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

Once again leaving out that interest rates started going up on their watch and there were three interest rate cuts last year—but, more broadly, in terms of the points made by Shane Oliver, as I said yesterday in this place and on other occasions as well, that is a view that is not unanimously shared amongst economists. The AMP economists said government spending has peaked and that growth in government spending is going to add less to inflation. Commonwealth Bank economists said the public sector's contribution to growth has eased significantly. Westpac economists said public sector demand growth is slowing and, indeed, was negative over the first half of 2025.

Now, if his question is, 'Will the government be looking to make more savings in its fifth budget, in May?' the answer is yes. The fact is that we've made savings in all of our budgets and budget updates. That's why we've found $114 billion in savings, including $20 billion in savings in the midyear budget update less than two months ago. To give the shadow Treasurer and shadow Assistant Treasurer a sense of the magnitude of that, it took the previous government seven budget updates to find anything like $20 billion in savings, so I won't be taking lectures from those opposite when it comes to responsible economic management.

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