Updates following the treasurer's speech on Wednesday

By Peter Hobson and Stella Qiu

CANBERRA/SYDNEY, June 18 (Reuters) - Australia's Labor government, elected for a second term last month, will consider tax reforms to boost productivity and build economic resilience as global volatility spikes, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Wednesday.

In a speech at the National Press Club, Chalmers said the government welcomes ideas at an upcoming economic roundtable in August, but they should be preferably budget neutral, as policymakers grapple with rising spending pressures in the years to come.

"Our budget is stronger, but not yet sustainable enough. Our economy is growing, but not productive enough. It's resilient, but not resilient enough – in the face of all this global economic volatility," Chalmers said.

"No sensible progress can be made on productivity, resilience or budget sustainability without proper consideration of more tax reform."

Australia's economy barely grew in the first quarter as consumers kept a tight hold on their wallets and government spending, the engine of activity last year, sputtered to a standstill. U.S. tariffs and geopolitical conflicts have since darkened the outlook for small and open economies like Australia's.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has already cut interest rates twice since February and investors are betting on three more cuts by the end of the year to take rates from 3.85% to 3.1%.

However, there are signs that foreign investors have been turning to Australia's domestically focused stocks, choosing an often overlooked market as a trade war hideout.

When asked about a U.S. demand for Australia to boost defence spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product, Chalmers said Australia was already spending more on defence and the government was focused on repairing the budget.

"I think over the life of the next 10 years... it may be that governments make different decisions about defence spending but let's not dismiss the very substantial increase that we are already making," he said.

(Reporting by Peter Hobson in Canberra and Stella Qiu in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Jamie Freed)

((yifan.qiu@thomsonreuters.com; +61 0 427901124;))