What we learned, Tuesday 25 March (budget day)
For a budget we thought we were skipping due to the election, it’s been somewhat eventful. Here’s what made the headlines:
The Albanese government announced a tax cut “top up” as the centrepiece of its pre-election budget. It will give the average worker about $538 extra in their pay packets per year from mid-2027. You can read all about that here.
The Coalition has said it won’t back Labor’s tax cuts but refuses to say whether it will be announcing any income tax cuts of their own.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the budget is “responsible” and his tax cuts are fiscally responsible.
There’s been plenty of reaction so far, some positive, some not so much. The ACTU has welcomed the tax cuts and ban on non-compete clauses, while the business council has supported the cuts but said the government should have done more to boost the private sector.
And earlier today there were some dramatic scenes around parliament over the government’s last-minute legislation to protect the salmon industry in Tasmania (a bill which environmentalists say will further harm an endangered species of fish – the Maugean skate). They passed the House about 6pm.
Thank you so much for joining me on the blog this evening, I’ll be back for more with you bright and early tomorrow morning (with plenty of caffeine) for more action from Parliament House.
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Psychiatrists say no meaningful investment to solve workforce crisis
The nation’s peak body for psychiatrists has expressed its disappointment in this budget being no difference from previous ones in offering the mental health system “crumbs”.
Dr Elizabeth Moore, the president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), said:
The word ‘psychiatry’ has only been mentioned once in tonight’s budget papers to refer to a pre-existing program. There has been no meaningful investment in growing the psychiatry workforce.
It is particularly striking – especially as workforce shortages continue to bite and bring the system to its knees in parts of the country.
We need to grow the mental health workforce and match mental health funding to the level of community need, or the system will keep collapsing under pressure.
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Minor climate change and environmental spending in budget
Not much new in the budget from a climate change and environment perspective, but there is some funding for cuddly looking mammals and elusive fish in captivity.
The Maugean skate – the endangered species at the centre of a political storm over the future of salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour – has been promised $3m over three years to support an expanded captive breeding program.
Giant pandas at the Adelaide Zoo get $3.8m in federal funding over five years to support their lifestyle and wellbeing.
On a more substantial scale, there is $250m over five years to help meet a government target of protecting 30% of the country’s land and 30% of its territorial waters by 2030.
This funding – which was announced by the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, on Saturday – goes to the land part of that goal.
It was broadly welcomed by conservation organisations, though some said it was not enough to do the job. Several campaign groups said it was no substitute for the introduction of stronger laws to boost nature protection – but that commitment has been kicked into next term.
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Greens say Labor’s budget ‘underwhelming in the extreme’
The Greens senator Nick McKim was up earlier in the press gallery, describing the treasurer’s budget as “disappointing and underwhelming in the extreme”.
To give you an insider perspective of what happens in Parliament House as soon as media are let out of their device-less cages at 7.30pm, a conga line of interest groups appear in the Press Gallery to give their opinions on the federal budget.
The Greens joined that line too because it means they might get their budget reactions included in any late night television packages.
But back to McKim’s comments – the Greens’ Treasury spokesperson said the budget was “far more notable for what it doesn’t contain than what it does”.
On the surprise tax cuts announced tonight, McKim said they were “tiny” and “tardy”, amounting to about 73c a day in the first year in 2026-27.
“You’d be lucky to get a Chupa Chup for that and you’d have to shop around to find one at that price,” he said, suggesting a number of Greens policies, including their proposed billionaires’ tax, would have been more ambitious.
People are going to have to wait a long, long time for a very, very small tax break and, in the meantime, if you’re a fossil fuel CEO, if you’re a wealthy property speculator, you’re popping the champagne corks tonight.
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Angus Taylor has also shuffled over to the Sky News studio where he also won’t commit to more tax cuts from the Coalition, while saying he won’t support Labor’s tax measures.
It sure is election season people!
Both parties are using the budget to set up a party comparison on who can manage the economy better and help households more.
The numbers don’t lie on this, and I see it every single day when I’m out. They can’t afford to pay the groceries. They can’t afford to pay the insurance. They’re struggling to pay Labor’s answers. is 70 cents a day, any years time.
So what is the Coalition’s answer to tax policy?
Taylor says they’ve already announced tax cuts that a Coalition government would put into place
Let me name two of them: one is accelerated depreciation, because they need an incentive to invest. When they invest, they create jobs, they drive prosperity, they help to support rising real wages. The second one is, we will not be putting in place capital gains tax on unrealised capital gains.
Continuing from our last post:
The Australian Medical Association also pointed out some other “missed opportunities” in the budget.
McMullen said not creating an independent health workforce agency – a body dedicated to ensuring Australia’s medical workforce is distributed where it’s needed – was a “missed opportunity”.
She said the AMA will also be pushing the next government to address the growing crisis in the private health sector, including hospital closures, contract disputes between insurers and hospitals and growing evidence that more and more policyholders are downgrading their cover as premiums become less affordable.
McMullen said the additional funding for public hospitals would go some way to helping our increasingly public hospitals improve performance but the elected government would need to expedite finalising the National Health Reform Agreement.
While the recent investment from the federal government and action to address issues in some states and territories is welcome, the delay to a new National Health Reform Agreement was disappointing. The federal government’s promised investment, originally estimated at $13bn, into our public hospitals is little more than a nice idea if states and territories fail to reach an agreement with the federal government.
McMullen said hospitals were being increasingly affected by rising rates of chronic disease and the government had also missed the opportunity to tackle obesity and chronic disease through a tax on sugary drinks.
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Australian Medical Association says ‘structural reform of Medicare rebates’ still needed
Australia’s peak medical body says the budget contains “welcome investments in Medicare” but structural reforms to the universal healthcare system is still needed.
The Australian Medical Association’s president, Dr Danielle McMullen, said it was reassuring to see the additional $8.5bn for Medicare that was promised by both parties confirmed in the budget, together with funding to address GP workforce issues and medical workforce shortages.
But while this investment will help address affordability issues for many who don’t currently qualify for bulk billing incentives, structural reform of Medicare rebates is needed to ensure today’s patients get the care they need.
We are calling for a new seven-tier general practice consultation item structure that is designed to meet the challenges of the growing burden of complex and chronic disease – one that supports patients to spend more time with their GP as part of a comprehensive approach to care.
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Budget includes $17m over two years to support Ukraine
The federal government will pitch in with more aid to Ukraine as part of a wider increase to defence spending.
The budget includes an extra $17m over two years from 2024-25 to support the war effort, including for communications systems, artillery components, firearms and other equipment.
As flagged on Monday, the 2025-26 budget fast-tracks $1bn in planned defence spending, lifting the total amount allocated over the forward estimates to $10.6bn.
It is part of an additional $50.3bn in spending this decade, which will take funding for defence past 2.3% of GDP in the early 2030s.
Australia and its allies have been under pressure from Donald Trump to lift defence spending to 3% of GDP in part to combat China’s influence.
In a joint statement, the defence minister, Richard Marles, the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, and the veterans’ affairs minister, Matt Keogh, said:
There is no greater responsibility for the Albanese Labor government than keeping Australians safe and securing our nation’s future during a time of global uncertainty.
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Jacqui Lambie says Labor’s tax cuts ‘disgusting’ and ‘lazy’
Independent Tassie senator Jacqui Lambie is NOT happy about the tax cuts going to everyone.
She says there’s “nothing to brag about here”.
Lambie has consistently criticised the government and the opposition for handing out support to all households, rather it being means tested, and just going to those that need it most.
She’s getting pretty angry on TV, telling the ABC:
Giving rich people more tax cuts is not a viable option.
