Awkward six-word comment that caught Jim Chalmers off guard (2025)

Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers made a stop at the Paddo Tavern in Brisbane this afternoon where it appears the Treasurer made a new friend.

Eddie Platt shook hands with Mr Chalmers on the pub's balcony and delivered some off-the-cuff gold.

'I hope you guys win the f***ing election,' he told Mr Chalmers.

'I do too mate,' he replied.

Then, with Mr Albanese not too far away in the same building, Mr Platt went a step further.

'I hope you're the next PM,' he fired off.

Mr Chalmers smiled and nervously posed for pictures, though he was likely sweating under the collar considering Labor's history.

When it was last in power back in the early 2010s, the party famously went through a period where it knifed two sitting prime ministers - Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

'To your question about whether I regret the Rudd-Gillard years in the broad sense and the instability, of course I do. I think we all do,' Labor minister Chris Bowen told the National Press Club in 2019.

'We got that wrong, and so we changed the rules. That's not unimportant, but more importantly, we changed the culture.'

High profile entrepreneur Mark Bouris shared an interview with Mr Chalmers earlier this week in which he directly asked him if he had ambitions to be the next PM.

'Could we be looking at the next Prime Minister at some stage?' Bouris asked.

'The way I think about it is, knocking around Logan City as a teenager that you would get the oppourtunity to be the Treasurer of Australia, then I'm really happy with that,' Mr Chalmers replied.

'I genuinely am. From time to time someone will ask me a question like that.

'My expectation is that we win the election, that Anthony is the Prime Minister all the way through and that I get to be the treasurer.

'You have to have the humility to say where can I make the best contribution to this team.

'The best team we can put on the park is Anthony as PM, my other colleagues where they are and I think I'm making a good contribution as treasurer.'

Peter Dutton has urged Australians to spend their Easter long weekend moaning about how hard life is under Labor.

According to the Opposition leader it's an 'oppourtunity' to 'gather round the kitchen table' and have a 'multi-generational discussion' about how the country can't afford another three years of Anthony Albanese as Prime Minister.

Or you could enjoy the break with family and eat some chocolate.

Maybe try to find some on sale though.

A Labor social media page in Tasmania has been forced to take down a rap video 'dissing' the Liberals after the Coalition pointed out it appeared to be based on a 'highly offensive video by British Youtuber Harry Lewis'.

The video was posted by the rogue Labor page in response to an official rap track the Coalition released earlier this week.

The LNP's track was titled 'Leaving Labor', which they earnestly described as 'Kendrick meeting Question Time'.

The gem includes lines such as 'ain't the way it’s supposed to be / the money we're spending on groceries / I just wanna buy some eggs and cheese / $100: you kidding me?'

While chorus states: 'Bring them prices down / This is what we need / Cos Albo’s gotta leave.'

The response track appears to be inspired by Lewis's track Wroe to Shaw, which makes fun of the handicapped and include lines like 'you can smell her gonorrhea a mile away'.

Classy.

Following the Coalition's statement, the video was promptly taken down.

'This content was not authorised by the national ALP campaign. It has been removed,' a spokesperson said.

Peter Dutton has made a definitive statement about his stance on climate change, but remained guarded about how much of an impact it's having on weather events.

'I believe in climate change and that it is a reality,' he said on the campaign trail Thursday.

'It’s why we’ve adopted our position in relation to net zero by 2050.'

He claimed the Coalition's nuclear generation policy was the answer to delivering low-cost and reliable electricity while reducing carbon emissions.

When asked about whether climate change was having an impact on extreme weather in Australia in last night's debate, Mr Dutton replied he's 'not a scientist'.

'I can't tell you whether the temperature has risen in Thargomindah as a result of climate change or that the water levels are up in Thargomindah's latest flood as a result of climate change.

'I think the honest answer for most people is that they don't know.'

The south-west Queensland town of Thargomindah was hit with record breaking floods earlier this month and historical data shows the average temperature in the town has measurably risen in the last two decades.

The fundraising group behind the teals, Climate 200, has been accused of using robocalls to sneakily campaign for candidates under the guise of political polling.

Voters in NSW and Victoria have been targetted by the calls which frame survey questions in a way to promote a particular candidate, reported Nine Newspapers.

One version of the call run in teal MP Zoe Daniel's seat of Goldstein starts off with a glowing review.

'Your independent member Zoe Daniel has advocated for long term econmic reform, protecting the environment for future generations and for there to be more compassion and integrity in politics.'

It then asks whether the person would be more inclined to vote for the Liberals if they took a stance against Nationals MPs like Barnaby Joyce and Matt Canavan who 'oppose action on climate change and want to roll back abortion rights'.

The Coalition has confirmed it is not seeking to change abortion laws and has a climate policy centred around nuclear electricity to reach zero emissions by 2050.

A spokesperson for Ms Daniel confirmed her team were not behind the poll with the newspaper claiming Climate 200 was responsible.

Peter Dutton's wife Kirilly joined him as he campaigned in the NSW Hunter Valley seat of Paterson where he visited a technical college.

The Coalition is spruiking its promise to build 12 new Australian technical colleges during its first term at a cost of $260million.

The specialist schools for those in Year 10 and above would focus on apprenticeships or traineeships alongside academic, IT and business subjects.

Students would graduate with both a Year 12 certtificate and trade accreditation.

'I want to fix the skills crisis. Under Labor, we have lost 90,000 apprentices and trainees and we are determined to reverse that decline.'

