Chalmers Blames External Factors for Inflation Challenge

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has defended the federal government's inflation record ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate hike on Tuesday. In a press conference with Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Chalmers attributed the inflation challenge to external factors rather than government spending.

Chalmers pointed out that the price of petrol is too high and there are other inflationary pressures in the economy. He also mentioned the war in the Middle East as an additional factor contributing to inflation.

The RBA has raised interest rates by 0.25% in response to rising inflation, which Chalmers argued is not a result of low unemployment but rather external factors such as high petrol prices.