunions at Sydney Airport. We'll get more on those in a moment. But first, there are a lot of fears out there about what the war is going to do to the Australian economy. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers is at Parliament House and joins us. Treasurer, thanks for joining us this morning.
Jim Chalmers:
Thanks for having me back on.
Rebellato:
You said yesterday that these economic implications are uncertain, but they're likely to be very substantial. Can you explain to our viewers exactly what you mean by that? What should they be bracing for?
Chalmers:
Well, the key determinant of the impact on the economy will be the duration of this conflict. As you heard from Penny Wong earlier, this conflict is now bigger and broader. It's no longer a matter of days, a matter of weeks at least and potentially longer. That will have implications for the global economy and for our economy as a consequence.
We're already seeing big movements on oil markets, for example, and European gas markets. Obviously, we monitor very closely other markets like fertiliser, insurance, travel costs and the like. And so we are, like the rest of the world, very concerned about the likely economic consequences of what we are seeing in the Middle East. We're monitoring those developments very closely.
Rebellato:
So let's talk about petrol prices first up, because we know people are worried. They're going, they're filling up their cars because they're worried about what prices are going to do. Prices in some instances have shot up already. Should they have?
Chalmers:
Well, we've empowered the ACCC to get to the bottom of what's happening at service stations around the country. Obviously, there are concerning developments on global oil markets, but also at local service stations, we've seen some of those movements in prices. Some of that would be the ordinary fuel cycle.
But I think that there are legitimate concerns about the potential for some opportunistic pricing. That's why we've empowered the ACCC to get to the bottom of it. They do the monitoring, they manage the enforcement regime, the penalties regime as well. We don't want to see people taken for mugs at the bowser. Service stations should not be doing the wrong thing by their customers by using the conflict in Iran and the Middle East more broadly as an excuse to gouge customers.
Rebellato:
Treasurer, you've talked about spending restraint in the upcoming May Budget. How do you put together a budget when you've got this war going on and it could still be going on when you announce it?
Chalmers:
Well, first of all, it's important to recognise we already had pretty extreme global economic uncertainty before this conflict was very substantially escalated over the weekend. We already had a challenge with inflation and also with productivity, and so we were very focused on that already. But obviously, when it comes to price pressures and when it comes to global economic uncertainty, what we're seeing in the Middle East will put additional pressure on the economy, on Australians, and it will be a big feature of our thinking as we put the government's fifth Budget together.
Rebellato:
So does that mean you're going to have to go deeper than what you thought in terms of the spending restraint?
Chalmers:
Well, there are a couple of important considerations. First of all, what it means for the inflation challenge, but also what it means for global growth. There are swings and roundabouts when we think about the implications for the Budget in May. There's been a lot of focus, understandably, on the potential price pressures but there is also the potential for what's happening in the Middle East to weigh on global growth and therefore to weigh on our own growth.
That's why we were so pleased with the national accounts which came out yesterday, which showed that growth in our economy is stronger and broader. That's very welcome because it provides a really robust foundation for Australia to confront this additional global economic uncertainty that comes from the very substantial escalation of the conflict over the weekend.
Rebellato:
Treasurer, as people begin to return home from the Middle East, we're about to speak to someone who returned last night on that flight, who's saying that he was pretty much left to his own devices, he wasn't given much consular support, other countries were much more helpful and he was sort of left on his own. How do you respond to that, that Australians are feeling like they're being left on their own here?
Chalmers:
Well, first of all, I think it's terrific to see that flight land in Sydney overnight. A wonderful outcome. To hear that there are 3 more flights scheduled today is a really good thing.
I want to say this about people who are working around the clock to help the 115,000 Australians in the region. We've got wonderful officials who are working really hard, literally around the clock, to provide as much help as they can to as many Australians as they can. I'm very pleased to hear that those people and those families have come home overnight and more to come today or more departing today. That is a very, very good thing. Rather than criticise the work of our consular teams and our DFAT officials, I want to make sure that we thank them.
Rebellato:
Ok. Treasurer Jim Chalmers, thanks for joining us this morning.
Chalmers:
Thanks very much.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
