Do we like Jim Chalmers?
Our score: 7 out of 10. A mostly progressive voting record and a quick fix when the LGBTQ+ census call blew up, balanced by a broken tax promise and some gas-friendly votes.
Jim Chalmers grew up in southern Brisbane and Logan, the same patch he now represents as the member for Rankin. His mum was a nurse and his dad a courier. He studied at Griffith, did a PhD on Paul Keating's leadership, and worked his way up as an adviser, ending up chief of staff to former Treasurer Wayne Swan.
The big stoush this year is the May budget. Labor went to the 2025 election saying there would be no changes to capital gains tax or negative gearing, then Chalmers brought them in anyway, saying the call was made late in the budget process and that the government had come to a different view. Albanese said Labor would own the reversal. The Coalition says it will repeal the changes, and Pauline Hanson called it a 'Sheriff of Nottingham budget'.
In June he conceded the budget had knocked some “political paint” off Labor, but argued the reforms were worth the political cost for younger Australians locked out of housing. Whether that is brave reform or a broken promise depends on which side of the property fence you sit on. Either way, he didn't dodge the question.
On the harm check, the record is mostly good with a couple of blemishes. In 2024 Chalmers defended dropping sexuality and gender questions from the 2026 census, saying the aim was to avoid some of the nastiness that comes with the lead-up. After Labor MPs and advocates pushed back, the government reversed within days, and he told Insiders: “We have listened to the community.” That is a stumble, but he fixed it fast.
His votes tell a similar story. According to They Vote For You, he generally voted for transgender rights and protections, consistently voted against a same-sex marriage plebiscite, and consistently voted for a carbon price and the Paris Agreement. On the flip side, it shows he generally voted against no new fossil fuel projects and against limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, and a mixture on some LGBTI legal-protection votes. No campaigning against anyone's rights turned up.
On straight-shooting, the fact-checkers give a mixed scorecard. ABC Fact Check found his claim that Labor had banked 88 per cent of revenue upgrades was close to the mark. It called his claim that full-time workers were $3,700 better off under Labor misleading once inflation was counted. That reads as a politician spinning, not a serial fabricator.