Australia politics live: Jim Chalmers says there is no ‘expectation’ of a recession and government wants to avoid Covid-style measures

Treasurer says government’s inflation forecast from a fortnight ago is now looking ‘conservative’. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastStaying on his interview with Sky, Jim Chalmers says that the expectation is the economy will avoid a recession.But the economic picture is looking grim, to say the least, with inflation expected to grow.That’s our expectation that the economy will continue to grow, but it will take quite a sizeable hit from what’s happening in the Middle East.It depends how long this war drags out for and then how long it takes to get the show back on the road and the global economy after that … we released some modelling which said that instead of inflation peaking in the high threes, it might be more like the high fours or the low fives. That does look conservative now.We have a range of contingencies and fall backs that we keep under more or less constant review. And as you know, Pete, our government is always looking for ways, responsible ways to help people with the cost of living, to try and alleviate some of this pressure, which is coming at people in the most recent iteration from a war in the Middle East.I think as I said as recently as yesterday, that change is not something that we have been considering. Continue reading...