Labor Critic Slams Chalmers Over 'Bad Economic Management'

Martin Parkinson, a former policy adviser and chief bureaucrat under two Labor treasurers, has publicly criticized Treasurer Jim Chalmers' handling of the budget. Parkinson served as a policy adviser to John Dawkins in the early 1990s and as Treasury secretary from 2011 to 2013, under Wayne Swan.

Parkinson argues that Australia's current budget deficits are due to bad economic management, saying 'we are consuming today, and our children are going to pay for it with their tax burden.' He points out that even though unemployment is relatively low at 4.4%, the Treasury forecasts budget deficits in coming years.

Parkinson notes that under Bob Hawke's Labor government, Treasurer Paul Keating managed to reduce Federal Government spending as a proportion of GDP from 27.5% in 1984-85 to 22.9% by 1989-90. In contrast, Labor's current spending is higher than the levels during the GFC in 2009 and 2012.

Parkinson's criticism comes as Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock emphasized that public spending adds to overall aggregate demand in the economy. Meanwhile, Liberal Party frontbencher Andrew Bragg has pointed out the importance of addressing excessive government spending.