Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to report that the fundamentals of the Australian economy remain sound. We are in our 29th year of consecutive economic growth—a record unmatched by any other developed economy. We are one of only 10 economies in the world with an AAA credit rating by all three major credit-rating agencies. We have a record workforce participation rate with a record number of Australians in paid employment, and more than 1.4 million new jobs were created since we came to office. Wages growth in 2018-19 was the strongest since 2013-14. Real wages growth is at 0.7 per cent—stronger than the long-term 20-year average of 0.6 per cent and higher than the 0.4 per cent real growth during Labor's last year in office. Welfare dependency is at its lowest in three decades. But, yes, we are facing a series of headwinds. The IMF has again downgraded global growth forecasts to three per cent—the lowest growth forecast since 2008-09. Australia is a globally focused and globally exposed trading economy. Lower global growth has an inevitable impact on our domestic economy. Then we had the floods in North Queensland—Labor forgot about those—and, of course, we have severe drought impacting on large parts of regional Australia.

On the international front, the IMF's most recent report highlights these challenges, saying:

... rising trade and geopolitical tensions taking a toll on business confidence, investment decisions, and global trade ...

But, unlike the advanced economies of Germany, the United States, Sweden and Singapore, which contracted in the June quarter, the Australian economy continued to grow. In fact, the IMF forecast is that Australia will grow faster than any of the G7 economies except the US over the next two years. The international challenges are a reminder of why we must continue to stick to our balanced and disciplined economic plan. (Time expired)