Jim Chalmers faces a world of hard choices where the solution to one problem makes the other worse

The Guardian · 10/23/2026, 4:54:47 AM

High inflation, low growth and rising unemployment can be added to the federal treasurer’s wall of worries Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast Jim Chalmers in a speech last week offered the scant encouragement that the economy would be “a bit better” in a year’s time. Fast forward to Friday morning, and the treasurer revealed that his officials were busy downgrading their forecasts ahead of December’s mid-year budget update to show slower growth and higher unemployment. Continue reading...