Portfolio — 15 April 2026

Treasurer Jim Chalmers departed for Washington DC on 15 April to attend the G20 Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' Meeting and the IMF-World Bank 2026 Spring Meetings, carrying a tightly defined five-point agenda: pressing for an enduring end to the Middle East war and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz; amplifying Australia's fuel-supply security efforts; strengthening supply-chain partnerships; calibrating the May Budget to live global conditions; and promoting Australia as an investment destination [TA-260415-treasu-5747b0ed58d5].

He committed to bilateral meetings with counterparts from Korea, Japan, China, Indonesia, Singapore and the United Kingdom — all major fuel exporters to Australia — alongside formal G20 sessions chaired by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The trip's urgency is underscored by the IMF's World Economic Outlook, released overnight, which warned of slower global growth, higher inflation, and a worst-case scenario of global recession with inflation reaching 6 per cent and elevated fuel prices persisting through 2027 if the Middle East war is prolonged [TA-260415-treasu-6ecd25682a8b]. Chalmers confirmed Treasury's forecasts align with the IMF's assessment.

He stated the May Budget — to be handed down on 12 May — will be responsible and focused on resilience and economic reform, with savings built in to create fiscal room against severe IMF scenarios. The Budget will not replicate February preparations but remains ambitious, a formulation that signals deliberate recalibration rather than retreat.

The Washington engagement operationalises the twin-priority framing — inflation control and productivity — that has anchored recent Budget communications, now embedding fuel-security and supply-chain resilience as central Budget calibration inputs directly linked to Middle East conflict conditions. The Treasurer also reported a recent conversation with Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock comparing forecasts and Budget scenarios; both institutions, he said, share the objective of guiding Australia through simultaneous pressures on growth and inflation, with the RBA operating independently.

Defence spending intersects with the Budget narrative in a notable cross-portfolio signal: Chalmers confirmed new defence-spending commitments rolling out this week, describing defence investment as a key priority alongside efforts to lift overall investment substantially through reprioritisations and value-for-money improvements. He explicitly credited Defence Minister Richard Marles and defence colleagues for the reprioritisation work underpinning those commitments [TA-260415-treasu-6ecd25682a8b].

On migration, Chalmers moved to contest the political ground occupied by Opposition Leader Angus Taylor's new migration policy, characterising it as "plagiarising the politics and rhetoric of other countries and times" and accusing the Coalition of "playing divisive politics to internal right-wing factions rather than serving the national interest" [TA-260415-treasu-c986e509908c].

He cited net overseas migration falling 45 per cent from its peak and coming in 30,000 below forecasts in the last financial year as evidence the government is already managing migration levels effectively. The Treasurer's willingness to engage this territory while preparing for high-stakes multilateral meetings signals a deliberate effort to neutralise a domestic political vulnerability ahead of the Budget.