Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been caught out misrepresenting the latest wages data to claim the average worker is better off under Labor.
Treasury analysis claiming Australian workers were better off under Labor fails to account for the impacts of inflation, collapsing labour productivity and the fact that GDP per capita fell by -0.3% in Labor’s first year in office.
Asked in Senate Question Time whether Treasury analysis promoted by the Treasurer accounted for inflation, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher couldn’t name the real wages outcome for the last financial year.
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said this is further proof that the Treasurer is a Doctor of Spin not a Doctor of Economics.
“The conga line of Labor Ministers claiming this analysis as a victory shows the Treasurer and the government are completely out of touch with the very real and painful cost of living pressures facing Australian families,” Mr Taylor said.
“Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows working households are in fact paying 9.6 per cent more under this government.
“Mortgage bills have doubled, power bills are up more than 15 per cent, productivity has fallen off a cliff and last week’s National Accounts revealed we’re now in a per capita recession. This means the only thing left propping up our economy is record population growth.
“Australians need a Treasurer laser-focused on fighting inflation but instead they have a tricky Treasurer who is more interested in spinning numbers then solving the cost of living crisis.
“A Treasurer focused on reinventing capitalism, wasting money, raising taxes, reshaping the productivity commission to suit Labor’s big Australia agenda and prioritising airlines to drive up the cost of airfares then take its competition policy seriously.”
Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Michaelia Cash said the truth is the Albanese Labor Government is a walking talking economic disaster.
“The Albanese Labor Government thinks it can con Australians into believing that they are better off under Labor,” Senator Cash said.
“But Labor’s extreme spin can’t hide the truth that Australians’ real wages are falling under Labor.”
ENDS.
| REAL WAGES UNDER LABOR | |||
| Quarter | CPI (Annual Growth) | WPI (Annual Growth) | Real Wages (Annual Growth) |
| September 2022 | 7.3% | 3.2% | -4.1 |
| December 2022 | 7.8% | 3.4% | -4.4 |
| March 2023 | 7.0% | 3.7% | -3.3 |
| June 2023 | 6.0% | 3.6% | -2.4 |
| HOUSEHOLD IMPACTS | |||
| Quarter | Employee Living Cost Index (Annual Growth) | WPI (Annual Growth) | Real Wages (Annual Growth) |
| June 2023 | 9.6 | 3.6 | -6.0 |
| GDP PER CAPITA & GDP PER HOUR WORKED UNDER LABOR | |||
| March ‘23 Quarterly Growth | June ‘23 Quarterly Growth | June 22-June 23 Annual Growth | |
| GDP per Capita | -0.3% | -0.3% | -0.3% |
| GDP per Hour worked | -0.4% | -2.0% | -3.6% |