Stunning admission from Treasurer Jim Chalmers about his future and what he really thinks of Anthony Albanese’s new $4.3m beachfront home

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has admitted he has no idea of ​​his long-term future in politics. but he does know that he has no intention of challenging his ‘buddy’ Anthony Albanese for the Labor leadership.

Dr. Chalmers made the candid admission during an interview on Channel Seven’s Spotlight on Sunday evening, where he also spoke about giving up booze, his ambitions to become Prime Minister and his reaction to Mr Albanese’s recent property purchase worth £4 .3 million dollars.

Dr. Chalmers, 46, told Seven’s political editor Mark Riley that he could not say how long he would stay in politics, which has taken up most of his adult working life – first as an adviser to Labor MPs before being elected to the seat of Rankin in Queensland. in 2013.

“I don’t know, is the honest answer,” he replied about how long he would stay in parliament.

“No one is in it forever and these opportunities to become treasurer or local member are not typically someone’s entire career, so I try to make the most of them.

“I’m not sure when I’ll have enough or if people will have enough of me, some of it is out of my hands, a lot of it is out of my hands.”

Albanese’s recent purchase of a four-bedroom, three-bathroom mansion with ocean views in Copacabana on the NSW central coast has led many pundits and reportedly some unnamed Labor MPs to question his political nous drawn.

Kos Samaras, director of strategy and analysis at pollster RedBridge, called the lavish purchase “terrible optics” in the midst of a housing and cost crisis with a federal election set for the end of September.

When Riley mischievously asked Dr. Chalmers if he himself had recently purchased a house on the beach, he was met with the adamant response, “I haven’t.”

The treasurer was then asked whether he had advised against the purchase, with possible political consequences.

“I don’t really see that as my role,” Dr. Chalmers replied.

Dr. Chalmers pressed again on the timing of the purchase, admitting there were political implications.

“He would recognise, as I recognise, that anything you do as Prime Minister runs a high risk of becoming the subject of political speculation,” Dr Chalmers said.

Dr. Chalmers insisted he had “a great relationship with the Prime Minister” and the two would often talk first thing in the morning, not just about their work but other “things that comrades in Australia talk about”.

Riley asked Dr. Chalmers asked several times whether he might consider challenging Mr Albanese for the leadership, as Labor had slipped just behind the Coalition in the polls. The treasurer continued to respond that he “couldn’t see the circumstances” in which that would happen.

“My aim here is to be a good treasurer in a great Labor government led by Anthony from start to finish,” he said.

Dr. Chalmers also talked about being diagnosed with melanoma on his chest in late 2020 and the effect it had on his health.

He said he was giving a press conference around that time when his wife told him that “you really don’t look well.”

“My face was a bit white, it was a strange shade of grey,” said Dr Chalmers.

He said the “strange blessing” of the cancer was that it made quitting drinking easier, something he admitted was necessary.

‘I really didn’t feel well. “I didn’t feel like drinking this summer,” he said.

But before that, Dr. Chalmers admits to being a ‘pretty enthusiastic drinker’.

“I’ve always had trouble controlling myself,” he said.

Giving up booze had given him “more space… for things that are really important to me.” My wife and my children. My work is very important to me’.

Dr. Chalmers is married to journalist and former political consultant Laura Anderson and the couple have three children together.

The program also showed Dr. Chalmers in his home town of Logan, which he now represents in Parliament.

What he liked about being outdoors, he said, was “the blunt feedback I get from the community, both good and bad.”

“Last week I was told by three people that I was getting too fat,” he said.

While Dr. Chalmers prepared his budget for the election, he had good news on the cost of living, stating that he believed inflation was moving in the right direction.

“Well, I think when it comes to inflation specifically, the worst is behind us,” Dr. Chalmers said.

‘The peak of inflation is in the rearview mirror. And we’re not complacent about that, but we’re confident.”

Asked how close Australia had come to a recession, which is normally defined as two quarters of contraction in gross domestic product, Dr Chalmers said it was close earlier this year.

“There were times when we feared the economy would go down,” he said.