Behind the doctorate, drive and disarming drawl of Jim Chalmers lies a treasure chest of friendships collected through schooldays, university and political life.
They are united in a loyalty to the federal Treasurer – not an uncommon adornment for a politician on the rise, but polished by a warmth Dr Chalmers will need to attract more broadly as his honeymoon in government becomes a marriage defined by the conflicts that will go with battling inflation, reforming an inefficient tax system and cutting government spending.
