Australia's Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers (pictured), had little to say about the climate crisis during a presentation he gave to the annual Outlook Conference in Melbourne on November 2.

But of course, his address was tailored to his audience, with many of the 200 or so people there being either economists or academics whose prevailing interest focused on money matters.

The Treasurer's address covered all the expected "motherhood" statements about his recent Budget being fair, giving everyone a go, responsive to the prevailing world conditions and, of course, responsible.

The Melbourne conference, which was celebrating its 20th year, is the work of The Australian Newspaper and The Melbourne Institute from the University of Melbourne.