Treasurer Jim Chalmers really, really wants you to know he’s being responsible with the budget. In the seven days to budget Tuesday, Chalmers has used some form of the word at least 42 times in press conferences and interviews, by Crikey’s count.
Take last Tuesday’s press conference in Canberra as an example; it began with a preamble from Chalmers who said: “The budget is a week away. This budget will be responsible, it will be restrained and it will make our economy more resilient in uncertain times.
“It will strike the best possible balance between easing the pressure on people now and investing in the future and it will be built on the solid foundations of responsible economic management … our much more responsible approach to the budget means much less debt in the budget.”
And on and on — Chalmers went on to say “responsible” a total of 13 times during those remarks alone. Meanwhile in an interview with Sky News Australia’s Andrew Clennell on Sunday, the treasurer managed to get the word in nine times.
What gives? According to Monash University senior politics lecturer Remy Davison, Chalmers is trying to distinguish Labor from the former Coalition government, which he seeks to portray as having been reckless with tax funds.
“Labor wants to paint the former Coalition government as fiscally irresponsible, accumulating debt over the forward estimates approaching $1 trillion,” Davison said. “Higher budget revenues, leading to debt reductions and lower interest payments, means the treasurer can trumpet $150 billion in savings and a mantra of ‘responsible economic management’.”