I don’t know how many times we need to tell them … Can you imagine the billions of dollars you’ve wasted on giving people like that, people like me who have more than enough money a instead of putting that forward to those people who need that more. This is disgusting, it is lazy.
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Acoss says Labor’s refusal to lift Australians out of poverty ‘astounding’
We’re getting more reaction from advocates and business groups.
The Australian Council of Social Services (Acoss) says the budget doesn’t address support needed for those with the least.
The Acoss chief executive, Cassandra Goldie, says the organisation has welcomed investments leading up to the budget in essential services such as health and education.
But she says she’s “astounded” that there’s nothing in the budget to help lift Australians out of poverty.
In the face of a serious cost-of-living crisis and overwhelming evidence to fix jobseeker, to give $7b in tax cuts and not do anything to lift people out of poverty is astounding.
We need a budget and an election that sets us up for the future. The last thing we need is a bidding war on more tax cuts.
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Adam Bandt says Labor offering a ‘tiny tax tweak’ and corporations ‘laughing all the way to the bank’
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has popped up now on the ABC for some more reaction to the budget.
He says the Greens “won’t stand in the way” of the tax measures but says it’s a “tiny tax tweak”.
This tiny tax tweak budget really is a missed opportunity to deliver cost of living relief, like getting dental into Medicare. An extra 73c a day in 15 months’ time isn’t gonna help that much when your rent has already gone up hundreds of dollars.
Bandt says the government should be raising more money by taxing fossil fuel industries and taking away subsidies for property investors.
He says this election is the best chance in a generation to get big corporations to pay more tax.
The big corporations continue to laugh all the way to the bank with one in three of them paying no tax.
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Something else worth a quick mention is the banning of non-compete clauses for most employees.
The government says this will increase competition and productivity, and could improve GDP by $5bn.
It could also boost wages by up to 4%, says the government, giving it a slight cost of living flavour too.
Chalmers gave it a shoutout during his budget speech:
Non-competes are holding too many Australians back from switching to better, higher-paying jobs.
People shouldn’t need to hire a lawyer to make the next step in their career.
He also mentioned it on Sky earlier as an example of his “ambitious” and “enthusiastic” economic reform.
You can read more about the policy here:
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Treasurer says he is ‘ambitious’ about economic reform
Chalmers has moved down the corridor to the Sky News studio.
The messaging is about the same so far, it’s about the progress and the plan, he says.
Host Kieran Gilbert asks whether he’s prepared to do more on significant economic reform, and he slips in a cheeky “whether as treasurer or as prime minister”.
Chalmers lets that one go straight to the keeper and says he’s “ambitious” about economic reform.
And it wraps up pretty much there – a short chat.
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The Albanese government will increase the federal public service by 3,400 roles over the next year, adding to the more than 40,000 roles created since Labor first came to power.
The latest federal budget papers also include another hit to the bottom lines of consultancy and labour hire firms with Labor committing to slash another $719m in external resourcing by 2028-29, totalling $4.7bn since 2022.
Labor has increased its average staffing level by 3,436 jobs for 2025-25, the latest federal budget papers show, with the total number of roles now expected to reach 213,439 jobs.
The 2025-26 federal budget shows a total of 11,800 permanent roles have been created since May 2022 to replace work previously undertaken by consultants and contractors.
The converted jobs make up about 28% of the 41,411 jobs added to the public service since Labor took office.
You can read more here:
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Angus Taylor refuses to detail defence spending
Ferguson tries to push Taylor on some other numbers – namely what the Coalition will do with public servant numbers and how much more they’ll spend on defence.
He won’t reveal anything, despite saying on the weekend that more would be announced after the Coalition saw Labor’s budget.
I didn’t say I was going to do it on your program and I will not. I will leave the announcements to the appropriate people at the appropriate time. I will say, though, is that you will see us in the coming weeks focus on economic management, restoring our standard of living.
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Angus Taylor refuses to rule out offering tax cuts during election campaign
Angus Taylor has entered the budget chat.
He’s on ABC, saying this is a budget “for the next five weeks, not for the next five years” (a line he also said this morning).
He’s calling the tax cuts a “cruel hoax” and, as we brought you earlier, he’s said the Coalition won’t support the cuts.
But he’s not ruling out other tax changes the Coalition might want to introduce during the election.
To clarify, after a bit of back and forth, Sarah Ferguson asks if the Coalition “will not be offering personal income taxes as part of the election?”
He answers:
That’s not what I said. I said we will not be supporting what Labor has proposed in this budget and that’s what we’re responding to tonight.
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ACTU praises ban on non-compete clauses in employment contracts
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) have welcomed the budget, saying it’s a positive sign wages will continue to grow, and supports the ban on non-compete clauses in employment contracts.
The union has also welcomed the tax cuts announced tonight, which will cut 2% over the 2026 and 2027 financial years to the tax bracket between $18,201 to $45,000.
The ACTU president, Michele O’Neil, says the changes will particularly benefit women.
Real wages are going up under the Albanese government and this budget shows there is even stronger real wages growth on the way.
Three million workers are now looking forward to more freedom and higher wages because of the ban on non-compete clauses in employment contracts.
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Did we get a look in the budget for what more will be announced during the election campaign?
We’ve had a look at the “decisions taken but not yet announced” measure in the budget (which is normally the government’s pre-election war chest), but it’s not huge.
They account for about $1.5bn over the forward estimates, which essentially signals that Labor don’t have another gigantic promise coming for the election campaign.
Chalmers says Labor’s tax cuts ‘responsible’ and Coalition a ‘bin fire of inconsistency’
Chalmers has responded to Angus Taylor’s statement that the Coalition won’t support the tax cuts announced in this budget.
He says “it’s the first we’ve heard of it”, and says the government has been “responsible” in putting these tax cuts together.
Sounds like they are not supporting our tax cuts. That’s what happened the last time we tried to give every taxpayer a tax cut, Peter Dutton said we should call an election.
If he has alternatives, he should come clean. They’ve had three years now and they still haven’t come up or come clean on any cost or credible or coherent policies. Angus Taylor’s colleagues don’t take him seriously. It is an absolute bin fire of inconsistency.
Just a note: the Coalition had opposed Labor’s changes to the stage-three tax cuts but ultimately voted for them through parliament.
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Treasurer says government ‘on track’ in terms of reining in NDIS spending
One of the bigger items of the budget is the NDIS, which has been ballooning in cost over the last few years.
The government has been trying to rein it in, and cap its growth to about 8%.
The budget seems to show spending on the scheme is going down and Chalmers says it’s on track to meet that growth target next financial year.
Yeah, we’re on track for that for sure. We are seeing very encouraging progress. The thing we’re encouraged by is we’ve been able to get the cost of the NDIS to a more sustainable growth rate – still growing but more sustainably.
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Treasurer Jim Chalmers is back in the press gallery for his round of post-budget interviews.
As is tradition he’s started at the ABC and is spruiking the tax cuts.
Is it fiscally responsible, asks host Sarah Ferguson? Chalmers says yes.
There is an appetite, obviously, and an enthusiasm, often, to provide the tax cuts and we have to provide those we think the budget can afford and we have to do that in the most responsible way and that is what has guided us.
Chalmers says he’s aware of the timing of this budget on the eve of an election campaign.
I’m not oblivious to the fact that this budget, this fourth budget, very rare and cherished opportunity, is being delivered on the eve of an election, and will set up a choice between Labor helping with the cost-of-living… with Dutton whose secret cuts will make Australians worse off.
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Budget measures paper one of skinniest in 20 years
The 2025 budget has one of the skinniest budget measures paper we’ve seen for at least 20 years.
In the lockup, I counted the pages for each year’s budget paper two – the one which lists all the detailed revenue and spending measures – from 2006-07 to the latest paper, 2025-26.
