Jim Chalmers hails Australia's failing economy as a SUCCESS STORY in latest episode of delusional spin - as figures paint a dire picture of the economy: PETER VAN ONSELEN

By PETER VAN ONSELEN, POLITICAL EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 04:43, 3 June 2026 | Updated: 04:44, 3 June 2026 Treasurer Jim Chalmers wants Australians to believe the latest GDP numbers are some sort of success story. Come again? Such spin only highlights his dismal economic standards. Australia's 0.3 per cent growth rate in the March quarter isn't a triumph. It's anaemic! The better sounding annual 2.5 per cent figure is a mirage, artificially inflated by surging population growth and slightly better economic growth that's now behind us.  With GDP per capita going backwards yet again, abstract national aggregates mean nothing to Australians suffering through stagnant or falling living standards. That Chalmers is relying on unpopular high levels of immigration to prop up national economic growth shouldn't be lost on anyone. The truly alarming metric is productivity. GDP per hour worked plunged 0.6 per cent this quarter, and it was already bad the previous quarter to begin with.  Without productivity growth, real wages stagnate, living standards freeze, and promised 'budget repair' is reduced to bracket creep and blind hope.  And yet government is spending at record levels and inflation is too high. The Treasurer spins today's numbers as Australia's 'resilience' against global headwinds.  Jim Chalmers today. Apparently the Australian economy is something of a success story. As Peter van Onselen writes in this opinion column, it's mediocrity on stilts   But there are always headwinds. And there is always an excuse.  Governments are elected to expand a nation's economic capacity, not act as commentators narrating away its decline. Worse still, these figures pre-date the full fallout of recent policy overreach and global troubles.  The government pays lip service to productivity while spooking capital with heavy-handed regulation and unpredictable tax settings.  Throw in the specific hit to investment confidence - courtesy of the broken promises on capital gains taxes and negative gearing - and the worst may be yet to come. Chalmers has become a comedian - while Dave Hughes is out there dropping truth bombs about the state of the Albanese government.  Jim can't preach long term growth while treating successful investors as cash cows for tax collectors. The Treasurer eagerly claims credit for private sector resilience. But private investment isn't a government achievement just because it lands in a quarterly release prior to the impact of broken promises in the budget.  The true test is whether public policy fosters future investments, and on that front the government's record is failing badly. Australia's crisis isn't a single disappointing quarter, it's the normalisation of weak growth, collapsing productivity and shrinking per-capita output.  Chalmers says we are doing better than crumbling developed nations in places like Europe. So what!? That's not a yardstick Australia should be comparing itself to. It's mediocrity on stilts. An economy that only grows by cramming more people into it via record levels of immigration, putting extra strain on housing and infrastructure, while output per hour shrinks, is nothing to be proud of. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.