Treasurer Jim Chalmers has again emphasised that economic figures due out tomorrow are expected to show soft growth. Analysts are tipping the numbers could show annual growth below 1%, which would be the weakest growth since late 2020. Jim Chalmers says global uncertainty and interest rate rises are "smashing" the economy, which the opposition says is an attack on the Reserve Bank.
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00:00Most economists expect the national accounts figures which come out tomorrow to show an
00:06economy which is soft and subdued.
00:09We're not expecting lots of growth in the June quarter in these numbers that we get
00:13tomorrow.
00:14We'll see what they say.
00:16But really what we've got here is a combination of global economic uncertainty combining with
00:21higher interest rates and persistent price pressures here in Australia.
00:26Those things are combining to slow our economy quite substantially, we expect.
00:30We've got a very good, close working relationship with the Governor of the Reserve Bank, someone
00:35I've got a lot of respect and regard for.
00:38And the comments that I made on Sunday night were entirely consistent with things that
00:42I've been saying for some months actually.
00:43They weren't new comments that I made over the weekend which have been reported extensively
00:48since then.
00:50And I think it would be a bit strange, frankly, if the Treasurer of Australia couldn't point
00:54to the sorts of things which are slowing our economy.
00:57And I think it's self-evident from the economic data, whether it's the global economic uncertainty,
01:01the persistent price pressures or these higher interest rates, those things are all combining
01:06to slow our economy in quite substantial ways.
01:09That's what economists think.
01:11That's what I think.
01:13And I think it's entirely fine for me to make those points.
01:16You know, we've got different responsibilities, the Governor and I, but we've got the same
01:20objective.
01:21And our objective is to get on top of this inflation challenge in our economy without
01:24making life harder for people or smashing an economy which is already weak enough.
01:30And so those are the points that I've been making really for some months.