Wikipedia

Jim Chalmers

For other people named Jim Chalmers, see Jim Chalmers (disambiguation).

James Edward Chalmers (born 2 March 1978) is an Australian politician. He has been Treasurer of Australia in the Albanese government since May 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served as a member of parliament for the division of Rankin since 2013.

The Honourable
Dr Jim Chalmers
MP
Chalmers in 2020
Treasurer of Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office
23 May 2022
Prime MinisterAnthony Albanese
Preceded byJosh Frydenberg
Minister for Home Affairs
Acting
In office
23 May 2022 – 1 June 2022
Prime MinisterAnthony Albanese
Preceded byKaren Andrews
Succeeded byClare O'Neil
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Rankin
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 September 2013
Preceded byCraig Emerson
Shadow Treasurer
In office
5 June 2019 – 23 May 2022
MinisterJosh Frydenberg
LeaderAnthony Albanese
Preceded byChris Bowen
Succeeded byAngus Taylor
Shadow Minister for Finance
In office
23 July 2016 – 5 June 2019
MinisterMathias Cormann
LeaderBill Shorten
Preceded byTony Burke
Succeeded byKaty Gallagher
Shadow Minister for Sport
In office
13 October 2015 – 23 July 2016
MinisterSussan Ley
LeaderBill Shorten
Preceded byBernie Ripoll
Succeeded byStephen Conroy
Personal details
Born (1978-03-02) 2 March 1978 (age 46)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Political partyLabor
Spouse
Laura Anderson
​
(m. 2013)​
Children3
Alma mater
Websitewww.jimchalmers.org

Chalmers was born in Brisbane and attended the Australian National University, where he completed a doctorate in political science. At the 2013 Australian federal election, Chalmers won the seat of Rankin in Brisbane's south, entering the House of Representatives. He served in the shadow ministries of Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese, before assuming the role of Treasurer after Labor's victory in the 2022 federal election.

Early life and education

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Chalmers was born in Brisbane,[1] the youngest of three children born to Graham and Carol Chalmers. His father worked as a courier and his mother worked as a nurse. They divorced when he was 14, by which time his older sisters had left home.[2]

Chalmers grew up in Logan City in Brisbane's south.[3] He attended Catholic schools before going on to Griffith University, where he completed the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Communication and attained a First Class honours degree in public policy.[4] He went on to complete a PhD in political science at the Australian National University, writing his doctoral thesis on the prime ministership of Paul Keating,[1][2] titled "Brawler statesman: Paul Keating and prime ministerial leadership in Australia".[5]

Early political involvement

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From 1999 to 2001, Chalmers worked under Queensland premier Peter Beattie as a research officer in the Department of Premier and Cabinet. He was the ALP's national research manager from 2002 to 2004, media adviser to Shadow Treasurer Wayne Swan from 2005 to 2006, deputy chief of staff to Opposition Leader Kim Beazley in 2006, and a senior adviser to New South Wales premier Morris Iemma from 2006 to 2007. After Labor won the 2007 federal election, Chalmers returned to work for Wayne Swan in the Department of the Treasury, as deputy chief of staff and principal adviser (2007–2010) and then as chief of staff (2010–2013).[1] He briefly served as the executive director of the Chifley Research Centre in 2013.[6] In the same year he published Glory Daze, a book about the disconnect between Australia's strong economic performance and popular discontent with government.[7]

Member of Parliament

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Opposition (2013–2022)

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Chalmers (right) in 2016

Chalmers was elected to parliament at the 2013 federal election, replacing the retiring ALP member Craig Emerson in the Division of Rankin. He defeated former MP Brett Raguse for Labor preselection.[8] Chalmers was made a shadow parliamentary secretary in October 2013, a shadow minister in October 2015, and promoted to the shadow cabinet after the 2016 election as Shadow Minister for Finance.[1]

After the 2019 federal election, Chalmers publicly considered running to succeed Bill Shorten as party leader and Leader of the Opposition. His relative youth and status as a Queenslander were seen as potential assets, as well as his membership of the Labor Right faction. However, some within his faction had already chosen to support the Labor Left candidate Anthony Albanese.[9][10] Chalmers eventually chose not to stand for the position, allowing Albanese to become leader unopposed. He subsequently also ruled out standing for the deputy leadership.[11] He was subsequently appointed Shadow Treasurer in Albanese's cabinet.[12]

