Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks at National Press Club after budget

Finance Minister Jim Chalmers explained that the decision to reform Australia’s tax system was taken in the summer, but the final stance on capital gains tax, trusts and negative gearing was shaped in the wake of the Iran war.

Delivering his traditional post-budget speech at the National Press Club, Mr Chalmers acknowledged that “some good ideas” had been delayed by unforeseen global circumstances.

“But the core remained intact, and for good reasons,” he said.

“Now, we haven’t finally decided on negative gearing, capital gains and trusts over the summer.

“While we agree that tax reform is needed to ensure intergenerational fairness and rebalance the system, even if we haven’t decided what every element of the final package will look like.”

The US said the conflict between Israel and Iran had “fundamentally reshaped budget forecasts”.

“The Treasury assumes the oil price will remain around $100 a barrel until the end of June and then gradually return to $80,” Mr Chalmers said.

He said this would mean inflation would be higher, household spending would be lower and growth would be slower than initial forecasts.

“It is no longer possible to separate cyclical from structural change, or to deal with one and then deal with the other,” Mr. Chalmers said.

“Or waiting for the world to calm down to start big policy changes. If you wait for perfect stability to reform, you’ll be waiting forever.”

“This global turbulence is not an excuse to roll into a little ball and hope it passes quickly.

“In fact, this is a reason to urgently do more on resilience and reform.

“And that’s the attitude we’re taking here in the budget.”

‘From Farage to Farrer’

Mr Chalmers also insisted Labor was the only party occupying the “logical centre” of Australian politics. He noted the rise of the far right around the world, including Nigel Farage’s Reform in the UK and One Nation in Australia.

“When you look around the world, from Farage to Farrer, it is clear the choice this moment presents for governing parties,” he said.

“We are the last people standing at the logical center of Australian politics, but we are not standing still.

“Standing still makes us reluctant defenders of the status quo that doesn’t work. We stand for real change that makes a real difference.”

More to come