Pulling punches
Jim Chalmers and Angus Taylor faced each other in the ring last night. Both did plenty of manoeuvring, but playing it safe meant neither delivered a KO.
There was no knockout moment in the treasurer’s debate on Wednesday evening. But this was no doubt strategic. Both Jim Chalmers and Angus Taylor seemed more focused on avoiding any hits on short-term issues than delivering a risky but conclusive blow in the form of long-term policy planning.
That's probably because both the treasurer and his opposition counterpart wanted to appear as the safest hands to help the economy survive the next few years, rather than thrive over the next few decades, with the face-off dominated by questions on how to manage Donald Trump’s tariff tensions.
The first question from Sky News' Ross Greenwood, hours before Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for most countries except China, focused on how to deal with the dramatic situation unfolding in the US.
Chalmers was well prepared, having answered this question for weeks. “We have a prime minister who is speaking up for Australians and standing up for Australia and for our national interest,” the treasurer said, before repeating Labor’s criticism of the opposition for being Trump-lite in their policies.