Albanese government (2022–present)

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Labor was victorious in the 2022 Australian federal election,[13] and two days later, Albanese had himself, Chalmers and three other senior Labor frontbenchers sworn in as an interim five-person government, with Chalmers becoming the Treasurer of Australia. He was also the interim Minister for Home Affairs until the full ministry was sworn in after the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.[14] In October 2022, Chalmers handed down his first budget.[15]

In May 2023, Chalmers handed down his second budget. After being initially predicted to deliver a surplus of over $4 billion, the budget ended up significantly exceeding expectations by delivering a surplus of $22.1 billion (equivalent to 0.9% of Australia's GDP); this is Australia's first budget surplus in 15 years, and the largest ever Australian budget surplus.[16][17][18][19][20][21]

In May 2024, Chalmers handed down his third budget, which saw the government post a second consecutive surplus of $9.3 billion.[22]

Political positions

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Chalmers is a member of the Labor Right faction.[23][24] In 2016 he co-founded the Courtyard Group, a roundtable linking Labor MPs with "Australia's leading progressive thinkers from business, academia, media, and consumer advocacy bodies".[25]

According to political scientist Carol Johnson, Chalmers' 2013 book Glory Daze "defined Labor as standing for intergenerational mobility, aspiration and the Fair Go, while emphasising the importance of sound economic management". His 2017 book Changing Jobs: The fair go in the new machine age, co-authored with telecommunications executive Mike Quigley, argued that future governments should consider a robot tax to reduce the impact of technological unemployment. He has also expressed positive views on the concept of a universal basic income. In the lead-up to the 2022 election, Chalmers stated that an ALP government would not increase taxes other than on multinational corporations. He also rejected new taxes. His campaigning focused on cost of living issues but also emphasised the need to work co-operatively with business.[26]

In a long-form essay published in The Monthly in 2023, Chalmers argued for more active involvement by the government in capital markets to collaborate with enterprises that suit the government's social and environmental priorities, describing it as "values-based capitalism".[27][28][29]

Electoral history

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House of Representatives[30][31][32][33]
Year Electorate Party First Preference Result Two Candidate Result
Votes % ±% Position Votes % ±% Result
2013 Rankin Labor 35,098 42.18     2.97 First 45,580 54.78     0.63 Elected
2016 42,147 49.34     7.16 First 52,362 61.30     6.52 Elected
2019 35,156 41.43     7.91 First 47,893 56.44     4.86 Elected
2022 38,596 43.95     2.52 First 51,892 59.09     2.65 Elected
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Personal life

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In March 2013, Chalmers married Laura Anderson, a journalist and writer who worked as a staffer to Penny Wong and Julia Gillard. The couple have three children. Their wedding, attended by Gillard and Wayne Swan among others, occurred two days after an ALP leadership spill. While in attendance Gillard "convened a council of war in a specially set-aside room to frame a new ministry".[2]

Chalmers identifies as a Catholic, though more "tribal than Bible", his three children having been baptised in the same church as himself.[34][35] His interests have been listed to include running, rugby league and basketball.[36] He is a fan of hip-hop music, with some of his favourite artists including Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas.[37]

In the National Rugby League (NRL), Chalmers supports the Brisbane Broncos.[38]

Publications

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  • Chalmers, Jim (2013) Glory Daze: How a world-beating nation got so down on itself, Melbourne University Press, ISBN 978-0-522-86413-7
  • Chalmers, Jim (2017) Changing Jobs, The Fair go in the New Machine Age (with M Quigley) Redback, ISBN 978-1-86395-944-5

