Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies

With Australian public debt at new record levels and rising, a more active, progressive and entrepreneurial approach to the Finance Department portfolio is essential, Australia’s Shadow Minister for Finance Dr Jim Chalmers MP will argue at a special event on Thursday 16 November at ANU Crawford School.

The event, organised by Crawford School’s Tax and Transfer Policy Institute and Policy Forum blog, will see Dr Chalmers discuss the role of the Department of Finance and suggest a new, more sophisticated approach to co-investment as a guiding principle. Dr Chalmers will propose fresh thinking about value for money, budgeting and investing over longer timeframes, refocusing the role of the public sector, and embedding broader economic objectives in Australia’s fiscal rules and plans.

Dr Chalmers has been the Shadow Minister for Finance since 2016 and the Member for Rankin in the Australian Parliament since 2013. He was formerly Shadow Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, Shadow Minister for Sport, Shadow Assistant Minister for Trade, Investment and Productivity, Shadow Assistant Minister for Resources, and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition. Before being elected to Parliament, he was the Executive Director of the Chifley Research Centre and prior to that, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer.

He has a PhD in political science and international relations from The Australian National University and a first class honours degree in public policy from Griffith University, and is a qualified company director.

He is also a member of the Griffith University Logan Campus Development Advisory Group; the Griffith University School of Government and International Relations Advisory Board, and the Board of Advisors at the Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies at Georgetown University in Washington DC.

His most recent book, Changing Jobs: the Fair Go in the New Machine Age, is co-authored with Mike Quigley and was released in September. His earlier book about the Global Financial Crisis, Glory Daze, was published in 2013.

The event will be held at 12.30pm on Thursday 16 November at Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University. It is free to attend, and a light lunch will be provided.

Registrations are essential. Go to: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/news-events/events/11671/rethinking-finance-...