Australia's Treasurer of propaganda

Australia’s Treasurer of propaganda, “Spin” Jim Chalmers, can’t stop spreading misinformation about the state of the economy.

A few weeks back, Spin Jim claimed that Labor had delivered the “longest period of consecutive real wage growth in almost a decade” following eight consecutive quarters of annual real wage growth:

Spin Jim’s brag came despite a 0.5% decline in real wages in the third quarter of 2025, with wages now tracking at mid-2011 levels. Australian real wages have only improved by 1.1% from their low in the March quarter of 2023.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.