Here’s how the trend looks:
Two things are clear – budget paper two is getting shorter, and this year’s budget is extra skinny.
Now, a few caveats – this is based on the PDFs as presented on the budget website, the actual, printed budgets may differ, and obviously design decisions like text and image choices can change the length as well. Still, there’s a clear trend here I think.
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Small change in Medicare levy in budget
Here’s another budget surprise, a small change to the Medicare levy, increasing the income threshold for singles and families.
The threshold will increase by 4.7%, which means it will now kick in for singles earning $27,222 rather than $26,000.
The family threshold will rise from $43,846 to $45,907 and for single seniors and pensioners it will increase from $41,089 to $43,020.
That will cost the budget $648m over five years from 2024-25.
You can read more about that, and all the cost of living measures – new and those already announced – here:
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Business Council welcomes tax cuts but criticises lack of boost for private sector
The budget reaction is beginning to filter through, starting with the Business Council of Australia (BCA).
The peak business lobby has welcomed the new income tax cuts but says the budget should have done more to boost private-sector growth.
The BCA chief executive, Bran Black, said:
The budget forecasts slightly better days ahead for economic growth with GDP increasing to 2.25% next year, which is welcome, however we have not seen the policies or reform to drive investment and business-led growth now or for the years ahead.
Personal income and company taxes make up around two-thirds of the budget revenue and we welcome more relief to taxpayers, however we need a long-term solution for bracket creep.
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Coalition won’t back budget tax cuts: Angus Taylor
Despite the Coalition promising taxes would be lower under their watch, the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, has put out a statement saying his party will not support the tax changes announced in the budget.
Taylor has called the announcement an “election bribe”.
The Coalition will not support these tax changes that do nothing to address the collapse in living standards under Labor. Seventy cents a day, in a year’s time, is not going to help address the financial stress Australian families are currently under. This is an election bribe by a weak prime minister.
Taylor’s overall vibe of the budget is – no surprises here – pretty negative.
He’s also attacked the government’s energy policy and says Labor has left Australians worse off. He also argues migration is “still out of control”.
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Treasury expects inflation to go down to 2.5% by the end of this financial year
OK, so let’s go through some of the numbers – what sort of debt are we looking at, and what areas is the government spending in?
As forecast, the budget is back in the red, hitting $42bn next year, $35.7bn the year after.
But, as Chalmers just said, Labor argues they’ve done a whole lot better than what the budget was predicting back in 2022.
Gross debt will reach more than $1tn for the first time in the next financial year.
The other big spends haven’t changed a whole heap – the pressures still come from aged care (with money going towards giving workers a pay bump), the NDIS and Defence.
One of the only real improvements to the budget, ie that will bring in more money, is from strengthening tax integrity.
The other important number here is inflation: the key is it’s continuing to go down, and slightly faster than previously expected.
Treasury anticipates it will go down to 2.5% by the end of this financial year.
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Treasurer says budget ‘about seizing what’s ahead of us’
Chalmers ends his speech with what can only be an election rallying cry, and a celebration of what he says the government has achieved.
He says “our progress and prospects validate and vindicate the decisions and sacrifices we’ve made together”.
The plan at the core of this budget is about more than putting the worst behind us. It’s about seizing what’s ahead of us.
To build a stronger economy, and a future we can all be proud of.
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Jim Chalmers says Labor has ‘overseen the biggest ever fiscal improvement in a single term of government’
Chalmers says the budget is in better shape than it was when Labor came into government, but still able to pay for key programs and promises.
He says the deficit in the next financial year, which will hit $42bn will still be lower than what was forecast at the last election, and in the last midyear budget update.
In a tight budget, we’ve made room to boost our defences, strengthen Medicare, help people doing it tough, build more homes and invest in the future. We’ve done all of this at the same time as we’ve overseen the biggest ever fiscal improvement in a single term of government.
Tonight’s budget is $207bn better than we inherited. It’s in better shape in every year over the forward estimates than it was three years ago.
He adds gross debt will hit $940m this financial year, but that’s still $177bn less than was forecast in 2022.
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Future Made in Australia gets $20m but details scarce
Amid global uncertainty and tariff threats galore, Chalmers says Australia can weather the storm and succeed “in the new world being created in front of us”.
The Future Made in Australia policy, which has already been announced (the latest funding from that was the $2bn for green aluminium announced earlier this year) is one way he says Australia can respond.
This will help develop new industries in clean energy manufacturing, green metals, and low carbon liquid fuels, and unlock private investment.
Despite the PM touting the “buy Australia” campaign on numerous occasions over the past couple of weeks, there is only $20m in the budget earmarked for it and not a whole lot of detail on what that will do.
We’ve already seen some Made in Australia ads on TV, but we’ll have to wait for more on what comes next.
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As the treasurer continues through all the measures he wants to highlight in the budget – I’ll get you started on some of our budget coverage.
For all the nuts and bolts, the biggest and most important numbers, here’s the lowdown from our economics editor, Patrick Commins:
Chalmers says public schools will ‘finally be on track to reach the funding standard recommended in the Gonski review’
Education is another mainstay in this budget, following the government striking a deal with Queensland yesterday to fully fund public schools (it was the last state to come to an agreement).
Chalmers says the government is investing in “every stage” of education.
This means public schools will finally be on track to reach the funding standard recommended in the Gonski review almost 15 years ago.
He also highlights the three-day childcare guarantee which was passed through parliament during the last sitting fortnight in February, as well as legislating and funding free Tafe.
A crucial part of this Labor government’s economic plan relies on the transformational power of education.
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Budget locks in $1.8bn for state and territory hospitals
Health has been a focal point this year – with Labor’s announcements for the $8.5bn to increase Medicare bulk billing, more money for urgent care clinics, and more than $700m for women’s health.
Chalmers says women’s health is not “a boutique issue”.
The budget also locks in $1.8bn for state and territory hospitals.
On the PBS, Chalmers also backs in comments from the government that it won’t be touched, despite pressure from the US.
We are strengthening it [PBS] because Australians need us to, not weakening it because American multinationals want us to.
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Budget includes increase to the Medicare levy low-income threshold
Unsurprisingly this pre-election budget is focused on cost of living.
Chalmers is spruiking his tax cuts, energy rebates of $150 that were announced over the weekend, and health reforms.
He has also announced an increase to the Medicare levy low-income threshold (which I’ll have more details on in a moment).
Chalmers lays it out in some dot points:
Two new tax cuts for every taxpayer
More energy bill relief
Increasing wages and banning non-compete clauses
More bulk billing and cheaper medicines
Student debt relief
A fair go for families at the checkout and farmers at the farm gate
On the tax cuts he adds:
This will take the first tax rate down to its lowest level in more than half a century. These additional tax cuts are modest but will make a difference.
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Cost of living ‘front and centre’ in budget: treasurer
Chalmers has told parliament that the worst is behind us, economically speaking:
Employment and real wage growth this year will be stronger and participation will stay near its record high for longer.
Inflation is coming down faster as well. Treasury now expects inflation to be sustainably back in the band six months earlier than anticipated.
Because of our collective efforts, the worst is behind us and the economy is now heading in the right direction. But there is more work to do because we know that people are still under pressure. The cost of living is front of mind for most Australians, and it is front and centre in this budget.
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Treasurer says budget comes during ‘tariffs and tensions abroad’
Chalmers continues, noting a volatile global economy. He’s setting the context:
This is a responsible budget with five main priorities: Helping with the cost of living; strengthening Medicare; building more homes; investing in every stage of education; and making our economy stronger, more productive and more resilient.
