Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I will make it really clear to the House that I didn't take the advice of those opposite. I didn't take the advice of those opposite, and that's because the question comes from the same people who took to this year's election a policy to increase income taxes on every single one of the 14 million taxpaying workers in this country. They are the same people who object to smaller tax concessions for half a per cent of people in super and who wanted to jack up income taxes for 100 per cent of the 14 million taxpaying workers. That's because, as I said before, what they really object to is more super for more workers. They don't like super. They don't like workers. We know that from their almost decade in office. They are always trying to undermine and diminish and come after the superannuation that the working people of this country need and deserve for a decent retirement. Also, don't forget that the question comes from the same guy who wanted to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars to build nuclear reactors, to push power prices up, not down. He asked me who I would take my advice from. I don't take my advice from the shadow Treasurer. I really couldn't be clearer about that.

He can trouble himself all he likes with the political scuttlebutt and the internal far-right politics being practised by those opposite. The difference between the shadow Treasurer and me, as Treasurer, is I'm here for the outcomes. I'm here to deliver for the working people of this country. I'm here to deliver an increase in real wages. I'm here to deliver income tax cuts. I'm here to deliver more super for more workers so they get the decent retirement that this guy would deny them.

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