Five words that sparked a candid confession from Treasurer Jim Chalmers – in which he opens up in a raw and honest interview about giving up drinking and doing nothing in moderation
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has revealed he stopped drinking alcohol almost every night to set a good example for his three young children.
Dr. Chalmers, faced with increasing frustration over cost-of-living pressures, gave a wide-ranging interview Good weekend magazine this week, but his honest response to a throwaway five-word comment shows a side of the Labor frontbencher that most Australians would be surprised by, given his polished media presence.
Discussing his decision to become a teetotaler, the interviewer noted that there had been ‘a bit of a loosening up socially’ in Parliament House, to which Dr Chalmers replied: ‘Because I drank too much’.
The treasurer then added that this was not the reason for his decision to jump on the bandwagon, but rather that he wanted to concentrate on the “great, serious task” of running the country and that he could not fully could do if he ‘had six or six drinks’. seven evenings a week’.
The Queensland MP said he wanted to teach his children Leo, 8, Annabel, 6, and Jack, 4, who he shares with wife Laura, that there is more to life than cracking open a cold drink at the end of a hard day at work.
‘All their lives, until three years ago, my main way of unwinding was to sit on the couch in the evening and have a beer and a glass of wine. And it wasn’t just one or two. I didn’t want them to get to a certain age and I thought that’s what adults do every night.”
Dr. Chalmers (pictured at Parliament House with wife Laura) said he ‘doesn’t do anything in moderation’
One of the other topics covered in the interview was Mr. Chalmers’ path to becoming federal treasurer after developing a passion for politics and history in high school thanks to one of his teachers.
He would later write to the same teacher after earning a doctorate in political science and international relations to thank him for his support.
But it was Paul Keating’s biography, which he came across at the age of 17, that instilled in him a deep determination to pursue a political career.
His thesis was his own version of Keating’s story, which he called ‘Brawler statesman’.
The Federal Treasurer talked about his love for ’90s hip-hop, the Broncos and basketball
The avid sports fan talked about his love for the Broncos and how he still plays basketball and trains at his local F45 gym whenever he can.
His new health kick may also have been triggered by a terrifying bout of skin cancer, which saw a melanoma cut out of his chest in late 2020, which he suffered for months as the wound refused to heal properly.
At one point he spent the night in the emergency room of the Canberra hospital before facing the Parliament House cameras the next morning without sleep.
His love of the music of ’90s hip-hop stars like Snoop Dogg and Tupac were also mentioned, but his candid comment that he “can’t do anything in moderation” is perhaps the most telling admission about why he has risen to number two in the rankings. powerful job in the country.
‘I always drive a hundred kilometers per hour. If I eat a piece of chocolate, I eat a block of chocolate. If I want to work in politics, I want to become a treasurer. If I want to go for a run, I want to run twenty kilometers.”