The 2020s have already seen a global pandemic, global inflation and now the threat of a global trade war. The whole world has changed as a consequence. Tariffs and tensions abroad have been accompanied by storms here at home.
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Jim Chalmers says Australian economy ‘turning the corner’
Before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s go straight to the treasurer who is speaking on the House floor.
As we reported earlier, he’s been in an upbeat mood handing out the budget, particularly now with these extra tax cuts.
Jim Chalmers starts with a positive outlook on the domestic economy – no surprises here – it’s similar to what he’s been saying this year.
Our economy is turning the corner. Inflation is down, incomes are rising, unemployment is low, interest rates are coming down, debt is down, and growth is picking up momentum.
On all these fronts, our economy and our budget are in better shape than they were three years ago. This progress has been exceptional but not accidental.
But he adds, the global outlook is looking a lot weaker.
Between Trump’s tariffs, continuing war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East, he says Treasury expects the global economy to grow at “its slowest since the 1990s”.
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Jim Chalmers begins budget speech
Jim Chalmers is delivering his budget speech in the House of Representatives:
This budget builds on the progress that we have made together. It’s a plan to help with the cost of living with two new tax cuts and higher wages, more bulk billing and more help with electricity bills, cheaper medicine and less student debt.
It is a plan to build Australia’s future with more homes, more investments in skills and education, competition reforms and a future made in Australia.
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‘Stage-four tax cuts’ revealed in budget
Folks it’s budget night, and all has now been revealed.
Krishani Dhanji here to take you through the nitty gritty of the budget and bring you all the coverage from here in Parliament House.
The headline figure is what one might call stage-four tax cuts, a tweak to the tax rate for the $18,201 to $45,000 threshold, which will be cut from 16% to 15% from 1 July next year, and cut further to 14% from 1 July 2027.
The government managed to keep that one completely under wraps, and they say the change will mean taxpayers will pay up to $536 less from mid-2027.
How much will it cost? About $17bn to the 2028-2029 financial year.
We’ll be waiting with bated breath to see how the opposition responds to this, having always promised taxes would be lower under the Coalition than Labor.
The rest of the budget measures we pretty much already knew, largely because they were announced for the pre-election campaign rather than for the budget (which was expected to be skipped altogether).
So strap in, there is plenty of news and analysis coming at you, outlining what this budget will mean for you, your friends and family, and the country.
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Leaks about leaks show Coalition chaos, pollster says
On budget day, the focus is almost entirely on the government. It holds all the cards. But the Coalition created its own headlines earlier today.
Peter Dutton told the Coalition party room to stop leaking internal policy debates and frustrations to the media, warning it could cost them the election.
Multiple Coalition sources unable to speak publicly about the party room discussion on Tuesday have confirmed the opposition leader criticised destabilising leaks that have led to critical headlines. Here’s how one put it:
He said it could make the difference in a few seats and be the difference between majority or minority government for us. Hardly rocket science.
Kos Samaras, a former Labor strategist and RedBridge director, say the leaking of a warning not to leak indicates “panic on the Coalition side”.
Catch up on the latest here:
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There’s an interesting historical quirk in tonight’s budget. It’s far from the most important detail, but it might help you win a very niche trivia event in years to come.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, drew attention to this earlier today:
I’m really pleased that we get this opportunity, this rare but welcome opportunity, to hand down four budgets in a single parliamentary term. It hasn’t happened since the 1940s.
It’s a very welcome opportunity to put the economy front and centre on the eve of an election.
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We’ll get the budget details in about 20 minutes. So there’s still time to speed read a Budget 101 explainer by our economics correspondent, Patrick Commins. He walks us through questions like “where the money comes from”:
The federal government collected $650bn in taxes, excises and customs in 2022-23 and this is expected to have climbed closer to $700bn in this financial year.
The largest share of the tax collected in 2022-23 came from income tax on workers, at 40%. The next biggest single contributor is company income tax at about 20%. Sales taxes (predominately GST) account for just over 10% of commonwealth revenue.
The tax mix (which here includes state revenue) has changed over time, and it continues to do so – not always for the better.
Over-reliance on income tax is a hot topic, particularly as formerly lucrative excises on petrol dwindle as we move to electric vehicles, and with the tobacco excise falling foul of an exploding hidden market for cigarettes and the surging popularity of vapes.
Without adjusting thresholds, the share of tax coming from individual income tax could climb from 40% now to nearly 46% by the mid-2030s, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office.
All the details can be found here:
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If you’re the type of person that holds a budget party – and absolutely no judgement if so, this is a safe space – the very talented Fiona Katauskas has a guide for you.
Don’t forget some sweet treats and some read meat for the base.
So what do we know?
Well, a fair bit so far.
Households and small businesses will get a further $150 off their energy bills from 1 July under a pre-budget announcement made over the weekend.
The biggest budget commitment (that we know of) came in February when Anthony Albanese unveiled an $8.5bn boost to Medicare, which includes a bulk-billing target of nine out of 10 GP visits by 2030.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, has confirmed $1bn in military spending would be brought forward, bringing the total allocated over the next four years to $10.6bn.
Labor is pouring an extra $800m into its Help to Buy shared-equity housing scheme to assist more young Australians in entering the property market.
With his first announcement of the 2025 election year, Albanese pledged $7.2bn for upgrades to the Bruce Highway in Queensland. The federal government will fund 80% of the works, with the state funding 20%.
There’s a lot more detail here:
It’s budget night
Welcome to Guardian Australia’s live coverage of the 2025 budget, which will hurl us into the election campaign proper.
We’ll be with you all night as we dig into the policy details and costings. We’ll bring you the latest reactions and, importantly, consider how this will affect the election, which is expected to be called in coming days.
Right now, our reporters are locked up having spent hours studying the budget papers. They’ll bring you the latest in just over half an hour.
Updated
There’s obviously a huge amount of focus on the detail in tonight’s budget. But a quick reminder, there are also other big set pieces tonight: fundraisers.
This year’s fundraisers – often concealed from the general public – could be something of a final hoorah too. New laws capping campaign spending will soon make these budget night soirees less important, at least financially.
Labor is charging donors $5,000 a head to attend its federal budget dinner at an undisclosed Canberra location tonight. The event will be attended by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and his ministry (one can only hope with that fee) after the budget speech in the lower house.
Liberal politicians and staffers get their own fundraising fun on Thursday night when Peter Dutton delivers his budget reply speech. Guardian Australia has seen at least five separate Canberra-based events for sale with tickets ranging from $500 to $5,000.
Labor will reportedly ban non-compete clauses in budget
The government will ban non-compete clauses in the budget, according to the ABC.
The national broadcaster is reporting that Labor sources say the measure will be a key productivity reform in the 2025 federal budget to assist workers in areas such as construction and childcare who are facing non-compete clauses.
The clauses effectively stop people from switching to a nearby firm or company for a period of time and are estimated to affect on in five workers.
Here’s part of the ABC’s coverage:
ABC News understands the Albanese government will use tonight’s budget to announce it will ban these clauses for those earning up to $180,000 in a move that will help create more competition, remove barriers preventing employees from starting their own businesses and potentially result in a wage boost.
Updated
Former Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation chair condemns Labor changes to EPBC Act
Raelene Cooper, the former chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, has issued a statement citing undisclosed legal advice that warns Labor’s changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act could have much broader impact than intended:
I have been advised that the scope of last-minute environmental reforms by the Albanese government may also include projects on the Burrup, which is home to our sacred Murujuga rock art, currently being assessed for Unesco world heritage.
The Albanese government has said that these environmental reforms will only relate to Macquarie Harbour in Tasmania but our advice says this is not necessarily correct.
