Treasurer Jim Chalmers has admitted he has no idea about his long-term future in politics. but he does know that he has no intention of challenging his “mate” Anthony Albanese for the Labor leadership.
Dr Chalmers made this candid admission during an interview on Channel Seven’s Spotlight on Sunday night, where he also spoke about giving up alcohol, his aspirations to become Prime Minister and his reaction to his recent property purchase for 4, 3 million dollars from Albanese.
Dr Chalmers, 46, told Seven’s political editor Mark Riley he could not say how long he would remain in politics, which has consumed most of his adult working life, first as an adviser to Labor MPs before of being elected to Rankin’s seat in Queensland. in 2013.
“I don’t know, that’s the honest answer,” he responded about how long he would be in parliament.
‘No one is in it forever and these opportunities to be treasurer or local member don’t usually span someone’s entire career, so I try to make the most of them.
“I’m not sure when I’ll have enough or when people will have had enough of me, some of it is out of my hands, a lot of it is out of my hands.”
Albanese’s purchase of a four-bedroom, three-bathroom mansion with ocean views in Copacabana, on the New South Wales Central Coast, has led many experts and reportedly some unnamed Labor MPs to question his political talent.
Polling group RedBridge’s director of strategy and analysis, Kos Samaras, called the opulent purchase “terrible optics” amid a housing and cost of living crisis with a federal election due before the end of next September.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers was questioned on Channel Seven’s Spotlight Sunday night.
When Riley mischievously asked Dr. Chalmers if he himself had recently purchased beachfront property, he received the adamant answer: “No.”
The treasurer was then asked if he had advised against the purchase because of possible political repercussions.
“I really don’t think that’s my role,” Dr. Chalmers responded.
When pressed again about the timing of the purchase, Dr Chalmers admitted there were political implications.
“He would recognise, as I recognise, that anything you do as prime minister is at great risk of being the subject of political speculation,” Dr Chalmers said.
Dr Chalmers insisted that he had “an excellent relationship with the Prime Minister” and that the two often spoke early in the morning, not only about work but also about other “things” that colleagues talk about in Australia.
Riley asked Dr Chalmers several times if he might consider challenging Mr Albanese for the leadership, as the Labor Party had just fallen behind the Coalition in the polls, the Treasurer continued to reply that he “couldn’t see the circumstances” in the polls. that that would happen.
Dr Chalmers said he had an “excellent relationship” with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the pair often chatted as “colleagues”.
“My aim here is to be a good treasurer in a great Labor government led by Anthony from start to finish,” he said.
Dr. Chalmers also spoke about being diagnosed with melanoma on his chest in late 2020 and the effect it had on his health.
He said he gave a news conference at the time when his wife told him “you look really bad.”
“My face was a little white, it was a strange shade of gray,” Dr. Chalmers said.
He said the “strange kind of blessing” of cancer was that it made it easier to stop drinking, something he admitted was necessary.
“I felt very bad, I didn’t feel like drinking during the summer,” he said.
However, before that, Dr. Chalmers admitted to being a “quite avid drinker.”
“I’ve always had trouble pacing myself,” he said.
Giving up alcohol had given him “more space… for the things that are really important to me.” My wife and my children. My job is really important to me.’
Dr Chalmers (pictured with wife Laura Anderson) said quitting drinking gave him time to be with his family.
Dr Chalmers is married to journalist and former political adviser Laura Anderson and the couple have three children together.
The program also showed Dr Chalmers in his home town of Logan, which he now represents in parliament.
He said what he liked about being away from home was “the direct feedback I get from the community, good and bad.”
“Last week three people told me I was gaining too much weight,” he said.
As Dr Chalmers prepares his pre-election budget, he had good news on the cost of living and said he believed inflation was heading in the right direction.
“Well, I think when it comes to inflation specifically, the worst is behind us,” Dr. Chalmers said.
“Peak inflation is in the rearview mirror. And we’re not complacent about that, but we’re confident.”
Asked how close Australia came to suffering a recession, which is usually defined as two quarters in which gross domestic product contracts, Dr Chalmers said it had been on the brink of a recession earlier this year.
“There were times when we feared the economy would go backwards,” he said.
