Australia politics live updates: Labor says low wage growth ‘not an accident’; Lambie disputes Hanson preference deal claims; 50 Covid deaths
Households need more than one-off payments, says Jason Clare; Jacqui Lambie and Pauline Hanson in dispute over preference deal claims; foreign minister voices concerns over ‘secret’ China-Solomons pact; Labor’s Jim Chalmers says inflation rate rise ‘torpedoes’ Coalition’s economic credibility; at least 50 coronavirus deaths recorded. Follow all the day’s news
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Jim Chalmers has also been everywhere. Labor’s choice for treasurer has his one message to push, and he’s making sure he gets it into every interview.
This was him following the PM on the Seven network:
You would hear it around Australia and I hear it as I move around Australia. The problem is, if things are going well, he takes the credit; if things are difficult, he never takes responsibility, and we just saw that in that interview as well.
If something is going well, he takes credit. Doesn’t take responsibility for the [things that go wrong].
I have never been a commentator on what the reserve bank should do.
I respect the independence of the reserve bank, and they need to make the judgments they need to make … in the best interests of the Australian economy, and I have no doubt they will do that.
There’s a big difference between what occurred in 2007 and where we are now, the reserve bank did that last time and the rate was 6.5%, today it is 0.1% and so I think the circumstances of the economic environment we are in now is very different.
Read the original article at The Guardian