Received

Queensland enforcer Tino Fa'asuamaleaui is one of the game's best forwards and credits one inspiring statement by Wayne Bennett as a turning point in his career.

The Gold Coast captain is set to play his 11th straight State of Origin game at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night after debuting for the Maroons as a 20-year-old under Bennett in 2020.

Fa'asuamaleaui had won the 2020 grand final with Melbourne in his first full season of NRL and celebrated with the Storm on the Sunshine Coast, where they had been in camp for the COVID-impacted season.

He then made his way into camp with Bennett's Maroons for the November series.

"The first time I came across Wayne in camp he said, 'It's been a while since I've seen you'," Fa'asuamaleaui told AAP.

"The last time I'd seen him before that was when I was at the Broncos as a 16-year-old before I joined the Storm.

"The next thing he said was, 'You will be our Queensland 13 son' ... and then he walked away.

"That moment made me feel like I was 10 feet tall. When Wayne said that I felt amazing. I couldn't believe I was going to be in the starting team."

Fa'asuamaleaui played a starring role in a 2-1 series win, as he did in last year's series for Queensland. Even three years on, talking about Bennett's faith in him leaves the giant prop misty eyed.

"I can't thank Wayne enough. It was massive for me and I still get a bit emotional about it," Fa'asuamaleaui said.

"As a young fella I had won a comp with the Storm boys but then being called into camp I just thought I would be a squad member and get some experience for the future.

"Wayne told me I was the starting 13 and it did wonders for my belief. It was a real turning point in my career.

"I was excited to get out there to represent him, the boys around me and the state.

"That was my mentality after that. I didn't want to let him down and we had a good series.

"I love Wayne as a person and love him as a coach. That's the same way I feel now about Billy (Slater) giving me the opportunity."

Fa'asuamaleaui credits his 2020 Origin experience with giving him the confidence and leadership skills to become Titans captain.

It also gave him the realisation he must continue to deliver for Queensland.

"Hopefully I can do the job on Wednesday night and continue that," Fa'asuamaleaui said.

"Having that first experience in Origin and winning ... and being around all the players and the coaches, I will never forget.

"Mal Meninga and Neil Henry coached in that camp. I learnt so much. What I went through has helped me in tough times on the field as I play more Origin games."

© AAP 2023

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the national economy is prepared to take on global headwinds, following data showing Australia outperforming international peers.

New Treasury Department analysis shows Australia had higher employment growth during the Albanese government's first year in office than other major advanced economies.

The figures show that in the year since May 2022, Australia recorded 3.4 per cent growth in employment levels.

That compares with 2.7 per cent for the US, 1.8 per cent in Canada, 1.5 per cent in Italy, 0.8 per cent in Germany and 0.3 per cent in Japan.

Between May 2022 and May 23, 465,000 jobs were created, the highest number for any new government on record.

Dr Chalmers said while the economy faced challenges, the country was in a strong position.

"This is a remarkable achievement for the economy and for the Australian people," he said.

"Despite everything that's coming at us, we're world leaders when it comes to job creation and workforce participation.

"While we know slowing global growth, high inflation and higher interest rates will impact our economy and labour market over the coming 12 months, Australia is in a better position than nearly any other country to face the challenges ahead."

Currently, the country's participation rate stands at 66.9 per cent, which is being driven by record high participation of women, which is at 62.7 per cent.

The figures come off the back of the national unemployment rate dropping last week, with May data showing a fall from 3.7 to 3.6 per cent.

The May figures mark the 14th month in a row of the unemployment rate being below four per cent.

Dr Chalmers said the share of women being in work, at 60.5 per cent, was also a record high.

"More Australians are in work than ever before, the participation rate is higher than ever before and the share of women in work is higher than ever before," he said.

© AAP 2023

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is confident Australia is not heading towards a recession despite some economists warning the path to a soft landing from soaring inflation is narrowing.

He says the Australian economy might stutter as interest rates lift, but neither the Reserve Bank nor Treasury are anticipating a recession.

"We do expect the Australian economy to slow considerably," the treasurer said.

"This is the inevitable consequence of the interest rate rises that began before the election and continued after, and also the substantial slowdown in the global economy."

Mr Chalmers said the Australian labour market was outperforming international peers, leaving the nation in a strong position to withstand economic challenges.

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe also maintains Australia is on its "narrow path" to return inflation to a two-to-three per cent target range with a growing economy.

But in his most recent public appearance, Dr Lowe conceded there were significant risks to this pathway.

Some economists are also growing more worried about a recession in Australia, including HSBC's Paul Bloxham.

"A recession is not our central case, but despite the helpful support of strong population underpinning GDP, we see a 50-50 chance that Australia tips into a recession," he wrote in a note.

Mr Bloxham said the risk was high inflation started to embed itself in the system as the sharply rising cost of living prompted workers to ask for pay rises.

"And that if wages growth picked up too much, it would become more difficult to get inflation back to the central bank's target," he said.

Under this scenario, there would need to be a much steeper fall in demand and a marked rise in unemployment to cool off wages growth.

But separate analysis by St George economists suggests goods inflation will ease quickly as wholesalers start discounting to get rid of excess stock, which could help take pressure off the RBA's interest rate tightening cycle.

Businesses have scrambled to restock their warehouses after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains.

Wholesale business inventories have shot to record highs, well above pre-pandemic levels.

Retailers have also rebuilt their supplies to pre-pandemic levels.

Under these conditions, St George economist Jameson Coombs said it was likely wholesalers would start lowering their prices as economic activity slowed.

"The sheer volume of inventories coupled with softer consumer demand means that more discounting than usual is likely to be necessary," he said.

Mr Coombs said high industrial property rents were making it expensive to store goods, adding another incentive to unload stock.

The economist said the discounting would accelerate the disinflationary process already under way in goods prices.

Goods prices, as measured in the consumer price index, were rising at a rate of 7.6 per cent in the March quarter, down from 9.5 per cent in the December quarter.

Mr Coombs said the findings highlighted the importance of services in the fight against high inflation.

© AAP 2023