In effect, these amendments may, depending on timing that is the subject of proposed last-minute amendments to this bill, remove the legal right that currently exists to request reconsideration of some project decisions in the event of fresh evidence, for example if the unpublished Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Report shows impacts from industrial pollution on Murujuga’s rock art.
Updated
Labor’s amendments to environment bill pass House
Labor’s changes to the EPBC act have sailed through the House of Representatives, as expected, with 111 votes in favour and 14 votes in opposition.
The amendments will now go to the upper house and will be dealt with on Wednesday.
Updated
The bells are ringing and the House of Representatives is divided for a vote on Labor’s amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. This is expected to pass the house shortly.
The amendments were made to protect the Tasmanian salmon farm industry. In practice, they end a formal reconsideration by the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, into whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie harbour in 2012 was properly approved.
The reconsideration of the Macquarie harbour decision was triggered by a legal request in 2023 from three environment groups, partly due to concern about the impact of salmon farming on the Maugean skate, an endangered fish species.
The Greens and key independent MPs have accused the Albanese government of selling out the environment to win votes in Tasmania ahead of an election. Key environment groups, including the Australian Conservation Foundation, believe the amendments weaken environmental protections.
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has rejected this criticism and said the amendments were “balanced and sensible” changes designed to “protect jobs”.
Once the amendments are passed, there is a bit of a rush from the government’s perspective, as the upper house is holding estimates hearings on Thursday. The government is widely tipped to call an election in coming days.
Updated
Andrew Wilkie says Labor prepared to ‘drive the Maugean skate to extinction’
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, a long-term critic of the salmon farming industry, has accused the Albanese government of abandoning the environment to win votes in Tasmanian seats.
It is that crude, that blunt and that ugly. The government is happy, well, prepared to, I should say, drive the Maugean skate to extinction because it might improve its chances of winning the north-west and west-coast Tasmanian seat of Braddon. When you think about it in that context, it is all the more ugly.
Updated
Former Labor strategist claims there is ‘panic on the Coalition side’
Kos Samaras, a former Labor strategist and RedBridge director, has been asked about Peter Dutton urging his Coalition colleagues not to leak to the media:
I think on both sides of the political river they have two speeds. One is arrogance and the other panic. I think we’re seeing panic on the Coalition side. They all love to look like they’re winning in the polls.
The minute it turns ugly, we see this behaviour. Fortunately for both sides, the Australian public are paying little attention to this.
Updated
Allegra Spender says budget conversation should focus on setting Australia up ‘for the long term’
Independent Allegra Spender says the budget discourse has been about the election but the conversation should be about the next 10 years, not the next two months. Spender told Afternoon Briefing:
There’s so much focus on the election, what a lot of people are telling me in my community, we’re missing a national conversation about what’s going to set us up for the long term, rather than the short-term pain households are dealing with right now.
Updated
Max Chandler-Mather accuses Labor of ‘dirty deal’ with Coalition to weaken environment laws
Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather is now addressing Labor’s proposed amendments to environmental laws, designed to protect the salmon farming industry in Tasmania.
What Labor are doing is a dirty deal with the Liberals and Nationals to weaken Australia’s environmental laws.
It’s disgraceful that in the context of a climate and environmental crisis devastating this country … a series of weakening laws will be passed through this parliament in a deal between Labor and the Liberals and Nationals that may well make it easier for coal and gas projects to continue into the future, even where the science proves they’re having a devastating impact on our environment.
Updated
Lambie is now discussing Tasmanian salmon farming following unease around Labor’s proposal to protect the industry:
Lambie said while there had been talk of 5000 of jobs at risk, Lambie said she is from the area in question and there are only 22 jobs locally as most are automated.
Lambie believes Tasmanian voters will turn against the government at the polls:
This is rubbish. They are going to pay a price for this in Tasmania
Lambie says voters have ‘had a gutful’ with Labor’s lack of transparency
Independent Jacqui Lambie says the Labor government has been less transparent than the Liberal government was.
Lambie told Afternoon Briefing she believes it will be a problem for them in the election:
People have had a gutful.
Updated
How would the Coalition tax Australians?
Jane Hume, the shadow finance minister, says the average Australian paid $3,500 more in tax this year alone. Hume has told Afternoon Briefing that the Coalition would pursue tax reform including a tax to GDP ratio, and make expenditure not grow faster than the economy.
Ask which specific tax cuts and reform the Coalition would bring in, Hume says the government won’t be supporting tax on unrealised capital gains but would pursue instant asset write-off, and tax-free deductible meals for small businesses.
Hume called out independents such as Allegra Spender pursuing more ambitious tax reform when they would not need to make decisions in government though Patricia Karvelas pointed out they might have to if the Coalition needs to form a minority government. Hume called out Spender for backing stage-three tax cuts before Karvelas pointed out the Coalition themselves supported the measure.
Hume emphasised the Coalition want to see fiscal restraint.
Updated
‘Road to 2029’: ex-TV personality takes over state Libs
The high-profile new Liberal leader in Western Australia is promising a “new look” for the party, AAP reports.
Basil Zempilas replaced Libby Mettam on Tuesday as the head of the party and promised a new era for the Liberals. Zempilas told reporters on the steps of the state parliament in Perth:
This is a new-look Liberal party of Western Australia.
A reset is under way and the road to 2029 begins today.
The Perth media personality and former lord mayor of the city said he would lead “collaboratively, harmoniously and decisively in holding this government to account”.
Every decision we make, every item that we raise with the Cook Labor government of Western Australia will be raised with the intention of making that government better.
Zempilas, who narrowly won the seat of Churchlands at the election on 8 March, said the party “did not resonate the way we would have hoped at the previous election”.
The way to step forward, the way for the reset of the Liberal party in Western Australia to really begin, to gather momentum … is to be out in the community and listening.
Latest counting in the state poll shows Labor won 46 seats of 59 seats, the Liberals seven and the Nationals six, after the Liberals claimed the final lower house seat of Kalamunda on Monday night.
Updated
Katy Gallagher condemns Coalition’s policy to have all public service workers return to office
The public service will lose female employees if the Coalition’s policy to see all workers return to the office comes into effect, Gallagher says.
Gallagher said she had recently visited a Queensland government call centre where they said if they didn’t have flexible arrangements they wouldn’t be able to fill jobs.
While Gallagher could not quantify how many women would leave, she said all surveys showed flexibility was vital to retain female employees.
Updated
Katy Gallagher says she won’t steal Jim Chalmers’ thunder on budget
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, spoke to the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing before the budget lock-up but warned she wasn’t going to be giving too much away.
I’m not going to steal Dr Chalmers’ thunder.
Asked by Patricia Karvelas about whether this was an election manifesto rather than budget, Gallagher said it was a “continuation of the work we’ve started since coming to government”.
Asked about debts, Gallagher pointed to the $95bn in savings the government had found during this term of government.
Would the government take tax reform to the next election? Gallagher pointed to the fact that there was difficulty in achieving reform due to lacking numbers in the Senate. She highlighted the modest change to superannuation that was still stuck, not getting passed in the Senate.
As for US tariffs, Gallagher says “there isn’t a thing we’re doing that we’re not doing” to stand up for Australians’ national interests.
Updated
Coalition MPs told to stop leaking internal debates and frustrations to the media
The Coalition party room has been urged to stop leaking internal policy debates and frustrations to the media and warned it could cost seats at the election.
In recent weeks, Liberal backbenchers have expressed concerns about some of the Coalition’s policy proposals including its position on work from home, which has raised significant concern in the ranks.
Coalition frontbenchers have also had to respond to stories about internal policy proposals such as a potential referendum to give the government power to deport criminals with dual nationality. Internal talking points on this issue were also leaked to the media.
