MATT SHIRVINGTON:
Joining me now is Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Good morning to you, our time. Well, earlier this week, you told Nat that you're confident Australia will avoid a recession. But how are we impacted if a global recession occurs as the IMF is warning?
JIM CHALMERS:
Thanks for the opportunity, Matt, to join you again, this time from Washington DC. You are right that the International Monetary Fund has released since we last spoke a pretty grim set of figures about their expectations for the global economy, and clearly in Australia, we won't be completely immune from those developments. But we do enter this new period of global economic uncertainty from a position of relative strength: our unemployment rate is low, we've got the beginnings of wages growth, we're getting good, very good prices for our exports on global markets as well. And so it will be a difficult period, our own economy will slow considerably but in this environment, you would rather be Australia than almost any other country. And these meetings are an opportunity for me to take the temperature of the global economy as we put the finishing touches on the Budget in May because when the global environment is as uncertain as it is, the most important response that we can put in place at home is responsible economic management and that's what people will see in the Budget.
SHIRVINGTON:
Is it time to tighten the belt even more so with the economic outlook worsening?
CHALMERS:
I think in the Budget we'll be called upon once again to strike the right balance between providing a bit of help for people as they deal with these, in some cases, extreme cost‑of‑living pressures, provide that assistance in an affordable and a responsible way, but at the same time as we clean up the mess that we inherited in the Budget, we try and show spending restraint, we try and trim spending in areas where it's not necessary or we're not getting proper value for money. So budgets are always about trying to strike that balance. This Budget will be about responsible cost‑of‑living relief, laying the foundations for future growth in our economy at the same time as we try and make our people and our economy and our country more resilient to these economic shocks that we're seeing from around the world.
SHIRVINGTON:
There's been a breakthrough with the ongoing trade dispute with China, which is good news. I mean, Beijing announced it will review the heavy tariffs it has imposed on Australian barley, particularly, potentially other industries too will benefit. How important are Chinese export dollars to maintain the strength of our economy?
CHALMERS:
I thought that was an important development. I pay tribute to Penny Wong and Don Farrell for the progress that was made and announced earlier in the week. We've said for some time that obviously the Chinese market is absolutely crucial to our exporters and our employers, it's crucial to jobs and opportunities in Australia, and so we want to see that relationship stabilised so that our people can take full advantage of a region which is peaceful and prosperous and stable and secure. That's our objective. That was a key development on that front because we want Australians to be able to take full advantage of the opportunities particularly in our Asian region.
SHIRVINGTON:
Another really interesting point today, RBA directors mentioning the fact that in hindsight they did a terrible job in curbing inflation off the back of COVID. Now you're tasked with, I guess, cleaning up the economy, and Aussies are feeling the pain on a daily basis.
CHALMERS:
The Reserve Bank board takes its decisions independently. I think it's appropriate that they explain and defend those decisions publicly, and that's what we saw this week. And I appreciate the candour and the frankness of the board members who made those comments but that is a matter for them. They do take those decisions independently. My job is different and that is to make sure that we're providing that help in the Budget and we're managing the Budget in the most responsible and affordable and sustainable way. And we're working through these global challenges in the most methodical way that we can - that's my job, that's what I'm focused on. The Reserve Bank has got a different job, and they can defend and explain their decisions publicly, and that's what we saw this week.
SHIRVINGTON:
Treasurer, thanks for your time.