Treasury boss Steven Kennedy has warned the Albanese government must avoid repeating big industry subsidies that have failed around the world for “many decades”, arguing the nation has benefited enormously from cheap Chinese-made solar panels.

In a post-budget speech a month before $25 billion of income tax cuts filter into the economy over the next financial year, the government’s top economic adviser also said income tax bracket creep of almost $50 billion over the past three years had helped reduce inflation.