Opposition senator says replacing Jim Chalmers would be ‘good for Australia’ as pressure grows on treasurer
A Liberal senator says the federal government replacing Jim Chalmers as treasurer would be “good for Australia”, going as far as to suggest a candidate who would be dangerous for the opposition.
Inflation remains stubbornly high, leading to experts predicting another interest rate rise on Tuesday – a fifth for the year.
Jim Chalmers is becoming less popular with voters. Alex Ellinghausen
This puts more pressure on households and more pressure on Chalmers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, with economists pointing to government spending as a contributor to the inflation problem.
Polling shows Chalmers has become the most unpopular minister within cabinet, while the Nine newspapers have published reports of division between the treasurer and prime minister.
Amid Chalmers’ declining popularity, Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg has leapt on the reports of rumblings to claim the government already has a ready-made successor that can take over.
“I’d be shocked if Andrew Charlton wasn’t the treasurer, sometime in this term,” he told 2GB on Monday.
“I think it’s inevitable that he’ll be in that job because how long can Chalmers carry on for after all his tax policies have collapsed on him, and he’s presided over this spending and inflation disaster?” he added, claiming Chalmers had “run out of petrol tickets”.
Andrew Charlton has been put forward as a potential replacement for Jim Chalmers - by the oppostion. Alex Ellinghausen
Charlton has been MP for Parramatta in Sydney’s west since 2022, and is a cabinet secretary and the Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy.
He also served as an adviser to Kevin Rudd during his prime ministership between 2007-10, which included the global financial crisis.
Bragg said while he thought Charlton becoming treasurer would be good for Australia, he said it would cause problems for the opposition.
Andrew Bragg suggested Charlton becoming treasurer would make things harder for the opposition. Alex Ellinghausen
“I think that would be good for Australia, but not so good for us politically, to be honest,” he said.
“The Labor Party have been so bad at managing the economy, if they have better people, then that’ll be good for them,” he added, claiming Charlton would be a “big upgrade”.
Bragg’s fanning of the rumours adds to the pressure on Chalmers, who was named in a Newspoll report on Monday as the least popular minister in Australia, with 40 per cent of the 1200 voters questioned saying they were dissatisfied with his performance as treasurer.
Last week, Chalmers again pointed to the Iran war and rising fuel prices as inflation ticked up for the year to September.
He noted other advanced economies were facing similar inflation problems, but acknowledged households were feeling the pinch.
“We know this doesn’t make it any easier for families who are under pressure,” he said.
In the May federal budget, Chalmers unveiled a controversial overhaul to property taxation, including changes to negative gearing and capital gains taxes.
Since then, house prices have collapsed as investors walk away and borrowers stare down steeper lending costs and cost-of-living pressures.
Reports have emerged that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blocked Chalmers’ efforts to cut spending in the recent budget. Alex Ellinghausen
At the same time, inflation has risen, in part due to the Middle East conflict, which has led to four rate rises so far this year, with a fifth expected to come on Tuesday.
While rising oil prices due to the war are a key factor, experts have pointed out that government spending is a contributing factor to Australia’s inflation problem, with RBA chief economist Sarah Hunter saying federal and state “government spending is definitely part of the picture”.
Reporting from the Nine newspapers last week revealed Chalmers had attempted to introduce more cuts in the May budget, but that he was overruled by Albanese and others within cabinet.
Responding to criticism of government spending, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told ABC’s Insiders that the government was working on finding savings in next month’s mid-year budget update, but refused to confirm specific measures that may be taken.
“What I’m saying to you is we’re doing a lot of work on the saving side, but I can’t get ahead of decisions that haven’t been made yet,” she said on Sunday.
“We’re very conscious of the responsibility we have.
“I mean, government spending is not the primary driver of prices in the economy, but we have a role to play and we have been playing that role.”
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