Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Brisbane for the tremendous contribution she's already making to this place as a new, recently elected member.

The national accounts this week were a really welcome reminder of the progress that Australians are making together in our economy and the stronger economy that this government is helping to deliver. We saw a substantial pick-up in economic growth, better than most economists expected. We saw more proof that the private sector recovery that we've been planning for, preparing for and hoping for is gathering pace. We also saw, as we heard in the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relation's answer a moment ago, that we're getting incomes up and seeing that reflected in consumption as well, and that's an important driver of growth. We got new data today showing there was also solid consumption growth in July.

All of this puts us in good stead for the global uncertainty which surrounds us and the big economic challenges which confront us. We know that there's more work to do, that people are under pressure and that the global environment is unpredictable. We know our economy needs to grow more strongly, and, for that, it needs to be more productive. We've made good progress, but we know there's more work to do. In that context, I welcome—in the last 1½ hours or so in the Senate—the passage of the government's payments reforms.

These payments reforms are all about modernising our payment system and making our economy more productive as a consequence. These changes are about a payment system which is seamless, safer, stronger and better suited for the times. That's a good example of us keeping the reform wheels turning. But also, tomorrow, I'll be convening the state and territory treasurers. That's all about advancing our economic reform roundtable consensus together and recognising that if we want a more productive economy, the states have got a big role to play. So many of the productivity levers exist in the states, and that is why we work so closely with them and why tomorrow's meeting is so important.

Tomorrow, we'll be progressing our single national market policy and lifting the ambition of our national competition policy. A big focus will be cutting red tape and making it easier for skilled workers to go where they're needed most so that tradies can save time and money. Also on the agenda are faster approvals, harmonising regulation, boosting housing supply and taking the time to get road user charging right. The meeting's all about working together to make our economy more productive and more resilient, because we know that's the best way to lift living standards in every state and territory in the Commonwealth. I look forward to speaking with the state and territory treasurers tomorrow on all of these important issues. It's an important demonstration of the reform effort that is going on this side of the House to sustain the progress that we've been making together in our economy.

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