House debates Questions without Notice

Economy

Tuesday, 15 September 2026 House of Representatives

Jim Chalmers

Jim Chalmers Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer

3:04 pm

Respectfully, to the member for Farrer as well, I've gone to debt to GDP. I've gone to Australian levels. I've gone to other levels around the world. The reason that this is especially topical right now is that, if you look at US Treasury bond yields for 10 years, they breached five per cent again today. That is a source of considerable concern for policymakers, decision-makers, governments and the private sector right around the world. It reflects a number of things.

It reflects the fact that the war in Iran is dragging on longer than anyone would like from an economic point of view. It's reflecting the fact that a lot of other countries—not Australia, but a lot of other countries—are carrying levels of debt that are approaching unsustainable levels. It reflects the fact that interest rate expectations have gone up around the world in every major advanced economy. They now expect a rate rise. It reflects the fact that the private sector, including the hyperscalers in the AI and technology landscape, are competing more substantially to raise capital on these markets. And it reflects all of the uncertainty in our economy—geopolitical uncertainty and economic uncertainty as well. The question that he asked is a really important one. Australia's position is better than our peers'. (Time expired)

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