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

There he is. He is there after all. And what a relief for all of us that is!

As I said when the national accounts came out last Wednesday, the Australian economy barely grew in the June quarter. That's true in nominal terms, and it's true that the economy is weak per person as well. That's why it would be absolutely diabolical if we pulled $315 billion out of the economy as the shadow Treasurer wants us to do. If we had taken the free advice of those opposite, the economy would be in recession right now.

When we came to office, inflation had a six in front of it and it was rising. Interest rates were already going up. There were deficits as far as the eye could see. Real wages were falling when we came to office. Because of our collective efforts, we've got wages moving again. We're rolling out cost-of-living relief.

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