Chalmers:
The government is closely monitoring developments in Iran and the Middle East, including implications for the global economy, our domestic economy, and obviously markets as well. The full consequences of this conflict are uncertain, but they’re likely to be substantial. We already had challenges in our economy with inflation and global economic uncertainty, and what we’re seeing in the Middle East will make those challenges harder rather than easier, and this will be a key focus of the Budget in May. We know that the Budget will be focused on inflation and productivity and global economic uncertainty. And clearly, these very dramatic events in the Middle East will weigh heavily, not just on the global economy, not just on our own economy, but also on our Budget deliberations.
Now, the good news is that the National Accounts released yesterday show that our economy has growth, which is strong and broad and very welcome. We’re talking about the strongest economic growth for almost 3 years, the strongest per capita economic growth for more than 3 years, faster economic growth than any major advanced economy. But it was the composition of that growth over the course of 2025, which we are incredibly encouraged by. Business investment, dwelling investment, an uptick in market sector productivity. Consumption was up. It came in a bit lower than we anticipated.
Now, all of these things are very encouraging developments because what this means is the National Accounts show that Australia has a very, very robust foundation from which to confront the dialled‑up global economic uncertainty, which comes from the dramatic escalation of hostilities in the Middle East over the weekend. We are incredibly well placed to deal with what’s coming at us from around the world. We had our share of challenges already. What’s happening in the Middle East risks making them harder rather than easier, but we are incredibly well placed. And that’s why the National Accounts yesterday, which showed strong, broad and welcome growth, was such a good development. When you compare us with the rest of the world, stronger growth than the major advanced economies, less debt than the major advanced economies, stronger jobs growth. These are all very, very good developments because they mean that we confront these global economic uncertainties from a position of genuine economic strength.
Now, when it comes to dealing with the challenges in the world right now, friends are more important than ever. We are very pleased to be welcoming Prime Minister Carney today, and his team. Prime Minister Carney is a remarkable leader, and he’s a wonderful friend of Australia. And at times like these we’ve got a huge opportunity, particularly when it comes to investment and when it comes to economic security, to work even more closely with our Canadian friends. I’ll be engaged in discussions with my counterpart, the Finance Minister François‑Philippe Champagne. I’ve met him on a number of occasions already, and we’ll be having detailed discussions today, particularly about investment and economic security. I’m looking forward to those discussions as well. The Canadians are wonderful friends of Australia at the government level, but also people‑to‑people, and today is a really exciting day to welcome Prime Minister Carney. He’ll be giving a speech to the parliament, and we know from his recent contributions that Prime Minister Carney is a really important leader in the world right now, and we’re looking forward to welcoming him.
Two more issues before I take your questions. These are serious times, but unfortunately, the Liberals are not serious people. And we saw that with the stunt from Tim Wilson yesterday in the parliament. Every three‑ring circus needs a clown, and Tim Wilson is a clown. His singing was bad. But what is worse are his views on Medicare, work from home, superannuation, the Reserve Bank’s dual mandate. If you think about just yesterday, Tim Wilson got sprung betting against Australia and Australians on the share market and getting the fuel excise regime horrendously wrong. And what this means, I think, is that more and more of Angus Taylor’s colleagues are concluding that Angus Taylor has made a horrible mistake in appointing Tim Wilson the Shadow Treasurer. We got a glimpse of that again yesterday. This is a guy who wants to privatise Medicare, who’s called for the dismantling of compulsory super, who’s criticised work from home as apartheid, who’s called for higher interest rates and higher unemployment by calling for the end of the dual mandate for the RBA, betting against Australia and Australians on the share market, and then we see this clown stunt yesterday in the parliament as well. Once again, these are serious times, but the Liberals are not serious people.
One final issue, we hope to vote in the House of Representatives this morning on the government’s superannuation changes. These superannuation changes are all about making the super system fairer from top to bottom. They’re all about more super for people on low incomes and more sustainable tax concessions for people who have tens of millions of dollars in super. It’s all about maintaining concessional tax treatment in super, but making those tax concessions fairer, and using some of the revenue from that to fund more super for people on low incomes. When the Coalition votes against our superannuation changes, they are voting for less super for people on low incomes, bigger tax breaks for people with tens of millions of dollars in super, and we’ll see that in the House later this morning. Happy to take a couple of questions.
Journalist:
Treasurer, do you agree that the rules‑based order is dead and that we need to band with middle powers?
Chalmers:
I think it’s a really important opportunity to work with middle powers like Canada to advance our national interest. I think the contribution that Prime Minister Carney made in Davos was a really thoughtful and really impactful contribution because it recognised, as we do, that a lot of the old certainties in the global economy are breaking down and busting up. We see that in the way supply chains have changed, the way trading relationships have changed. We’ve seen that in major conflicts in Europe and now the Middle East. We can’t rely on a lot of the old certainties in the global economy. And I think Prime Minister Carney is right to identify that challenge for middle powers like us. Now, for Australia, we believe the best path forward is cooperation with middle powers, and also with the major powers, to make sure that in a world of churn and change that Australians are beneficiaries of that change rather than victims.
Journalist:
Treasurer, you mentioned how Mark Carney is an important leader. He’s now reluctant to join the second pillar of AUKUS. As you say, he wants to engage more middle powers. Should we consider changing our defence arrangements?
Chalmers:
Well, we make our own decisions about our own defence arrangements, and AUKUS is a really important part of that. But we look forward to talking with Prime Minister Carney about defence, but also about investment, also about economic security, also about developments in the Middle East. We’ll have a number of opportunities today to engage with Prime Minister Carney and Minister Champagne on some of these important issues.
Journalist:
How is the government being proactive on the price of fuel to ensure that Australians don’t feel pain at the pump?
Chalmers:
We’ve seen some concerning developments on global oil markets and also when it comes to the price of petrol. This is why I’ve empowered the ACCC to get to the bottom of what’s happening here. The developments in Iran and the Middle East cannot be used as an excuse to gouge Australian customers. The ACCC has a very substantial regime, including a penalties regime. I’ve empowered them, I’ve encouraged them to get to the bottom of what’s happening here. We don’t want to see Australian motorists taken advantage of at a time like this. There are global fuel cycles, and there is also a risk of opportunism. And that’s why I’ve empowered the ACCC to do its important work. Thanks very much.
Journalist:
Thank you.