According to a report by News Corp Australia on October 20, Australian Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said that a bright future for the Australian economy is coming, and the worst period of the cost-of-living crisis has passed.
On Channel Seven's Spotlight, Chalmers is confident about the future as inflation is no longer at its peak. And recalled that earlier this year there were serious concerns about the country's economic situation.
(Image source: News Corp Australia)
"I think the worst is behind us when it comes to inflation," Chalmers said, "and the peak is a thing of the past, and we're not complacent about it, we're cautious, but we're confident that bright days are coming after this difficult time." ”
However, there is still a lot of work to be done to bring inflation down.
"We're still very focused on fighting inflation, but we've made considerable progress," Chalmers said. Better days lie ahead, and there is light at the end of the tunnel, but we still need to work hard. ”
Regarding the Budget's mention of the projection that inflation will fall by the end of the year, Chalmers said that while he is not happy to make forecasts, they all look promising.
"Well, it's going to take time to verify, and one of the most encouraging aspects of the recent inflation data is that not only has headline inflation fallen sharply, but core inflation, non-trade inflation and services inflation have also fallen," he said. These have come down, which is a very good sign that we have made good progress in the fight against inflation, which has decreased significantly since 2022. ”
(Image source: News Corp Australia)
Currently, the revised average inflation rate is 3.4%, which is expected to fall to 3% in December.
Mr Chalmers said such a transition would not be easy, given that Australia was once on the verge of recession.
"If you look at the first two quarters of the year, we were really pretty close to [a recession] and the growth in March and June was very flat," he noted...... Sometimes we do worry about a recession. ”
"If you ask me if I was worried at the time? Undoubtedly! ”
Just before the release of the national economic data, Chalmers realized that the situation was not rosy.
"In some moments before the data was released, there was a very high risk that the economy could regress," he recalled. And when I learned that the economy had not regressed, I was relieved. ”
(Image source: News Corp Australia)
Chalmers also revealed on the show that he has been quitting alcohol since experiencing a health crisis four years ago.
After surgery for benign skin cancer in his chest, he developed an infection that caused him to be ill for several weeks.
For many years, he drank heavily from the stress that came with working in Canberra.
"I was quite a big drinker for decades before that, so it was time for me to quit," he says. I'm glad I made this decision. ”
He said he had used alcohol to relax, and that he had drunk too often until he realized he couldn't go on like this.
"In fact, I had a press conference in this room," he recalled. I remember Laura (Jim's wife) saying to me, you really don't look good. My face was very pale, actually a strange gray color, and I was really uncomfortable. I didn't want to drink that summer. So when I recovered from minor surgery for skin cancer in my chest, I decided to quit drinking for a long time. ”
Perhaps his health alert has brought him some benefits.
"You try to find the good in things, maybe in a strange way, and that's a blessing," Chalmers said. ”
Now, he feels his health has improved and his decision to quit drinking has inspired others in Canberra.
Chalmers said he is often contacted to ask how he quit drinking.
He stressed that it will not be easy.
Chalmers described an important moment in his journey to quit drinking: "Probably the moment I wanted to drink the most was last year, when the Brisbane Broncos reached the final, I watched the semi-finals at Suncorp Stadium and the Brisbane Broncos organisers were very kind enough to invite me to the dressing room. ”
"One of my childhood heroes was Alfie Langer, a great centre-back for Queensland, Australia and the Broncos, who came through the chaos. He had two cans of beer in his hand, one for me and the other for himself. I didn't drink, but I can tell you that it was the closest I came to drinking. ”
"I told him 'Thank you, Alfie, I'm quitting.'"