As he completes his second budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has issued a warning about the “incredibly weak” economic growth expected over the next five years.
Cost-of-living relief, economic expansion, and making Australia “more resilient to international shocks” will be the three main focuses of the May budget, according to him.
His remarks follow a brief trip to Washington, DC, where he met with top financial figures to discuss the “complex and confronting” current global circumstances that would serve as the basis for the Budget.
He said that “this budget will be delivered in the context of an uncertain, volatile, and precariously placed global economy.”
One of the main takeaways from the engagements in Washington, DC, was that while the global economy has managed to get through a challenging period recently, there is still a lot of uncertainty, volatility, and vulnerability in the global economy because the risks are still tilted to the downside, in the words of the IMG.
The IMF has said that they anticipate very slow global economic growth over the next five years.
Despite “a lot coming at us,” he continued, “a lot of things are going for us.”
“Responsible economic management here at home is the best antidote to global economic uncertainty, and that’s what the May budget will represent,” he added.
Low unemployment and strong export prices are now supporting the budget, but after that, the burden on the budget will only increase.
According to him, the budget’s cost-of-living assistance would not increase inflation, and efforts to expand the energy and healthcare sectors would be made in order to boost the economy.
The majority of the remaining budget choices, according to him, will be made this week.
On May 9, the budget will be released.