Jim Chalmers:
Really good news in the economy this week with interest rates being cut for the second time in 3 months. This is really welcome relief for millions of Australians with a mortgage. We know that there’s a lot of global economic uncertainty. We know that people are still under pressure.
That’s why the primary focus of this government, just like it was in the first term, just like it was in the campaign, will be continuing to provide stable, responsible, considered methodical economic leadership, because that responsible economic management has seen inflation come down substantially, real wages grow, unemployment very low, growth rebounding in our economy. We’ve got the debt down, and now we’ve seen these multiple interest rate cuts in the space of the last few months.
These are very good developments, but we remain focused on the job at hand, which is to manage the economy in a responsible way, to build more homes, roll out more renewables, make our economy more productive, finish the fight against inflation. That remains our focus, no matter what’s happening on the other side of politics.
Journalist:
Do you think the Liberals and Nationals, are they on a break, or have they broken up?
Chalmers:
That’s a matter for them. And obviously, the other side of politics is a shambles right now, but it’s not our focus. We’re very grateful for the opportunity to govern Australia for another term. We approach that task with humility and with gratitude.
Journalist:
Did you kind of rub your hands together, though, when it happened yesterday, you didn’t have any sort of fun with it?
Chalmers:
No, our focus is on continuing to manage the economy in a responsible way, to focus on the commitments that we made in the campaign, how we roll them out, and to make sure that we continue to provide that stable economic leadership at a time when there’s a lot a lot of global economic uncertainty.
Journalist:
Will it be hard to keep discipline in your party, considering how big a margin you’ve got, the Liberals won 28 seats?
Chalmers:
Every member of our team is focused on the job at hand. We approach this term with humility and gratitude.
The magnitude of our election victory was a surprise to us as well, but we worked very hard to convince Australians that we could provide stability and responsibility in uncertain economic times around the world.
The Australian people supported us to an extent that was a surprise to us, but a great outcome, and we approach this term, as I said, in a humble way, in a grateful way. We know that there’s a lot of work to do, so what we’re seeing on the other side of politics is a mess, but it’s not our focus. We’re focused on the job at hand.
Journalist:
The United Kingdom has suspended free trade talks with Israel and hauled in its ambassador. Should Australia be doing the same?
Chalmers:
That decision is obviously a matter for the Europeans. We’ve made it really clear that the devastating loss of innocent human life in Gaza has to stop, and we need to see access for humanitarian aid and humanitarian workers. It has been absolutely devastating to see developments in Gaza in the last few days, and we’ve made our views clear.
Journalist:
What about sanctions? Other countries have done that. Canada, the UK, further sanctions than what Australia has already done.
Chalmers:
I’ll leave you in the capable hands of the Foreign Minister talking about some of those issues, but we’ve already made our position very clear. We need to see an end to the loss of innocent human lives in Gaza. These developments have been devastating. We have played an active part in ensuring that humanitarian aid and humanitarian workers can access families and people in that part of the world who are in desperate need. And any comment beyond that, I’ll leave you in the capable hands of the Foreign Minister.
Journalist:
Around last year’s Budget, you talked about the potential switch to go from bringing down inflation to looking at growth. Does that now hit a new phase that we’ve seen 2 rate cuts, inflation in the band. Do you now primarily focus on growth?
Chalmers:
We want to finish the fight against inflation at the same time as we make our economy more productive over the medium term.
In our first term, the primary focus was on the cost of living, getting inflation down sustainably and we will continue to focus on that.
This second term gives us an opportunity to lay down some of the longer-term foundations for a more productive economy, in getting the energy transformation right, making sure that Australians have the skills to adapt and adopt technology, making sure we get the most out of our big investments in the care economy, making our economy more competitive and productive and dynamic, making the most of the AI opportunity. This is how we’ll make our economy more productive over time. It’s why I’m working closely with the Productivity Commission on this agenda.
In the first term, the focus, of course, primarily inflation, without forgetting the reforms which will make our economy more productive. The second term, there will be a bigger focus on productivity, building on the steps that we took in the first term.
Journalist:
Do you have a target growth number? It’s obviously been so small for so long.
Chalmers:
We’ve asked the Productivity Commission to do some work on those 5 pillars of productivity.
It’s important to recognise that productivity hasn’t just been a challenge in our economy the last couple of years, it’s been a challenge in our economy the last couple of decades. The weakest period for productivity growth, the weakest decade, was the decade leading up to 2020, under our predecessors.
It’s a long-term challenge in our economy. We’re not nominating a target for the time being, but we are looking forward to building on the progress we’ve made in our first term on productivity, and the Productivity Commission will help us do that.
Thanks very much.