Chalmers makes the case Australia can ride out 'volatile, unpredictable' world
As the treasurer began his budget sales pitch with one eye on an election, it wasn't the domestic economy that dominated. Instead, it was the darkening global outlook.
As Jim Chalmers fronted journalists in the lock-up press conference to begin his budget sales pitch, his prepared remarks were accompanied by the usual array of graphs.
But one he chose to zero in on early was telling: not the national debt or deficit or the unemployment rate but instead, the gold price, which he pointed out has been "absolutely galloping" of late. It was a fitting illustration of the volatility currently sweeping through markets and the world economy following Donald Trump's return to power in the US.
It wasn't the domestic economy that dominated Chalmers' press conference, or the budget papers more broadly. Instead it was the "storm clouds" gathering over the global economy, as a result of trade tensions stemming from the US but also slowing growth in China and conflicts raging in Europe and the Middle East.
Asked by Capital Brief how he could rely on Treasury's forecasts in such a time of turbulence — and the choices made by the Trump administration in particular — Chalmers put on a brave face.
