Treasurer Jim Chalmers downplays tax, housing target warnings contained in report released ‘in error’

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has downplayed leaked advice from his own department over the ailing federal budget.

• Editor’s view: Disarm budget bomb

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has downplayed warnings from his own department that the ailing federal budget cannot be repaired without raising taxes and slashing spending, after the advice was accidentally released.

In Treasury’s “incoming government brief” prepared for Labor, and released “in error” as part of a Freedom of Information request, the federal government was also warned its ambitious target of 1.2m new homes by 2029 would not be met.

Mr Chalmers on Monday said his department was “pretty relaxed” about the error, but acknowledged the difficulty in making the budget sustainable and Labor’s housing goals achievable.

A whole day of next month’s economic reform roundtable would be dedicated to sustainability, and Mr Chalmers said he would welcome ideas on tax reform that were broadly budget-neutral or better.

But he attempted to manage expectations that he should reform the GST, as has been put to him by economists.

“People will come with all kinds of suggestions about how changing taxes over here will make it possible to cut taxes over there,” he said.

“The Prime Minister and I have made it pretty clear when it comes to the GST, we had a view about that historically and that view hasn’t changed.

“We have tried not to artificially limit the ideas of states or others that will bring to the round table.”

Mr Chalmers was more open to the idea of subjecting electric vehicle owners to a road user charge, and said the government was more broadly interested in simplifying the tax system.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Monday. Picture: Martin Ollman/NCA NewsWire

The incoming brief was delivered to Mr Chalmers after Labor’s May 3 election victory, and accidentally made public in subheadings via a redacted version of the document released to the ABC.

The department asked the public broadcaster to delete the less redacted version.

The Coalition seized on the bungle, with shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien declaring it evidence Labor was hiding the truth.

“Treasury is telling Labor what the Coalition has been saying all along — they have a spending problem, they lack fiscal discipline, and they are preparing to slug Australians with higher taxes,” he said in a statement.

“Whether it’s housing, tax or the budget, Labor is failing to come clean.”

On the warning that the housing accord target would not be met, Mr Chalmers said Labor was ambitious enough to fulfil its goal.

“We will need more effort to reach that substantial, ambitious housing target,” he said.

“We’re investing tens of billions of dollars.

“We’re working well with the states and territories and local governments.

“We’re engaging with the industry.

“We’re trying to get the capital flowing.

“I’ve changed the tax arrangements for build to rent.

“But we’ll need to do better, and we’ll need to do more, and the advice just reflects that.”

To meet its target, 60,000 new homes need to be built each quarter, including 12,287 in Queensland.

In the December 2024 quarter, just 41,911 new private dwellings were completed.

Originally published as Treasurer Jim Chalmers downplays tax, housing target warnings contained in report released ‘in error’