Nat Barr unleashes on Jim Chalmers as mortgage pain is set to worsen – and asks why Australia is falling behind: ‘Highest-taxing Treasurer’
Nat Barr has unleashed on Treasurer Jim Chalmers over Australia’s soaring interest rates, government spending, and high taxes as households brace for more mortgage pain.
The Sunrise host questioned why Australia was on track to have one of the highest cash rates in the developed world, with the Reserve Bank widely expected to lift rates from 4.35 per cent to 4.60 per cent on Tuesday.
Barr said only Iceland would have a higher rate, while countries including the US, UK, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Sweden and Singapore had lower rates.
‘Why are we so bad on a world scale? We have the second-highest cash rate in the developed world. Look at these numbers. You know them,’ Barr asked.
Chalmers pushed back, arguing Australia’s economic performance needed to be considered more broadly.
‘Well, the first point is that inflation and interest rates are going up right around the world,’ Chalmers said.
‘The second point is, if you want to make comparisons with other countries, you’ve got to make the full comparison.
‘You know, we’ve got stronger economic growth than almost every major advanced economy.
‘Stronger jobs growth than the major advanced economies. We’ve got lower debt, much, much lower debt than the major advanced economies.
‘And so, when you make those comparisons, it’s important to make the whole comparison.’
Barr was quick to hit back, saying those figures offered little comfort to households struggling with higher repayments and living costs.
‘But Jim, people don’t feel that, though. I can promise you, people on the text line are saying, “All the figures, that’s great, but on my kitchen table, this is my problem.” So that’s what they’re living with.’
Barr also challenged the Treasurer over government spending, asking whether elevated spending was adding to inflationary pressure.
‘Government spending has climbed to 26.9 per cent of GDP. That is the highest level outside the pandemic since about 1986. Do you concede that spending is contributing to our inflation crisis?’ she asked.
Chalmers hit back at the suggestion the government had allowed spending to spiral.
‘When it comes to government spending, we’ve been able to get that down quite substantially since we’ve come to office,’ he said.
‘Government spending as a share of the economy has come down considerably in the last four or five years or so.’
Barr pressed him again, pointing to concerns raised by economists and the Reserve Bank about government spending and demand in the economy.
‘But you’ve got economists and even the RBA Governor saying your high government spending is contributing to this. Do you accept that it’s still too high?’
Chalmers said there was more work to be done on the budget.
‘I accept that there is always more work to do to get the budget in even better nick, to build on the very substantial progress that we have made already,’ he said.
‘If you look at that final budget outcome we released yesterday, the budget deficit for this year is around half what we inherited when we came to office.
‘It means that even in that one year, even since the budget, the budget’s $6 billion stronger, debt is $10 billion lower.’
Barr then turned to tax, telling Chalmers: ‘You are on target to become the highest-taxing treasurer in Australian history. That’s what people are feeling.’
Chalmers disputed the characterisation and pointed to tax levels under former Coalition treasurer Peter Costello.
‘Well, our tax levels are lower than what they were under Peter Costello. That’s an important point that I think people are missing, reacting to those stories today,’ he said.
‘But even that story today acknowledges that taxes were higher under Peter Costello.
‘A lot of people from the other side of politics point to Peter Costello as a model. He had higher taxes in his budgets than I have in mine.
‘So I just think that’s an important bit of perspective.’
Source: dailymail.com