Co-author of ALP’s tax policy Jim Chalmers slammed

Michael Sukkar has accused Jim Chalmers of letting Bill Shorten and Chris Bowen take the fall for Labor’s unpopular tax policies.

Labor MP Jim Chalmers. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar has accused Jim Chalmers of “letting Bill Shorten and Chris Bowen take all the blame” for Labor’s tax policies and slammed the opposition Treasury spokesman for using the term “top end of town” more than 300 times ahead of the May 18 election.

Mr Sukkar’s assault on Dr Chalmers comes as the Coalition ramps up pressure following the damning ALP campaign review ­released last week and Anthony Albanese’s focus on revamping Labor’s economic agenda.

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Dr Chalmers, who worked closely with Mr Bowen on economic policy as opposition finance spokesman between 2016 and 2019, has publicly conceded Labor got its pre-election messaging wrong.

“I’ve been saying for months that our language didn’t strike the right chord, and taking my share of the responsibility for that,” Dr Chalmers told The Australian.

“I’ve said countless times that we take decisions collectively and take responsibility for them collectively as well.”

The ALP election review, headed by Craig Emerson and Jay Weatherill, said Labor needed to adopt the “language of inclusion, recognising the contribution of small and large businesses to economic prosperity and abandon derogatory references to the big end of town”.

Following the election defeat, Mr Albanese and Dr Chalmers have pledged to work closely with business and reshape Labor’s economic policies to better target regional and outer suburban voters. They have also jettisoned the use of “top end of town” from Labor’s economic rhetoric.

Mr Sukkar said Dr Chalmers needed to come “out of hiding” and “own up to his role in Labor’s policy for $387bn in higher taxes”.

Mr Albanese last week indicated Labor would look at dumping the franking credits crackdown, through a process to “de-clutter” Labor’s policy agenda.

“If the shadow treasurer had any leadership qualities he would stand up and admit he is part of Labor’s problem, instead of letting Bill Shorten and Chris Bowen take all the blame,” Mr Sukkar told The Australian.

“He (Dr Chalmers) says he wants tax cuts brought forward, ­despite writing the policy that would have increased taxes by $387bn. He also says he wants infrastructure spending brought forward, yet has no policy to match the government’s record $100bn 10-year infrastructure plan.

“Anthony Albanese said using the term the ‘top end of town’ was offensive, yet Jim Chalmers remains as shadow treasurer despite using the term more than 300 times since 2013.”

Mr Sukkar said if Labor retained any of its policies to “slug Australians $387bn in higher taxes they cannot claim to have a plan to grow our economy”.

Dr Chalmers, who delivered a speech in Melbourne on Monday night positioning Labor as the “party of economic growth”, also clashed with Josh Frydenberg following the release of the ALP review.

The Treasurer accused Dr Chalmers of “spitting the dummy” and described him as the “co-architect of Labor’s $387bn of new taxes”.

Dr Chalmers, a Right faction powerbroker, described Mr Frydenberg to The Australian as the “human highlighter”.

“Poor Josh isn’t much chop when it comes to the economy but lock him away with a little yellow highlighter and he really comes into his own,” he said.

“If only this Treasurer spent as much time worrying about stagnant wages and the slowest growth in a decade as he spends going through my old transcripts. Australians won’t be reassured to learn this is how the Treasurer spends all his time while the economy has deteriorated on his watch.”