Treasurer Jim Chalmers wears bands from Baps Swaminarayan Temple Kingston ... trends now
When Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers fronted up to Wednesday's press conference to address the nation's latest inflation figures, he wore on his right hand five wristbands.
Visible beneath the cuff of his white short and dark suit jacket as he thrust forward his right hand to make a point about the state of the nation's economy, Mr Chalmers had on four light pink and one dark pink bracelet.
Asked by Daily Mail Australia where the bands came from and their importance, Mr Chalmers explained they're of both cultural and personal significance.
Four are nadachadis, which in Hindu religion are considered 'sacred' threads which are usually blessed and tied for protection in prayer.
Mr Chalmer's nadachadis come from his local Hindu temple, the Baps Swaminarayan Temple at Kingston in his Brisbane electorate of Rankin, which he has proudly held since 2013.
When Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers fronted up to Wednesday's press conference to address the nation's latest inflation figures, he wore on his right hand five wristbands
Four of the wristbands have a cultural significance, while one is a gift from Mr Chalmer's daughter Annabel, above in his arms in Parliament with wife Laura (left) after he delivered his first budget last October
Four of the wristbands are nadachadis, which in Hindu religion are considered 'sacred' threads and were blessed by the swami at Mr Chalmer's local Baps Swaminarayan Temple at Kingston in his Brisbane electorate
The Treasurer said the wristbands were gifts 'blessed by the swami and I wear them because they're a reminder of all the different community groups in my electorate'.
The fifth, a dark pink band which sits between two pairs of nadichadis is one of his daughter Annabel's hairbands.
'Because she likes seeing me on TV with one of her hairbands around my wrist, or something she's made for me,' he said.
Despite a demeaning personal rant by now ex-Treasurer Josh Frydenberg two years ago which deeply offended Indian and Hindu Australians, Mr Chalmers is not Hindu and his connections with that
