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When the federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, appeared at the news conference on Wednesday to address the latest inflation figures for the country, he was wearing five wristbands on his right hand.
Visible under the cuff of his short, dark white jacket as he held out his right hand to signal the state of the nation’s economy, Mr. Chalmers had four light pink and one dark pink armbands.
Asked by Daily Mail Australia where the bands came from and their importance, Chalmers explained that they have both cultural and personal significance.
Four are Nadachadis, which in the Hindu religion are considered ‘sacred’ threads that are usually blessed and tied for protection in prayer.
Chalmer’s Nadachadis hail from his local Hindu temple, the Baps Swaminarayan Temple in Kingston in his Rankin constituency in Brisbane, which he has held proudly since 2013.
When Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers turned up for a news conference on Wednesday to address the latest inflation figures for the country, he was wearing five wristbands on his right hand.
Four of the bracelets have cultural significance, while one is a gift from Chalmer’s daughter Annabel, above in his arms in Parliament with his wife Laura (left) after he delivered his first budget last October.
Four of the bracelets are Nadachadis, which in the Hindu religion are considered “sacred” threads and were blessed by the swami at Mr Chalmer’s local Baps Swaminarayan temple in Kingston in his constituency of Brisbane.
The Treasurer said the wristbands were gifts ‘blessed by the swami and I wear them because they are a reminder of all the different community groups in my constituency’.
The fifth, a dark pink sash sandwiched between two pairs of nadichadis is one of her daughter Annabel’s hair bands.
“Because she likes to see me on TV with one of her hair bands around my wrist, or something she made for me,” she said.
Despite a demeaning personal tirade from now-former treasurer Josh Frydenberg two years ago that deeply offended Indian and Hindu Australians, Chalmers is not Hindu and his connections to that community are cultural.
Mr. Chalmers, known as Dr. Chalmers after his doctorate in political science, is of Catholic origin.
His constituency spans Logan City, the same community in which he grew up as a child.
Jim and Laura Chalmers have three children, Annabel, Jack and Leo (above), and their Rankin constituency encompasses Logan City, where he grew up.
Laura Chalmer (above, second right, with children Leo and Annabel as husband Jim delivered his first budget last year) is a former staffer for Julia Gillard and Penny Wong.
He and his wife Laura, a former staffer for Julia Gillard and Penny Wong, have three children, Leo, Annabel and Jack.
He was shadow finance minister from 2016 to 2019, then shadow treasurer from 2019 to 2022, taking over in May last year when Scott Morrison’s government lost the election and Josh Frydenberg lost his seat.
Just three months earlier, Mr Frydenberg caused laughter among Liberal leaders during Question Time when he scoffed at the opposition’s idea of potentially seeking a New Zealand-style “welfare budget”.
Using his hands to mimic the closed-palm meditative gesture, Frydenberg said the Labor Party was “inspired by its spiritual leader, member Rankin.”
I was thinking yesterday, as a member of Rankin, [came] in the chamber fresh from his ashram deep in the Himalayan mountains… barefoot in the chamber, billowing robes, incense burning, beads in one hand, wellness budget in the other,” said Mr Frydenberg.
‘I thought to myself [what] yoga position the member of Rankin would assume… to deliver the first wellness quote?’
Josh Frydenberg gave a speech on Question Time mocking Jim Chalmers for his Hindu spirituality, angering and hurting Australian Indians. Three months later he lost his seat
Frydenberg then named a series of yoga poses and pictures from inside the House of Representatives show Scott Morrison, Nationals leader Michael McCormack and other senior Coalition figures laughing.
Australian Hindu leaders immediately demanded an apology from Mr. Frydenberg.
‘Why was he trying to demean Hindus by trying to counter the opposition? would you dare [do that] with other religions? I condemn his behavior,” Ram Ramaswamy told SBS News.
‘Hindus who are naturally aligned with the liberals will have to rethink our alliance. Let these politicians understand that they cannot take a peace-loving community for granted.’
On May 21 of last year, Anthony Albanese was elected Australia’s new Prime Minister. although the ousted Josh Frydenberg did not admit that he had lost his own constituency in Kooyong for another two days.