Q: If you think back to where you were in 2022 and now, with no surpluses for the decade, was that the plan?

Chalmers:

You’ve deliberately ignored two surpluses we delivered. When we came to office, it was only deficits and we turned two into surpluses. You’d expect me to say in and maybe Katie will agree with me – we think that is too easily dismissed and diminished. We wouldn’t have had those if we’d not taken the responsible approach to banking and saving and the spending restraint we’ve shown. Let’s not lightly dismiss those surpluses. They’re hard to get. We haven’t seen back-to-back surpluses in this country for almost two decades so let’s not try and whitewash that from history. It’s part of our record and we’re proud of it and it meant there’s a structural benefit too because those two surpluses and smaller interest bill this year is paying dividends for us.