MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Ms CLUTTERHAM (Sturt) (15:38): I welcome the opportunity to speak about the Australian economy in direct response to today's MPI. That is because Australia remains one of only nine countries with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all three major ratings agencies and with lower gross debt than every major advanced economy. That is a powerful endorsement of this government's fiscal and economic agenda—a AAA credit rating is the highest available rating.
It carries with it the lowest possible expectation of default risk. It means that there exists 'an exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments' and that this exceptionally strong capacity 'is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events'. The sovereign AAA rating is a measure not just of whether a country is good for the money but of how it is faring politically, economically and financially.
S&P's opinion was that Australia's fiscal performance is sound, with modest public debt by international standards and an ambitious reformist agenda to shore up and improve Australia's fiscal position over the next decade. S&P also highlighted Australia's strong institutional settings, sound fiscal metrics and strategic success in shoring up fuel security for this country.
Finding savings, finding efficiencies and reprioritising targeted spending means that gross debt at the end of the 2025 financial year was billions of dollars lower than originally forecast, and that's the trajectory this government will maintain. We're determined to maintain that even in the face of significant global uncertainty and volatility, particularly in the Middle East.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics also shows average weekly full-time earnings have now increased by more than $300 a week since the Albanese government was elected. They have grown by an annualised average of 4.2 per cent, compared to 2.5 per cent under our predecessors. In dollar terms, this means average weekly ordinary full-time earnings are at $2,084 a week, or $108,352 a year.
That is a good thing. Under this government, some things go up, like average weekly earnings, and then some things go down, like the gender pay gap, which is now at a record low of 11.3 per cent. That means more money in women's pockets, encouraging and valuing women's workforce participation.
More money is also in the pockets of all working Australians because of the series of tax cuts implemented by this government, cutting taxes in five different ways since we came to government, including the $1,000 instant asset write-off, the working Australians tax offset and three bracket-specific tax cuts. Under this government, the average full-time worker is getting tax cuts of more than $60 a week, or just over $3,000 a year, once fully implemented.
That amount of money means something to many people in this country. Tax cuts put more money in people's pockets, and deliberately so, because people then spend a portion of that at businesses operating in the consumer marketplace, leading to increases in business revenue, cash flow and profit. This in turn means companies have more resources to procure capital, improve technology, grow and expand, and all of these actions increase productivity, which grows the economy.
Careful deregulation also increases productivity and economic growth, and the government's regulatory omnibus bill introduced earlier this year is a case in point. Effective and balanced regulation is a powerful tool for addressing challenges big and small, and this is crucial now more than ever for tackling things like climate change, online gambling and social media and for unlocking the benefits that artificial intelligence can bring whilst managing the risk.
The balance this government strikes with respect to regulation is to encourage innovation and embrace new technologies without paralysing business, at the same time as ensuring appropriate oversight. Balanced regulation, faster growth than almost every major advanced economy, low unemployment, solid wage growth, stronger public finances and a AAA sovereign credit rating—that's the Australian economy under the Albanese Labor government.