Jim Chalmers ‘tells it as it is’ ahead of budget

Former Labor minister Graham Richardson says Treasurer Jim Chalmers isn’t a person of “trickery” but instead goes out and “tells it as it is” ahead of Labor’s upcoming budget. “He’s preparing us for a few knocks and that’s probably what he should do,” he told Sky News Australia. “If you’re a treasurer preparing a budget which is going to hurt in a few places, I think signalling that is not a bad thing.”