‘Very welcome developments': Jim Chalmers says unemployment is at ‘half-century' low
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the Albanese government is 'very encouraged' by the fall of inflation from 2.4 per cent to 2.1 per cent.
This comes as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) release the monthly inflation numbers.
'Under this government, we have seen the lowest average unemployment of any government in the last half century,' Mr Chalmers said.
'We are very encouraged by the numbers we've seen today.
'To have headline inflation at 2.1 per cent … those are very welcome developments and all Australians deserve to share in the credit for that.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
24 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Section 899 of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill makes US assets ‘less attractive' to Aussie investors
AMP economist My Bui has claimed she is 'quite concerned' about the impact of section 899 of US President Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill on Australian businesses. Treasurer Jim Chalmers spoke to his American counterpart Scott Bessent this morning and used the call to lobby him over the Section 899 tax proposal, which forms part of Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill. If the Bill passes, it could result in Australia being deemed a 'discriminatory foreign country', which could result in Australian businesses investing in America being charged higher taxes.
AU Financial Review
33 minutes ago
- AU Financial Review
Chalmers urges Bessent to reconsider ‘revenge tax' on super funds
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has urged his US counterpart Scott Bessent to reconsider a controversial proposal that would raise taxes on super funds and companies investing in the US, as he pushed back on calls to increase Australia's defence spending. Institutional investors are alarmed by section 899 of the Trump administration's so-called 'big beautiful bill'. The proposed law would give the administration scope to use 'revenge taxes' on foreign countries that it deemed treated American firms unfairly, such as through digital services taxes.
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Treasurer seeks trade balance in latest US tariff talks
Jim Chalmers has made the case to his US counterpart to remove American-imposed tariffs, while rebuffing calls to increase defence spending in line with NATO allies. The treasurer spoke with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday, the third time the pair have talked. Dr Chalmers said he pushed for a deal to remove tariffs on Australian exports into the US imposed by President Donald Trump. "This was a very positive discussion, a very productive discussion," he told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday. "I made our case once again when it comes to trade and tariffs and these escalating trade tensions around the world. "The global economic environment is very uncertain, very unpredictable and very volatile." Australian goods are slugged with a 10 per cent tariff to enter the US, while steel and aluminium products have a 50 per cent tariff. As Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles represents Australia at the NATO summit in The Hague, it remains unclear whether he will secure a face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump at the gathering of world leaders. Mr Marles is attending in place of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who pulled the pin on a potential trip to The Hague after other Indo-Pacific leaders opted out. Mr Albanese's planned first face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump, on the sidelines of the G7 summit earlier in June, was cancelled after an escalation in the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. Asked if he would meet the US president, Mr Marles said it wasn't yet confirmed. "It's not specifically on the agenda and I wouldn't want to overstate any of that," he told reporters at the security summit on Wednesday. "We are in large rooms with lots of people, and these meetings, gatherings like this, end up being pretty fluid in terms of the bilaterals that you end up organising." NATO countries have agreed to increase defence spending to five per cent of GDP, as the US also puts pressure on allies to boost money spent in the area. While the US has called on Australia to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent, the federal government aims to increase it from two to 2.3 per cent by 2033/34. Dr Chalmers stood by the government's spend despite the boost from allies. "It's not unusual for our partners and friends around the world to express or have a preference for us to spend more on defence. We are actually already very substantially increasing our investment in defence," he said. "Obviously we've seen the announcements out of Europe. We're obviously tracking those developments very closely ... but we are already dramatically increasing our investment in defence. "That's warranted and that's why we're doing it." Jim Chalmers has made the case to his US counterpart to remove American-imposed tariffs, while rebuffing calls to increase defence spending in line with NATO allies. The treasurer spoke with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday, the third time the pair have talked. Dr Chalmers said he pushed for a deal to remove tariffs on Australian exports into the US imposed by President Donald Trump. "This was a very positive discussion, a very productive discussion," he told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday. "I made our case once again when it comes to trade and tariffs and these escalating trade tensions around the world. "The global economic environment is very uncertain, very unpredictable and very volatile." Australian goods are slugged with a 10 per cent tariff to enter the US, while steel and aluminium products have a 50 per cent tariff. As Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles represents Australia at the NATO summit in The Hague, it remains unclear whether he will secure a face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump at the gathering of world leaders. Mr Marles is attending in place of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who pulled the pin on a potential trip to The Hague after other Indo-Pacific leaders opted out. Mr Albanese's planned first face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump, on the sidelines of the G7 summit earlier in June, was cancelled after an escalation in the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. Asked if he would meet the US president, Mr Marles said it wasn't yet confirmed. "It's