Anthony Albanese says for the first time Australia’s economy is “breaking new ground” as he defended his government’s second budget.
The Prime Minister is delivering the keynote address at a business luncheon hosted by The Australian newspaper and Sky News Australia at Crown in Sydney.
Australia’s Economic Outlook Forum for 2023 will also hear from a number of business leaders across a range of industries including the financial and green energy sectors later on Friday.
In his speech, Mr Albanese said he and his colleagues in the Labor federal government he leads were forced to balance taking pressure of families without adding pressure on inflation when preparing the May budget.
“The balance between providing meaningful help for people doing it really tough, while also ensuring that we made the responsible choices, to bank the bulk of revenue upgrades and to be able to forecast the first surplus in 15 years,” he said.
Mr Albanese said the “big, overarching, ever present balance” that governments “have to get right” was dealing with immediate pressing economic challenges without “losing sight of the future”.
Labor had provided support in “the immediate term in a way that builds for the long term” in the budget without adding fuel to the inflationary fire, Mr Albanese said.
“We know the interest rate rises put pressure on mortgage holders and small businesses. And we know that inflation is regressive. It hurts those with the least,” he said.
“So the best thing we can do to help working Australians is to take pressure off inflation, create jobs, and get wages moving again.”
Mr Albanese said the Australian economy was breaking new ground.
He named Australia’s recent achievements as attracting record new levels of international investment in clean energy projects, diversifying future exports, shoring up supply chains and encouraging the respectful, equal full participation of women in work.
“In so many of these fields, business has been ahead of government over the past decades,” he said.
“And I think a big part of the reason that we’re making national progress is because finally government is working with business rather than holding it back.”
Governments should act with both urgency and optimism to seize the economic opportunities provided by this moment in time, he said.
More to come