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Dr Jim Chalmers MP". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Walker, Jamie (6 June 2020). "Chalmers plays the long game". Weekend Australian Magazine. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Member for Rankin". Australian Labor Party. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Biography | Treasury Ministers". 23 May 2022.
  5. ^ Chalmers, Jim (2004). Brawler statesman: Paul Keating and prime ministerial leadership in Australia (PhD thesis). Australian National University. doi:10.25911/5d78d7aebdf5c. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Jim Chalmers". Chifley Research Centre. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  7. ^ "Former Swan advisor Jim Chalmers sees the glass as half full". www.abc.net.au. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Labor candidate Jim Chalmers doesn't deny writing Wayne Swan's blistering criticism of Kevin Rudd". ABC News. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Labor MPs 'fuming' as Jim Chalmers told to clear the way for Albanese or face payback". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Labor leadership: Queensland MP Jim Chalmers still considering run against Albanese". Guardian Australia. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Jim Chalmers out of Labor's deputy race". The Australian. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Labor leader Anthony Albanese announces frontbench in wake of federal election 2019". 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Votes for Labor and the Coalition plummet to all-time low as Australia swings away from major parties". The Guardian. London. 28 May 2022. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Jim Chalmers indicates 'substantial progress' on returning Murugappan family to Biloela". The Guardian. 25 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Jim Chalmers just handed down his first federal budget, but did he get his facts straight?". ABC News. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  16. ^ McGuirk, Rod (21 September 2023). "Australia's government posts $14.2 billion budget surplus after 15 years in the red". Associated Press News. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  17. ^ Roberts, Georgia (21 September 2023). "Government reveals $22 billion budget surplus in final outcome figures". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  18. ^ Vidler, Adam (22 September 2023). "'Biggest surplus ever': Chalmers announces $100 billion budget turnaround". Nine News. Nine Network. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  19. ^ Qiu, Stella (21 September 2023). Wong, Jacqueline; Feast, Lincoln (eds.). "Australia posts first budget surplus in 15 years as tax revenues soar". Reuters. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  20. ^ Karp, Paul (21 September 2023). "Budget surplus up to $22bn thanks to strong jobs market and higher commodities prices". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  21. ^ Clun, Rachel (21 September 2023). "Record $22b surplus to come from 'war and inflation'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  22. ^ Karp, Paul; Hannam, Peter (14 May 2024). "Federal budget to remain in the black with forecast surplus of $9.3bn for 2023-24". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  23. ^ Belot, Henry (20 May 2019). "Jim Chalmers willing to battle Anthony Albanese for Labor leadership in federal election 2019 aftermath". ABC News. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022.
  24. ^ Massola, James (14 February 2021). "What are Labor's factions and who's who in the Left and Right?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  25. ^ Walker, Tony (1 February 2016). "New Labor Courtyard Group tries to find a third way". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  26. ^ Johnson, Carol (19 April 2022). "If Labor wins the election, he is set to become the next federal treasurer. So who is Jim Chalmers?". The Conversation. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  27. ^ Murphy, Katharine (3 February 2023). "Fury over Chalmers' essay is a reminder to Labor: change won't get an easy ride". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  28. ^ "The only thing new about Jim Chalmers' economic model is the name". Australian Financial Review. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  29. ^ Chalmers, Jim (1 February 2023). "Capitalism after the crises". The Monthly. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  30. ^ "House of Representatives Division First Preferences". AEC Virtual Tally Room. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  31. ^ "Rankin, QLD - AEC Tally Room". AEC Tally Room. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  32. ^ "Rankin, QLD - AEC Tally Room". AEC Tally Room. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  33. ^ "Rankin, QLD - AEC Tally Room". AEC Tally Room. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  34. ^ Law, Benjamin (15 November 2019). "Jim Chalmers: 'I don't think much of the Prime Minister'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  35. ^ Overington, Caroline (30 January 2021). "Can a bloke from Logan be Labor's saviour?". The Australian.
  36. ^ Who's Who in Australia 2022. Southbank, Victoria: Directories. 2021. p. 351. ISBN 978-1-74095-470-9.
  37. ^ Massola, James (2 March 2023). "The Boss PM versus Teen Spirit treasurer: The generational divide at the heart of government". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  38. ^ Snow, Deborah (17 November 2023). "'I don't do moderation, in anything': Why Treasurer Jim Chalmers went on the wagon". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
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Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Rankin
2013–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Treasurer of Australia
2022–present 		Incumbent
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