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

To those of you watching at home who thought that the shadow Treasurer had been replaced, the good news, particularly for me, is that he hasn't. The member for Hume has survived the reshuffle of those opposite—not that you would know. That is the second question I've got in about seven months, so I'm pleased for the opportunity to be able to answer it.

The shadow Treasurer asked me about economic management. I am absolutely delighted to get a question from him about economic management because it gives me the opportunity to explain to him, to the House and to the country the progress that has been made in cleaning up the mess that he and his colleagues on the frontbench over there left behind. If we take, for example, real wages, real wages are growing again in our economy. They were going backwards 3.4 per cent when we came to office, and now they're growing again, ahead of schedule.

See this speech in context