Chalmers makes brief Bangkok trip as economic strain tests Labor
Treasurer Jim Chalmers made a 13-hour visit to Bangkok on Thursday to meet finance ministers and central bank governors.
The talks were part of a gathering of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Thailand in mid-October, according to Al Jazeera. Chalmers addressed a breakfast session of the meeting on 15 October. South Korean Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il called at the meeting for joint efforts to address shared economic challenges, according to Yonhap. Russia returned to the finance meeting on United States invitation, with Anton Siluanov and Bank of Russia Deputy Governor Elizaveta Danilova listed as its delegates, according to CNBC.
The Bangkok trip followed a difficult stretch for the government at home. Australia delivered its May 2026 budget a week after the Reserve Bank of Australia, the country's central bank, handed down its third interest rate rise of 2026. The Bank then lifted rates to a 15-year high at the end of September, according to The Guardian.
Government spending increased by 4.3% in real terms in the last financial year to a four-decade high excluding the pandemic period. Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock has said Australian inflation has been driven by domestic capacity pressures, a reference to demand running ahead of what the economy can supply.
The economic pressure has fed debate inside Labor about political strategy, according to The Guardian. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Labor MPs were questioning whether Chalmers' relationship with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had soured.
Chalmers has denied being rolled by Albanese over the Australian Taxation Office ban on credit card payments for tax bills. Albanese had not held a press conference since 1 October as of 17 October.
Days earlier, the International Monetary Fund warned that the global economy could soon test the limits of resilience. The Fund linked that warning to low emergency oil stocks and overstretched government budgets, according to The Guardian.
In its October World Economic Outlook, the IMF projected global growth of 3.1% in 2026 and 3.4% in 2027, according to Reuters. It projected global headline inflation would rise notably to 4.7%, according to the IMF. It identified an ending of the AI boom and growing debt levels as risks to the outlook.
In Canberra, the government is pursuing a new minimum tax on trusts. It is pursuing changes to the private health insurance rebate for older Australians.
Chalmers has warned against dismissing One Nation supporters, arguing Labor must demonstrate it can deliver meaningful economic change, according to ABC News. The ABC reported on 13 October that Labor was confronting One Nation's growing appeal.
