{"text":[[{"start":9.44,"text":"Australia and its “middle power” allies must work together to avoid their economies being taken “hostage” by global events, the country’s finance minister has said."}],[{"start":18.52,"text":"Jim Chalmers, who has served as Australia’s treasurer since 2022, told the FT that geopolitical shocks such as the wars in Iran and Ukraine showed how economic security could pay off for consumers at home."}],[{"start":31.56,"text":"His comments come as countries struggle to insulate themselves from geopolitical turmoil, given that investing in stockpiles and resilient supply chains may push up prices at a time when the public is already struggling with inflation."}],[{"start":44.48,"text":"“Countries like ours and economies like ours understand that we are in part hostage to decisions taken in Washington DC or Tehran or in eastern Europe,” said Chalmers."}],[{"start":54.68,"text":"“But at the same time, there is important work that we can do together as middle powers to strengthen our supply chains, make them more robust and resilient and strengthen our economic security as a consequence,” he added."}],[{"start":68,"text":"As an example, Chalmers pointed to Australia’s diplomacy with Singapore, China and Malaysia, which he said helped prevent shortages of refined transport fuels following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year."}],[{"start":82.08,"text":"Chalmers’ comments come as he faces pressure at home over sluggish productivity growth, fiscal deficits and the cost of living. Headline inflation in Australia is running at 4 per cent, hurting consumers. The Reserve Bank of Australia has hinted that interest rates will need to rise further in response."}],[{"start":99.2,"text":"The Treasurer’s net public approval rating fell by 9 percentage points to minus 23 points in a recent poll by the Australian Financial Review."}],[{"start":109,"text":"“Australia has an inflation challenge familiar to other countries and it’s made worse by the war in the Middle East and the way that these prolonged periods of elevated oil prices are playing out,” said Chalmers."}],[{"start":119.8,"text":"“We need to see an end to the war in the Middle East and the proper reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.”"}],[{"start":125.24,"text":"While geopolitical events and capricious superpowers have harmed Australia’s economy, Chalmers argued that there were also opportunities for Australia given its political stability and ample natural resources."}],[{"start":137.16,"text":"“The more the risk is ratcheted up around the world, the more attractive Australia looks because of our geography, our geology, our industry and demography, our energy sources and our technological opportunity as well,” he said."}],[{"start":151.76,"text":"One area of “extraordinary opportunity” was critical minerals, he said. China has used its near monopoly on rare earths as a political tool at the expense of “middle powers” with close ties to Australia such as Japan."}],[{"start":165.52,"text":"But Australia also has significant deposits of rare earths and other minerals such as lithium."}],[{"start":171.52,"text":"The US Export-Import Bank has signed $2.2bn of loan commitments to back advance critical mineral projects in Australia, while Lynas, the biggest rare earths producer outside China, has struck a supply deal with Japan to guarantee a price floor."}],[{"start":187.24,"text":"A return to the pre-Covid attitude of ignoring supply chain resilience was not possible, Chalmers said."}],[{"start":193.76,"text":"“We used to think of economic shocks as punctuating long periods of calm and now we’ve had periods of calm punctuating longer periods of economic shock,” he said. “The world has changed.”"}],[{"start":209.76,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792903893_5426.mp3"}