Australia Expected to Restore Pre-High Inflation Living Standards Only by 2030

An analysis citing the Australian government's economic forecast suggests that Australia's living standards will not recover to the pre-high inflation levels of the 2022 fiscal year (July 2021?June 2022) until around 2030.

Angus Taylor, Federal Liberal Party Treasury Spokesperson (Photo by Jeong Dong-cheol)

On the 6th (local time), the Australian daily The Australian cited the Australian government's Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) report released at the end of last year, analyzing that Australia's per capita living standards will not return to 2022 levels until the 2030 fiscal year (July 2029?June 2030).

MYEFO projected that the per capita living standards index, which recorded -6.2% in 2023 (July 2022?June 2023), would rise to -2.4% in 2024 (July 2023?June 2024), then recover to 1.2% from 2025 (July 2024?June 2025). Nevertheless, it is predicted that it will take more than five years to recover the cumulative loss.

Economist Chris Richardson stated, "The economy is moving in the right direction, but the pace is slow and disappointing," emphasizing, "To raise living standards, productivity must be increased, and economic agents need to have new courage to achieve this." He added, "The Australian economy has ridden on China's rise over the past 20 years, but this is becoming an increasingly significant problem," and "To increase and accelerate productivity independently without relying on other countries' economic growth, bipartisan consensus is necessary."

Angus Taylor, the Liberal Party's financial spokesperson and opposition member, said, "According to the government's own analysis, living standards have fallen by 7% since the Labor Party took office in May 2022, and this will not recover until 2030," adding, "The Australian people are experiencing a record decline in living standards under the Labor government." He expressed concern, saying, "This is a bleak reality caused by the inflation crisis," and "The government's economic policies have failed, and the people will have to struggle to recover lost living standards over the next two parliamentary terms."

Jim Chalmers, Australian Federal Treasurer (Photo by Nine Network)

In response, Jim Chalmers, Australia's Treasurer, rebutted, "When we came to power, real disposable income was already significantly declining, but it is now increasing again," stating, "Inflation has been reduced to less than half, real wages are rising, and the economy is still growing." He dismissed the opposition's criticism as "misleading numbers," criticizing, "The opposition has no credible economic policy."

Jung Dong-cheol, Hanho Times Reporter

※This article was written using content provided by Hanho Times (www.hanhotimes.com).