not specifically on the agenda and I wouldn't want to overstate any of that," he told reporters at the security summit on Wednesday. "We are in large rooms with lots of people, and these meetings, gatherings like this, end up being pretty fluid in terms of the bilaterals that you end up organising." NATO countries have agreed to increase defence spending to five per cent of GDP, as the US also puts pressure on allies to boost money spent in the area. While the US has called on Australia to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent, the federal government aims to increase it from two to 2.3 per cent by 2033/34. Dr Chalmers stood by the government's spend despite the boost from allies. "It's not unusual for our partners and friends around the world to express or have a preference for us to spend more on defence. We are actually already very substantially increasing our investment in defence," he said. "Obviously we've seen the announcements out of Europe. We're obviously tracking those developments very closely ... but we are already dramatically increasing our investment in defence. "That's warranted and that's why we're doing it." Jim Chalmers has made the case to his US counterpart to remove American-imposed tariffs, while rebuffing calls to increase defence spending in line with NATO allies. The treasurer spoke with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday, the third time the pair have talked. Dr Chalmers said he pushed for a deal to remove tariffs on Australian exports into the US imposed by President Donald Trump. "This was a very positive discussion, a very productive discussion," he told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday. "I made our case once again when it comes to trade and tariffs and these escalating trade tensions around the world. "The global economic environment is very uncertain, very unpredictable and very volatile." Australian goods are slugged with a 10 per cent tariff to enter the US, while steel and aluminium products have a 50 per cent tariff. As Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles represents Australia at the NATO summit in The Hague, it remains unclear whether he will secure a face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump at the gathering of world leaders. Mr Marles is attending in place of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who pulled the pin on a potential trip to The Hague after other Indo-Pacific leaders opted out. Mr Albanese's planned first face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump, on the sidelines of the G7 summit earlier in June, was cancelled after an escalation in the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. Asked if he would meet the US president, Mr Marles said it wasn't yet confirmed. "It's not specifically on the agenda and I wouldn't want to overstate any of that," he told reporters at the security summit on Wednesday. "We are in large rooms with lots of people, and these meetings, gatherings like this, end up being pretty fluid in terms of the bilaterals that you end up organising." NATO countries have agreed to increase defence spending to five per cent of GDP, as the US also puts pressure on allies to boost money spent in the area. While the US has called on Australia to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent, the federal government aims to increase it from two to 2.3 per cent by 2033/34. Dr Chalmers stood by the government's spend despite the boost from allies. "It's not unusual for our partners and friends around the world to express or have a preference for us to spend more on defence. We are actually already very substantially increasing our investment in defence," he said. "Obviously we've seen the announcements out of Europe. We're obviously tracking those developments very closely ... but we are already dramatically increasing our investment in defence. "That's warranted and that's why we're doing it." Jim Chalmers has made the case to his US counterpart to remove American-imposed tariffs, while rebuffing calls to increase defence spending in line with NATO allies. The treasurer spoke with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday, the third time the pair have talked. Dr Chalmers said he pushed for a deal to remove tariffs on Australian exports into the US imposed by President Donald Trump. "This was a very positive discussion, a very productive discussion," he told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday. "I made our case once again when it comes to trade and tariffs and these escalating trade tensions around the world. "The global economic environment is very uncertain, very unpredictable and very volatile." Australian goods are slugged with a 10 per cent tariff to enter the US, while steel and aluminium products have a 50 per cent tariff. As Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles represents Australia at the NATO summit in The Hague, it remains unclear whether he will secure a face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump at the gathering of world leaders. Mr Marles is attending in place of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who pulled the pin on a potential trip to The Hague after other Indo-Pacific leaders opted out. Mr Albanese's planned first face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump, on the sidelines of the G7 summit earlier in June, was cancelled after an escalation in the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. Asked if he would meet the US president, Mr Marles said it wasn't yet confirmed. "It's not specifically on the agenda and I wouldn't want to overstate any of that," he told reporters at the security summit on Wednesday. "We are in large rooms with lots of people, and these meetings, gatherings like this, end up being pretty fluid in terms of the bilaterals that you end up organising." NATO countries have agreed to increase defence spending to five per cent of GDP, as the US also puts pressure on allies to boost money spent in the area. While the US has called on Australia to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent, the federal government aims to increase it from two to 2.3 per cent by 2033/34. Dr Chalmers stood by the government's spend despite the boost from allies. "It's not unusual for our partners and friends around the world to express or have a preference for us to spend more on defence. We are actually already very substantially increasing our investment in defence," he said. "Obviously we've seen the announcements out of Europe. We're obviously tracking those developments very closely ... but we are already dramatically increasing our investment in defence. "That's warranted and that's why we're doing it."
