Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Mr President. Before I was interrupted by those opposite, I was pointing out that the Reserve Bank and the Treasury had indeed provided updated information in relation to the NAIRU, the effective rate of full employment at which you expect to see wages pressure increase in the economy. The updates that they released and provided indicated that it was necessary to get unemployment sustainably below five per cent—indeed, closer to 4½ per cent—to see that type of pressure build, particularly in what is the low-interest-rate, low-inflation environment that we face at present.

What the government have outlined in our economic plan, in our budget, is a very clear plan to deliver stronger employment growth that achieves lower unemployment outcomes—that meets those types of provisions and expectations that the Reserve Bank and the Treasury have outlined to drive unemployment below five per cent and to achieve that in sustainable terms. That's something that hasn't been achieved in this country for a very long time, but we are well placed to achieve that now.