![\"\u2018Give](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5bcdae5e3b9d44c16a7ea671bea2b3df.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nShadow Treasurer Tim Wilson has warned the federal government\u2019s spending is worsening inflation and increasing the risk of an economic downturn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His comments come as concerns grow about the economy\u2019s direction, with rising fuel costs stemming from the crisis in the Middle East and weak private sector confidence weighing on growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Wilson said the government was relying on public spending to support headline figures while underlying conditions deteriorate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem we’ve got is there’s been a complete collapse in private sector confidence in Australia,\u201d he told Sky News host Steve Price on Monday evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a consequence, we are not seeing the investment for the future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said Canberra\u2019s approach was counterproductive, pushing up prices in an attempt to stabilise the economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government is trying to prop up the numbers through public spending,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u00a0they’re\u00a0causing the problem and then\u00a0they’re\u00a0inflating the economy in the hope that they can solve it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Wilson pointed to warnings from business leaders, including Jayco founder Gerry Ryan, who said government spending was masking underlying weakness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Ryan has argued that without public expenditure, Australia would already be in recession.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Liberal Party MP\u00a0agreed with that assessment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is\u00a0Gerry Ryan is 100 per cent right,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He warned that continued spending without restraint would prolong inflation pressures and delay recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they’re actually doing is increasing prices for Australians and then taxing the inflation,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The intervention comes as the government prepares for its next federal budget, with pressure mounting over cost-of-living concerns and economic management.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Wilson also criticised the government\u2019s response to the fuel crisis, including a $20 million advertising campaign encouraging Australians to reduce fuel use.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The \u201cEvery little bit helps\u201d campaign began\u00a0on Monday across television, digital and outdoor signage, such as billboards, to promote public transport and alternate transport to driving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It comes just two weeks after national cabinet\u00a0convened\u00a0to endorse a four-stage\u00a0National Fuel Security Plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Wilson\u00a0said the spending was misplaced at a time when households were already under pressure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralians don’t like to be patronised… $20 million is basically equivalent to about another dollar you could have taken off everybody’s petrol bill, but instead it’s been spent on spin,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The campaign forms part of the government\u2019s broader fuel security plan, which includes public messaging urging motorists to limit consumption.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Wilson said Australians wanted practical action rather than messaging.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want prioritisation of their money to be spent on relieving pressure on households,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The warnings come amid fresh concerns that Australia could face a slowdown or recession, particularly as global pressures intensify.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Wilson said the government had failed to build sufficient buffers during stronger economic periods, leaving limited capacity to respond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenge is this government,\u00a0during the good times,\u00a0has blown money\u00a0and\u00a0taken no steps of preparation,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the impact of this is\u00a0going to\u00a0be significant and real if we manage to avoid a recession.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Wilson said that households, particularly younger Australians, would bear the brunt of any downturn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why we actually need an adult government taking prudent and responsible measures right now,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they don’t, they’ll leave Australia even more exposed,\u00a0and particularly Australian households more exposed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson has warned the federal government\u2019s spending is worsening inflation and increasing the risk of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":605280,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2324,64,63,99,164,42086,31478,51894,161703,58247],"class_list":{"0":"post-605279","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-anthony-albanese","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-economy","13":"tag-jim-chalmers","14":"tag-labor-party","15":"tag-the-budget","16":"tag-the-coalition","17":"tag-tim-wilson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/605280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}