Treasurer Jim Chalmers pledges productivity boost under mounting pressure from Iran war
Treasurer Jim Chalmers vows May’s Federal Budget will have a substantial emphasis on lifting lagging productivity as Opposition Leader Angus Taylor claims Aussies could be $35,000 worse off without a fix.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has vowed May’s Federal Budget will have a substantial emphasis on lifting Australia’s lagging productivity growth as Opposition Leader Angus Taylor claims every Australian could be $35,000 worse off if the problem is not fixed.
Against the backdrop of widespread economic uncertainty — which the Treasurer on Tuesday conceded has made Australia’s inflation challenge worse — Mr Taylor is ramping up his attack on the Government’s credentials to tackle a cost-of-living crunch worsened by the war.
February inflation data that predates the conflict is due on Wednesday.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“The productivity package will be substantial and it will be all about making it easier and faster to build, more attractive to invest, and to try and get some of your compliance costs down,” Dr Chalmers said at a meeting of business leaders.
The Federal Government has been under pressure for some years to address Australia’s sluggish productivity growth amid warnings from economists that living standards are at stake.
The 20-year long-term measure of productivity has fallen to just 0.8 per cent in 2023-24, down from 1.8 per cent in 2003-04.
The Treasurer’s comments came just hours after BHP Australia President Geraldine Slattery told a separate event in Canberra that Australia should not be satisfied with, nor accept, its middle of the pack global productivity rankings.
Mr Taylor told the same event that current productivity trends suggested every Australian could be $35,000 worse off in lost national income, saying less regulation, beating inflation and getting energy prices lower were essential to get the economy “ticking again”.
The Iran war is expected to increase the importance of tackling productivity and inflation in the Budget, alongside tax reform and the Government’s pledge to make the Budget sustainable.
“This is not about resilience or reform, it’s about resilience and reform. Reform is all about resilience, they’re the same thing,” Dr Chalmers said.
