‘Welcome reprieve’: Chalmers responds to RBA cash rate decision

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has responded to the Reserve Bank’s decision to place interest rates on hold at 4.1% on Tuesday, 1st August.

Transcript

00:00 government changed hands last year. We had quarterly inflation more than double what

00:04 it is now. We had rates already rising. We had huge deficits as far as the eye can see.

00:10 And we didn't have enough to show for a trillion dollars in Liberal debt that they had racked

00:15 up. Now, Mr Speaker, partly as a consequence of our responsible economic management, we're

00:20 seeing inflation moderating. We're seeing record job creation. We're seeing the first

00:25 surplus in 15 years, saving us billions of dollars in interest costs on their debt. We

00:31 are cleaning up the mess that they left us, Mr Speaker, and building the foundations for

00:36 a stronger economy and a better future. So today's decision is a welcome reprieve, Mr

00:42 Speaker. There will be a sigh of relief around Australia, but people are still under the

00:47 pump. People are still under the pump, and we will continue to take seriously our responsibilities

00:53 in this inflation fight, which is far from over.

00:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]