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

Tomorrow marks 10 years since the member for Newcastle was first elected, 10 years of her being an absolute champion for the people of Newcastle, and we are very lucky we get the opportunity to work so closely with her here. Today's national accounts show the economy grew by 0.4 per cent in the June quarter, the same pace as the revised outcome for the previous quarter: 2.1 per cent through the year. This was a steady and sturdy outcome in the face of immense pressure. This is the Australian economy holding up relatively well in the face of higher interest rates, high but moderating inflation and global uncertainty, including the slowdown in China.

We know, as the acting Prime Minister has said, that interest rates and inflation are biting, and we see that in the numbers today. Household consumption is moderating, growing by just 0.1 per cent last quarter, and we expected this slowdown. We've seen Aussie households pull back on discretionary spending to pay their mortgages and balance their family budgets. The slowdown in China is impacting the economy, and we're watching that closely, too. Both Treasury and the Reserve Bank forecast that the Australian economy will continue to grow but growth will slow considerably. We've been upfront about the year ahead, and we expect to see the unemployment rate tick up a bit as well.

Despite these headwinds, Australia is well placed to navigate the many challenges ahead from a position of relative economic strength. Our economy grew faster than most of the major advanced economies in the year to the June quarter, faster than the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Canada as well. The unemployment rate has a three in front of it. Wages are growing at around rates not seen in a decade. Our tourism and education sectors are bouncing back. We've delivered the first surplus in 15 years, easing the pressure off inflation. Inflation is moderating but we want to see it moderate further. In the last quarter it was less than half of what it was in the March quarter, before the election, under those geniuses opposite. Around half a million jobs have been created on our watch—the most of a new government on record. More than 14 million people are in work.

We know that people are under pressure, and that's why we are working for Australia, to help Australians through these difficult economic times while laying the foundations for future growth of the same time. That's why we're rolling out billions of dollars of targeted and responsible cost-of-living relief to Australians in a way that doesn't make this inflation challenge worse. We are realistic about the challenges ahead, and we are well placed to tackle them. Australians have every reason to be optimistic about the future of our economy and the future of our country as well.

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