Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, how is the Albanese Labor government's responsible economic management strengthening our economy and cleaning up the mess of a wasted decade?

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

Thank you to the wonderful member for Lingiari for her question. We are working for Australia to take the pressure off Australians, to strengthen Medicare and to build a future made in Australia in a world of churn and change. We know that people are still doing it very tough because of persistent inflation, higher interest rates and global uncertainty, and this is slowing our economy in expected ways, and we did see that in yesterday's national accounts.

We aren't just acknowledging this; we are acting on it, with a combination of cost-of-living help, budget repair and investing in housing, energy and skills.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hume will cease interjecting.

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

We are making welcome and important progress on inflation, on the budget and on the economy. As a result of our efforts, quarterly inflation is now around half of what we inherited. Wages growth is stronger. Budget deficits are much smaller. The participation rate is higher. The unemployment rate is lower than when we came to office. More jobs have been created on our watch than any other first-term government ever. We are restoring real wages growth. We've had two consecutive quarters of real wage growth, compared to the minus 3.4 per cent that we inherited at the election. Wages are now growing around twice as fast as they did under those opposite.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bowman is warned.

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

We are repairing the budget. We turned a $78 billion deficit into the first surplus in 15 years. That $100 billion turnaround is the biggest ever in this country. Because of our responsible economic management, gross debt will now peak lower, and that's saving Australians tens of billions of dollars in interest costs.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hume will cease interjecting.

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

This comes from a combination of spending restraint, savings and banking upward revision to revenue in our budget. Our progress and our strategy on budget repair have been welcomed by the IMF, the Reserve Bank, Fitch Ratings, Deloitte Access Economics, the OECD and others as making an important contribution to this fight against inflation. It has made room for $23 billion in cost-of-living relief, which took half a percentage point off inflation in the most recent data. Remember, this is the help that those opposite voted against.

We finish the parliamentary year not just understanding the pressure that people are under and the reasons why our economy is slowing but, most importantly, providing the responsible economic management to steer our economy through. Responsible economic management has been the defining feature of this government this year. It will be the defining feature of the mid-year update I released with Minister Gallagher. It will be the defining feature of the year ahead as well.