Coalition MPs have spoken to Guardian Australia about a need for big-ticket economic voters to sell to voters. Others have spoken about the need to protect foreign aid funding.
One Liberal source has confirmed reports in the Sydney Morning Herald that Peter Dutton and other Coalition leaders raised concerns about the anonymous freelancing in the media during a party room meeting in Canberra.
He made the point that he didn’t think it was reasonable, that he didn’t think it was good timing, and that it was risky. He made the point that it could be damaging for us. He said it was the wrong time to be ventilating this.
He said [the leaking] was very risky at this stage and that it was just better to deal with this later.
The source said there was support from a couple of people for the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, but they did not describe it as “a rally behind him”.
Updated
Robbie Williams honour sparks review of Melbourne’s keys to the city
Melbourne city council awarding UK pop star Robbie Williams the keys to the city has sparked a review of the process for bestowing the honour.
Williams was given the symbolic keys to the city when he performed a free surprise concert for thousands of people at Melbourne’s Federation Square in January while in Australia to promote his biopic Better Man.
Councillors found out about the ceremony to grant the keys the day before the event, according to a report in The Age on Tuesday.
The council will now consider endorsing a revised policy for awarding the honour at a meeting tonight. If endorsed, it will be subjected to a one-month community consultation period.
The decision to award Williams the keys to the city followed the council’s current civic recognition guidelines.
A report delivered to the council in March about these guidelines, which were endorsed in 2009, said an operational review into Williams being granted the keys “provided insights and lessons to guide improvements”.
It said a review found the decision-making processes “requires clarity” and “communication with councillors needs greater rigour”.
In a statement, Melbourne’s lord mayor, Nicholas Reece, said the council was thrilled to award Williams the keys to the city under its civic recognition guidelines.
It was a truly magical moment for Melbourne – shared with 10,000 fans at Fed Square. Robbie is a global pop legend – and an honorary Melburnian at this point. He’s captivated us with unforgettable concerts, and his Better Man biopic injected $142m into our state’s economy.
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today. I’ll hand over to Henry Belot, who will take you through the rest of today’s news – until the budget lockup lifts later this evening. Take care.
Question time finishes
After a dixer, question time in the House of Representatives has now wrapped up.
Albanese takes aim at crossbench, including ex-Labor senator, after question on environmental legislation
Independent MP Zali Steggall is next up, to ask about the latest environmental legislation. She asked:
Will your government and you as PM, already breaking the 2022 promise to strengthen nature laws, do you accept there can be no trust this election on commitments on protecting the environment?
Anthony Albanese responded, saying Labor went to the 2022 election saying it would introduce a national EPA, which passed the House and then sat in the Senate “month after month after month while [the] crossbench tried to connect it up with a whole range of other issues that were not related to the legislation that was there”.
That is what they said. They said, ‘Unless you taking action to stop all forestry, unless you do a whole range of things’, that they wanted connected to that legislation, they would not pass it.
And then when the legislation was eventually before the Senate, the crossbench – including Fatima Payman, who was elected as a Labor senator but [went to] sit on the crossbench – made it clear that she would not, having received under about 0.1% of the vote, said she would oppose that legislation along with other crossbench members.
So be careful what you vote for when you vote independent because you never know what you will get.
Updated
Catherine King takes question on CFMEU
Liberal MP Zoe McKenzie just asked the infrastructure minister, Catherine King, about the CFMEU – specifically if any taxpayer money has been siphoned to organised crime networks and, if so, what action has been taken?
King said that “no doubt, the behaviour that we’ve seen from the CFMEU is absolutely unacceptable, and this government has taken the strongest possible action to actually deal with it”.
She was briefly interrupted when the Speaker called out Sussan Ley for “screaming across the chamber” and others for interjecting. King continued:
Some of the issues that are now coming to light are coming to light because it is in administration, and we are dealing with those issues from an infrastructure point of view.
On the specific question, King answered:
The commonwealth does not directly procure infrastructure projects. We do those through agreements with every state and territory … We’ve got a new federated funding agreement [between the commonwealth and states and territories], and in that agreement, we embedded new requirements [about] our funding agreement to prevent these issues from occurring.
Updated
Katter asks about funding for northern Queensland
Bob Katter was just up to ask about funding for northern Queensland.
Anthony Albanese outlined a number of measures the federal government has taken following the “colourful” question, in which Katter asked the PM to give “Queensland government’s past and present a kick in the head”.
Albanese outlined a further measure that will be in tonight’s budget:
Tonight, as well, I can confirm that there’ll be additional funding for the Baron River Bridge, which has been really important in terms of connecting up Cairns to the member for Kennedy’s electorate as well.
Updated
Budget to reveal recovery costs of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred
The emergency services minister, Jenny Mcallister, says tonight’s federal budget will reveal the estimated recovery cost of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Here’s what she told the Senate a few moments ago:
We know that this will have a cost on the budget. The treasurer has made that clear in recent days. But we think this expenditure is worth it. We think it is critical. We will stand by the people of south-east Queensland and the people of northern New South Wales as they begin their journey of recovery.
Updated
Plibersek again questioned on number of coalmine approvals
Liberal MP Michelle Landry is back up, and asked Tanya Plibersek to confirm the number between six and twelve, of how many coal projects she has approved.
The environment minister responded:
The number of coalmines or extensions approved is ten, four have been cancelled. Gas projects, there have been three extraction projects approved. And renewables, more than 80 have been approved – and there are about another 130 in the system, which I think is a real indication of the way our economy is changing.
Plibersek took aim at the opposition and said they “used to actually believe in market policies, particularly driving our energy sector”. She wrapped up her answer:
We are on track to see renewable energy reach 82% of our grid by 2030 and I’m really proud to be part of a government that is doing that. This is one of the biggest transformations in Australian history, and it’s on track.
Updated
Plibersek says she has approved ‘fewer than a dozen’ coal mining approvals in this term of government
Liberal MP Michelle Landry was up next to ask a question, on how many coal mining approvals Tanya Plibersek has approved in this term of government.
The environment minister kept her answer brief:
Fewer than a dozen.
Updated
Plibersek questioned on North West Shelf gas expansion decision timeframe
Liberal MP Melissa Price asked Tanya Plibersek if she would make a decision on the future of Woodside’s North West Shelf gas expansion before the upcoming election?
Plibersek said she won’t “comment on decisions before me [because] it leads to court cases”.
I can say very clearly that our broad approach will always be to follow the law and to follow the science.
Last week, the Coalition promised to fast-track a decision on the gas extension if it wins the upcoming federal election.
Continuing her answer in the chamber, Plibersek said it was important not to pre-judge these decisions:
It would be very dangerous for me as a minister, or for anyone else, to make a pre-judgment about any project, because if someone did that, the most likely outcome would be that that project would end up in court.
Updated
Albanese says Labor defends ‘jobs and sustainability’ amid question on environmental laws
The leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, is asking a question of the PM: “After three years of broken promises on the environment, why are you now doing what the leader of the opposition asked by gutting our climate and environment laws?”
Anthony Albanese calls Bandt’s comments “absolute nonsense”, and says Labor has “effective climate change targets of 43% by 2040 [and a] plan to get there”.
The PM says his government has “led on climate and the environment”, both here in Australia and globally:
Australia is now out of the naughty and background the table, acting on climate change as part of global efforts in acting on the environment.
He then speaks of efforts he says the government is taking to protect the Maugean skate – at risk due to salmon farming in Tasmania:
We have committed $37.5m to the Maugean skate conservation including the successful captive breeding program, remediation, expanded the oxygenation program in the harbour which science tells us is working …
[The] Greens have never seen a job they don’t want to destroy … Right across the board, wherever there is a job, they are opposed to it. What we are as a Labor party is we will always defend jobs and we will also defend sustainability very proudly.
