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

Living standards measure up in today's national accounts, and one of the appropriate measures has Australia per capita income growth at more than twice the average of the major advanced economies, according to the OECD. That's the first point.

The second point goes to international comparisons. What today's national accounts show is that our economy is growing stronger than every major advanced economy. Every major advanced economy has weaker economic growth than Australia does, and I know that makes the shadow Treasurer unhappy. I know that he would prefer if we had weak growth in this country. But Australia has strong, broad private sector led growth, and most objective observers would consider that a good thing, even if those opposite do not. If he wants to make the international comparisons, make all of them. Stronger growth than the major advanced economies, lower debt than the major advanced economies, stronger job growth than the major advanced economies, lower unemployment than most of them as well—these are the international comparisons which the shadow Treasurer refuses to talk about.

There's got to be a reason why the shadow Treasurer is always talking the Australian economy down. There has to be a reason for that. For those who are trying to understand why he's always talking the economy down, I refer the shadow Treasurer and the House to a story in the Guardian—and, I think, also a story in the Australian Financial Review. What this story says is that the shadow Treasurer has shares which make more money for him when the Australian market underperforms. He has invested in shares which ensure the worse the Australian market and economy performs the more money he makes out of it. Those are the facts.

Opposition members interjecting—

That's why you're talking the place down.

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