Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

with 85 per cent of this for unavoidable and legacy spending. This compares to the $30 billion impact of key policy decisions by our predecessors, with no expenditure savings whatsoever in the March budget.

So the restraint we showed in the budget was a key reason the IMF and ratings agencies have been so positive about our efforts. The IMF said our spending restraint 'will help support monetary policy in holding back excess demand'. Standard & Poor's said: 'We expect the budget to improve because of steady revenue growth, high commodity prices, and expenditure restraint.' Fitch Ratings credited the budget with outlining a broadly neutral fiscal stance in the near term. And Morningstar said of the budget, quite recently, that most of the revenue windfall is being saved and that recently announced policy measures, such as cost-of-living relief, are being targeted and offset. We know the best way to address inflation is through cost-of-living relief—

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