Mary Doyle (Aston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. How is the Albanese Labor government managing the economy in the interests of all Australians and what approaches has the government rejected?

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

I thank the member for Aston, an absolute champion for her local community in Melbourne. As honourable members know, there is no shortage of challenges in the global economy or, indeed, in our own domestic economy. While yesterday's decision by the independent Reserve Bank was a welcome relief and a welcome reprieve, we understand that people are still under pressure. As the RBA made clear yesterday, the Australian economy has already slowed considerably, and this will continue for a little while yet. A combination of high interest rates, high inflation and global uncertainty is slowing our economy. It's putting a strain on our people and it will have an impact on our labour market as well.

Because inflation is still the primary challenge in our economy, it's the major focus of our government. Our relief is targeted to those areas where pressures are most acute, like out-of-pocket health costs, rent and electricity bills.

All of this is part of making sure that our economy and our society are more resilient to the global economic uncertainty that lies ahead, and we have made some progress in the last 13, 14 or 15 months of this government in office.

It's important to remember that quarterly inflation is less than half what it was in the last quarter of those opposite now. The unemployment rate is lower now than it was when we came to office. The participation rate is higher than when we came to office. Wages growth is quicker than when we came to office after a decade of wage stagnation under those opposite. The deficit was forecast to be $78 billion and there were big deficits in their budgets every year after that. They delivered the most consecutive deficits of any government since the 1920s. They didn't have enough to show for a trillion dollars in debt, and they found no savings at all in their last budget.

Compare that to where we are now. Inflation is moderating; it is higher than we'd like, but it is moderating. The unemployment rate is lower and it's near a 50-year low. There are nearly 500,000 more Australians in work. That's the most jobs created by a new government in a first year on record. A record number of people are in work. Wages are moving again. We've got the first surplus in 15 years, which will be just north of $20 billion. We've got lower deficits over the forward estimates—more than $140 billion lower than what they had in their last budget. The peak of gross debt is lower. The interest cost on debt is $44 billion lower than in their last budget, and we found $40 billion in savings across our two budgets.

We know that people are under pressure. We know that there are difficult times ahead, but our responsible economic management and our economic plan are helping people through difficult times. They are laying the foundations for a better future and they are cleaning up the mess left behind by those opposite.