Q: You said that the February cut was a reflection of Labor’s strong economic management. Are you disappointed that you didn’t see a cut today?

Jim Chalmers:

I try not to second guess decisions taken independently by the Reserve Bank. I don’t make decisions in advance and I try not to second guess them. One of the things that I implemented is that the Reserve Bank Governor gets an opportunity to talk the Australian people through their thinking and through their deliberations over the last couple of days at the Reserve Bank Governor. But I do think that the way that Labor has responsibly managed the economy, the way that this Government has been able to get inflation down and real wages up, keep unemployment low, keep the debt down, and the fact that interest rates have started to come down is a reflection on the progress that Australians have made together on our watch as a government. If you compare the economic situation now to three years ago, inflation was much higher and rising when we came to office. It’s much lower and falling now. And the fact that interest rates have started to come down is a reflection of that.

Q: Is the hold today a detriment to your election campaign?

Chalmers:

I don’t see this decision in political terms, and I’m sure that the independent Reserve Bank doesn’t see it in political terms either. We’ve already seen rates start to come down this year. That’s a very good thing. It’s a reflection of the progress that we’ve made together in the economy. And I don’t make predictions about the future. But I do remind people that there was almost no expectation whatsoever from the markets and from the economists today of a rate cut, but there is an overwhelming expectation of a rate cut in May, and in subsequent months. That’s the expectation of the market. I don’t get into those sorts of predictions.