Updated
Plibersek takes question on EPBC amendment legislation
In the House of Representatives, the deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, was just up to ask about the EPBC act – and if under the new legislation, the minister retains the power to stop salmon farming at Macquarie Harbour after the next election?
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, said the legislation creates “a very specific amendment that will apply in very limited circumstances to reconsiderations” – meeting four criteria:
The criteria are that the original decision was not a controlled action if undertaken in a particular manner, that the activity under way is ongoing or recurring, that the activity has been ongoing or recurring for five years before the reconsideration application was submitted, and finally, that the activity is being carried out under the supervision of a state or territory government – for example, a state or territory environment protection authority.
Plibersek said that under the existing law, an established industry could be shut down overnight if an environmental assessment had to commence.
She continued, saying if she “predetermine[s] something that is potentially litigated before me as a decision maker, that ends us up in court”.
Updated
Wong probed for more details on impact of EPBC changes
In the Senate, the Greens are pressing Penny Wong for more details on the impact of changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
Greens senator Nick McKim asked Wong to confirm the amendment “contains nothing whatsoever that would preclude it from preventing the environment minister from reconsidering fossil fuel projects, other mines, land clearing actions or large industrial developments”.
This references concerns from some experts that the amendments, designed to protect the Tasmanian salmon industry, could have a much broader impact than intended.
Wong has accused the Greens of mounting a scare campaign in opposition to the amendments.
Firstly, these are specific amendments to address a flaw in the EPBC Act. Secondly, I predict that it doesn’t matter what my answer is, you’re going to make those scare campaigns anyway, because you don’t support these changes.
Updated
Senate question time under way
Over in the senate, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has been asked to comment on a Labor party social media post that included an apparent send-up of white nationalist messaging.
The Instagram post – which was uploaded on Sunday and then deleted on Monday – features a white man wearing a T-shirt with a flag-themed map of Australia and the words: “THIS IS AUSTRALIA / WE EAT MEAT / WE DRINK BEER AND WE LOVE MEDICARE!”. The Instagram caption stated: “CALLING ALL AUSSIE PATRIOTS NOW IS THE TIME TO PROTECT OUR MEDICARE.”
On Labor’s TikTok feed, the same image was run alongside the same message: “CALLING ALL AUSSIE PATRIOTS NOW IS THE TIME TO PROTECT OUR MEDICARE” with a string of Auspol hashtags. It was accompanied by a dance version of Men at Work’s Down Under before it was also deleted.
The T-shirt design appears similar to an archival example of nationalist racist memorabilia held by Museums Victoria.
Liberal senator Anne Ruston has repeatedly asked Wong to give a “clear” and “full condemnation” of the post. Wong said:
We condemn racism in all its forms, in all circumstances. I condemned it when your [former] attorney-general [George Brandis] stood here and said, people have a right to be bigots, I didn’t remember any of you condemning it. We condemned it.
I’m surprised I would even have to say this. Of course, we should all stand against white supremacism and I for one, have been on the receiving end of some of what they have said and done.
You can read more about this story below:
Updated
Question time begins with question on cost-of-living
Question time has begun in the House of Representatives, with the opposition leader Peter Dutton first up to ask a question – saying “our country is divided”, and asking about how Australians can afford another term of Labor.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, responded, calling Dutton “the great divider of Australian politics”. He went on to speak about tonight’s budget:
Tonight, we will hand down a budget that confirms the fact that inflation is going down … And what we have done – you’ll see more tonight – is provide cost-of-living relief, because we understand that Australians have been under pressure from global inflation. That is why we have provided a range of cost-of-living measures, all of which have been opposed by those opposite.
The PM ended by saying that “every single measure that has been put forward [the Coalition has] opposed, because they don’t know what they’re for”.
Updated
Question time due to begin shortly in House of Representatives
In the House of Representatives, a condolence motion was just moved for former social services minister Rosemary Crowley.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is now noting the response and recovery efforts amid ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in Queensland and NSW.
He wished the 13 personnel who were injured in a crash at Lismore during the response well in their recovery.
Question time is due to kick off shortly.
Pocock accuses PM of ‘captain’s call’ that echoes Morrison while speaking in Senate
Independent senator David Pocock also gave a two-minute statement in the Senate just now, accusing the major parties of teaming up to “ram through bad legislation without any scrutiny”.
He pointed to Anthony Albanese’s interview this morning (see earlier post), where he said the EPA could not pass because there wasn’t support in the Senate.
“This is wrong and I’m calling on the prime minister to correct the record,” Pocock told the Senate chamber.
The Greens and other crossbenchers cut a deal with the environment minister to pass the EPA – and that’s in writing – but the PM intervened at the last minute to make a captain’s call and deny Australians the EPA promised by Labor at the … last election.
And here we have another captain’s call from the prime minister. We are seeing echoes of former prime minister Scott Morrison intervening over the top of ministers for political self interest, but it seems like the irony is lost on this government.
Updated
Twelve environmentalists detained at Parliament House amid protest
Twelve environmentalists are being detained at Parliament House in Canberra amid a protest against the Tasmanian salmon industry.
According to a statement from the Bob Brown Foundation, three people glued themselves to stairwells in the foyer as part of a protest against the new legislation.
Campaign manager Jenny Weber said:
We are protesting in Parliament House today to highlight the outrageous Albanese and Dutton coalition to destroy our nature laws for the benefit of toxic salmon corporations. Our seas are polluted, animals are dying and our government is ruling for the corporations, not the people.
Updated
Lambie accuses major parties of using salmon industry bill to try to better electoral chances
In the Senate, Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie just lashed the bill to protect Tasmanian salmon farming during a two-minute statement.
She said the bill “lets salmon companies off the hook”:
Mining companies have to clean up after themselves, but apparently the salmon companies, they get right off the hook.
Mining companies have to abide by the environmental laws, but apparently no, no – free pass over here, the dirty stinking salmon over here, because the Labor party, Liberal party, think it will give them a better chance of winning those electoral seats in Bradden and Lyons. How’s that going for you?
Updated
Changes to environmental laws make them weaker than when Labor assumed office, ACF says
The Australian Conservation Foundation has criticised the Albanese government’s changes to environmental laws, arguing they are now weaker than when Labor assumed office.
Experts have warned an amendment introduced by the Albanese government to protect Tasmanian salmon farming a few moments ago could stop communities challenging other decisions, including coal and gas developments.
The government plans to amend the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to end a formal reconsideration by the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, into whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie harbour in 2012 was properly approved.
The foundation’s chief executive, Kelly O’Shanassy, said the carve-out was bad news for nature.
Labor came to government in 2022 promising to strengthen Australia’s failing nature laws, but ends the term rushing through a bill to weaken them.
This amendment knowingly risks the extinction of a unique, irreplaceable Australian species. The Maugean skate survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, but it may not survive the Albanese government.
Carve-outs for particular industries are bad news for nature. The logging industry’s broad exemption to this law has resulted in untold damage to nature over 25 years.
Updated
Second reading debate for workplace gender equality amendment bill
A second reading debate is under way in the Senate for the workplace gender equality amendment (setting gender equality targets) bill.
The Greens’ spokesperson for women, Larissa Waters, just spoke to the bill and took aim at the opposition, saying:
They’re being overt about their anti-equality agenda, and they’re trying to emulate Trump as much [as] possible, and I think they’ll suffer the electoral consequences of that.
I don’t think Australians want Trump … here, and they are scared to their teeth that that’s what they’re seeing from the opposition.
She said Peter Dutton’s indication he would limit work from home would “undoubtedly make working life harder for women and for workers who might be juggling caring responsibilities or health challenges”.