Mr Dutton said the next generation of workers would need to be relied upon to build more homes, strengthen the defence force, and provide expertise in nuclear electricity.

Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson Rolliansyah Soemirat has issued a statement about Peter Dutton's claims Russia had neogotiated with Indonesia to base military aircraft in Papua.

'Indonesia has never given permission to any country to build or have a military base in Indonesia,' Soemirat told media, reported Indonesian broadcaster Metro TV.

'As a country with a tradition of free and active foreign policy, Indonesia will accept and allow other countries' military aircraft or ships on peaceful missions to visit Indonesia.'

He said his government has plans to build a satellite launch site in Biak, which is the same region as Russia was supposedly eyeing for its base - claims first reported by military news agency Janes.

'Discussions on this began several years ago but have not yet reached any decision.'

Mr Dutton admitted in last night's debate his claims the Indonesian government had confirmed the negotiations were a 'mistake'.

Indonesia has been increasing ties with Russia since President Prabowo Subianto took office.

Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Denis Manturov, met with Subianto in Jakarta this week.

Among the topics discussed were more direct flights between Moscow and the Indonesian capital and methods to simplify financial transactions between the two countries, reported local media.

Anthony Albanese has fired up at his press conference this morning after he was called a liar by Coalition campaign spokesperson James Paterson.

Some observers said the Prime Minister's appearance at the press conference was the most tense of the campaign so far.

Senator Paterson accused Mr Albanese of not owning up to commissioning modelling around negative gearing changes when he was grilled about them in last night's leaders' debate.

The PM seemed to suggest the modelling had been done by the Treasury Department on its own steam.

'Under our public service, we value them coming up with ideas and various assessments, that is what happened. It certainly wasn’t commissioned by us,' he said in the debate.

When asked about it again this morning, Mr Albanese appeared to have had enough.

'No, look, it is normal process,' he said.

'As I said last night, we have a public service that we encourage to engage if there is an issue out there (and we) get advice from it, but it (the modelling) is not what we are doing.'

He slammed Senator Paterson as an 'attack dog'.

He then handed over to Treasurer Jim Chalmers after he was asked whether the government's financial situation has deteriorated since the budget.

The Treasurer deflected and said the scrutiny should be on the Coalition's costings.

He also flatly ruled out changes to negative gearing.

'We're not proposing any changes in this area. We've got a housing policy, it's not in it ... We found other better ways to build more homes,' he said.

Peter Dutton appeared to score a hit in the second leaders' debate after he grilled Anthony Albanese on whether his government had commissioned modelling around negative gearing changes.

The term negative gearing refers to when the cost of owning a rental property outweighs the income it makes. The investment runs at a loss, but the owners deduct it from their taxable income, resulting in a significant tax saving.

It's seen to benefit individuals on higher marginal tax rates and encourage buying investment properties.

Mr Albanese ruled out any changes to negative gearing going into the election but Mr Dutton on Wednesday night challenged him on whether it was researched.

The Prime Minister appeared to concede modelling had been done by the Treasury Department but it was not commissioned by his government.

'Under our public service, we value them coming up with ideas and various assessments, that is what happened. It certainly wasn’t commissioned by us,' he said.

It's understood the Treasurer's Office asked the Treasury Department last year for a briefing on housing and the report that was returned included a range of policy options, including some around negative gearing and capital gains tax.

Coalition campaign spokesperson James Paterson wasn't convinced, however, and this morning accused the PM of lying, claiming Treasurer Jim Chalmers specifically asked for negative gearing and capital gains tax changes to be modelled.

'I mean, this is a guy who’s lied about our record when it comes to health, our record when it comes to education. He’s even lied about falling off the stage when it was captured on video,' Senator Paterson said.

Anthony Albanese - and his sizable entourage and media pack - have landed in Brisbane this morning following the second leaders debate on Wednesday night.

The Prime Minister will kick off the day campaigning in the seat of Bonner in the city's east, which is held by the LNP with a marginal 3.4 per cent.

Early on in the campaign the PM visited Peter Dutton's northern Brisbane seat of Dickson, which the LNP holds on a 4.6 per cent margin.

Mr Dutton has held that seat since 2001 and will go up against Labor's Ali France, a former journalist and para-athlete.

Also vying for Mr Dutton's seat are Greens candidate Vinnie Batten and Independent Ellie Smith, who has received financial backing from Climate 200, the fundraising group behind the Teals.

Bombshell new figures from a major Australian university reveal foreign students are getting visas into the country with work rights and then ditching their courses.

Queensland University of Technology said in its 2024 annual report nearly half of its foreign students had dropped out of their studies in their first year.

'The retention rate for international students dropped to an unusual and historic low of 53.6per cent because of an unusually high number of students who did not meaningfully engage from the outset,' the report states.

International students comprise the largest demographic of foreign arrivals Australia.

Economists have said immigration is putting major pressure on the housing market, particularly rentals, as more people compete for accomodation, driving up prices.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been struggling to keep foreign arrival numbers down after they reached record levels in the first year of his term following the Covid pandemic.

It seems the battle is far from won with data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing that in February this year a new monthly record of 197,000 international students arrived in the country.

'Under Labor, migration has, and will continue to put pressure on housing, infrastructure and services,' Opposition leader Peter Dutton said.

'A Coalition government will restore the dream of home ownership by cutting migration and starting a house building boom.'