Chalmers makes excuses, while Israel fights to survive

By linking our local inflation problem here in Australia to Israel’s defensive war of survival against the Iranian regime and its proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, Jim Chalmers does us all a great disservice (“Ceasefire would help my CPI war”, 25/10). Like Ukraine, Israel is fighting a front of the anti-Western push by Iran, Russia, China and North Korea. The cost to the West and its economy, should Israel fail, will be far greater for Labor’s re-election chances.

Adrian Deutsch, Randwick, NSW

In making a pitch for Middle East peace, Treasurer Jim Chalmers is actually road-testing his pre-election excuse that external factors, in particular the war in Gaza, are responsible for Australia’s stubborn inflation and interest rates. The Treasurer’s strategy is simple. The sad state of Australia’s economy is not his fault. However, where he will come unstuck is that while inflation and interest rates here remain stubbornly high, in comparable countries such as the US, Britain, NZ, Canada and the euro zone, inflation and interest rates are predicted to fall. Chalmers isn’t making an economic pitch. He is making a political one.

Riley Brown, Bondi Beach, NSW

It is a simple world in which Dr Jim Chalmers resides. Previously, it was the war in Ukraine that was to blame for our domestic fiscal concerns, but now it’s Israel’s fault for having the audacity to fight for its survival. No mention of our uncontrolled domestic financial mismanagement here. Historically, the global oil market is a very sensitive creature that reacts to the most minute of matters, hence prices have peaks and troughs.

However, if Israel strikes the sole Iranian oil-exporting facility on Kharg Island, then a retaliatory strike by Iran on other Middle Eastern oil producers’ facilities, like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, is a strong possibility in order to drive up oil prices to its benefit and that of its beleaguered ally, Russia. An action highlighting, yet again, that it is oil that continues to make the world go round and hence the US pressure on Israel not to target Iranian facilities in its much publicised and forthcoming attack. This is despite oil being Iran’s major source of national revenue and funding for regional terrorism against Israel. So what is more important to Jim Chalmers and the West, Israel’s survival or a low global oil price that will temporarily benefit domestic balance sheets until the next oil crisis occurs?

Tom Moylan, Dunkley Park, WA

If Jim Chalmers is more concerned about economic consequences when an ally of ours is fighting for its very existence, I can only hope that he is not part of our government if we are ever unfortunate enough to be involved in a war of our own.

Ross McDonald, Gordon, NSW

Treasurer Jim Chalmers must surely be feeling irrelevant in the ALP hierarchy if he’s coming up with claims that a “ceasefire” in the Middle East will help ease the CPI figures in Australia. Chalmers’ lack of economic background is on full display. The RBA clearly understands the core factors associated with Australia’s persistent inflation problems. Look at government spending on infrastructure, cost-of-living subsidies, government agencies, the NDIS, public servant pay rises, high levels of immigration, “green tape” hindering new developments, and skill shortages. Of course you have a recipe for low productivity, high costs, and declining economic activity. Please, Treasurer, don’t insult the Australian public with such nonsense.

Peter Fuhrmann, Waterman’s Bay, WA

Henry Ergas rightly points out how the Albanese government is allowing or even encouraging Islamist extremism to tear at Australia’s social fabric (“Labor turns blind eye to menace of Islamist extremism”, 25/10). May I also point out that Treasurer Jim Chalmers, is also doing his best to create fissures in our economic social fabric with his constant spending, driving up the cost of living. Henry Ergas is rightly fearful that this Labor government is sowing discord between different cultural groups in our society. I am worried that Labor is also sowing the seeds of economic imbalance and diminution in the standard of living in various groups, and that will have a worse effect than any cultural clashes. Labor is sowing the seeds of destruction in our society and we will reap the whirlwind.

Alexander Haege, Tamarama, NSW