The debate was interrupted at 1.30pm for two-minute statements.
Updated
Plibersek introducing amendments to EPBC act
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is now introducing amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) act in the House of Representatives.
The amendments would end a formal reconsideration by Plibersek into whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour in 2012 was properly approved.
Plibersek says the change will “only capture a very small subset of decisions that can be reconsidered”.
This bill strikes a balance between the important task of protecting our environment and the need to provide certainty and stability to businesses, which have already made substantial investments to get a project up and running and most importantly, to protect jobs. This is sensible and balanced regulation.
The government has amended standing orders to deal with several bills before the EPBC act is debated and voted on. A vote will be held no later than 5.45pm, shortly before the 6pm adjournment.
Greens Senator unsuccessfully attempts to send bill about Tasmanian salmon farming to committee
Over in the Senate, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young moved to suspend standing orders to enable a motion to be moved, referring the bill regarding salmon farming in Tasmania to a committee.
Hanson-Young said “no one has looked at the detail” of the legislation, and continued:
It has not been through a proper process, yet the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, Mr Peter Dutton, want to have it ran through this place in under two days. And why do they want to ram this piece of legislation through this chamber by the end of tomorrow? Because they are doing this under the cover of the federal budget, because it is a bill that guts environmental protection. It’s a bill that will condemn wildlife in our country to extinction.
Penny Wong said it was budget day, so the “non-government parties are doing their thing, which is a bit of political grandstanding to try and desperately get themselves into a media cycle.”
The motion was unsuccessful.
Updated
Coalition use final party room meeting of electoral cycle to tighten messaging
The Coalition are in full election mode, using their final party room meeting of the electoral cycle to gee up colleagues and tighten up messaging.
While they also weren’t expecting to be responding to a budget this week, a spokesperson said they’re focused on cost of living, rising energy bills, housing and community safety.
On what Peter Dutton’s budget reply will entail, they said it’ll demonstrate the Coalition’s “vision” and focus on those points they’ll be taking to the election (so nothing particularly shocking there).
The spokesperson said party leaders also reminded members to remember the number of policies they’ve already announced (perhaps in response to some of the reports Coalition members feel they don’t have enough to sell to their electorates).
While the Greens are dead set against the environment legislation to protect Tasmania’s salmon industry, the Coalition are in support.
Updated
Online content creators reportedly invited to this year’s budget lock-up
Podcaster and author Hannah Ferguson says she is among “lots” of content creators invited to this year’s budget lock-up in Canberra.
In a post to Instagram this morning, Ferguson shared that she was driving to Canberra for the lock-up at 3.30pm:
This is a huge moment for me as a nerd, lots of content creators (like me) have been invited to attend this budget and receive a briefing, etc. Really amazing inclusion of new media from the government in this process!
Ferguson is the only content creator we have seen, so far, to discuss going to the lock-up.
For a refresher on what the budget lock-up actually is, you can have a read below:
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Photos rolling in from House of Representatives and Senate chamber
We’re nearly an hour into the sitting day, and here’s a general sense of the mood across both chambers:
Australian shares follow Wall Street higher on tariff hopes
Markets have bet on the next round of US tariffs being more measured and targeted than the last, sending Australian and US equities higher.
AAP reports that by midday the S&P/ASX200 gained 44.4 points, or 0.57%, to 7981.8, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 49.7 points, or 0.61%, to 8208.1.
The early surge followed an overnight rally on Wall Street, fuelled by hopes of a less chaotic round of US tariffs when they are announced next week with the White House flagging some exceptions and delays.
The Australian government is preparing for tariffs on beef and lamb exports to the US, worth more than $4bn to the economy in 2024, and on pharmaceuticals, worth $1.7bn and representing two-fifths of total Australian drug exports.
Only three local sectors were trading lower, led by consumer staples and utilities stocks, each down 0.7%, while materials stocks lost 0.2%.
IT stocks were outperforming the market, up 2%. Industrials, real estate stocks and health care stocks were all up more than 1% while financials, which account for almost a third of the top 200’s market cap, were up 0.8%.
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Vote to suspend standing orders on divisions in House of Representatives passes
Proceedings have begun in the House of Representatives, where members are voting on whether or not the standing order that would defer any divisions until after question time should be suspended.
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, was just up to speak and said:
Why is it that in a sitting week that many people didn’t expect to have … the government says, we want to change the way things are done usually, to allow for more divisions to happen and more votes to happen, to allow legislation to be fast tracked through this place … Why is the government wanting to do that?
Not to wipe student debt, not to ensure that people can go and see the GP for free … No, to bring legislation to this place and ensure that the normal order of doing things is reorganised so that they can fast track the extinction of a species in Tasmania and introduce legislation that will gut our climate and environment laws.
Tony Burke got up, and said the bill Bandt is referring to was scheduled to be debated and voted on this afternoon, after 2pm.
Bandt got back up, and continued his argument – saying the government was trying to ensure “passage is cleared” over the next few hours “for an unprecedented piece of legislation to be put through this parliament today.”
That’s what the government is attempting to lay the groundwork for in this motion.
The motion was successfully passed.
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More from the Greens party room meeting
Continuing from our last post: Scientists have warned the fishing industry is affecting the local population of an endangered fish species, the Maugean skate, which is only found in Macquarie Harbour and Bathurst Harbour to the state’s south.
However, the bill’s drafting is more broad and could be applied to any industry, in any location. The Greens and other critics have warned there could be wider-reaching ramifications for the federal environment laws, including further legal challenges.
A Greens party spokesperson said members were cynical about the timing of the amendments given they will be introduced while most of the media in the press gallery will be locked up ahead of the federal budget.
The spokesperson also questioned Anthony Albanese’s promises to reintroduce an environmental protection agency if re-elected.
It’s expected the Greens will seek to disrupt both houses in opposition to the changes, with one party member describing it as “extinction legislation”.
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Greens concerned Labor’s salmon plan could lead to carve-outs for fossil fuels
The Greens are concerned Labor’s plans to change federal environment laws in an effort to protect Tasmania’s salmon industry from legal challenge could be used to create carve-outs for the fossil fuel industry.
In a party room meeting today, the minor party’s members raised concerns about the possible changes Labor will introduce today in the lower house and which likely have bipartisan support.
The government plans to amend the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to end a formal reconsideration by the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, into whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour in 2012 was properly approved.
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Chalmers says Taylor turned down debate on Q+A
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, has turned down the opportunity to debate him.
In a post to X, Chalmers wrote:
I made myself available for a debate with [Taylor] this Monday on #qanda in his home state. I’ve just been told he has declined. Why is the shadow treasurer running from a debate about [the budget] and the economy?
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Nearly two-thirds of Australians believe cost-of-living crisis will worsen over next year
New research from Anglicare shows more than six in ten Australians (64%) believe the cost-of-living crisis will worsen over the next 12 months.
A survey of more than 1,500 people found Australians facing financial stress have little optimism that conditions will improve. Some key findings include:
64% of respondents expect the cost-of-living crisis to worsen in the next year.
70% of those considering or accessing mental health and counselling services, believe the crisis will deteriorate further.
61% of those considering or receiving food and financial assistance say housing affordability is significantly affecting their daily lives, forcing impossible choices between rent, groceries, and other essentials.
Anglicare Sydney CEO, Simon Miller, said he is seeing increasing demand for support services:
People who never imagined they would need food or financial assistance are turning to us because they have nowhere else to go.
These numbers come from families missing meals, parents skipping medical appointments, and pensioners sitting in the dark because they can’t afford their power bill.
He is calling on the government to lift jobseeker by at least $80 a week, with the “recent increase of just 22 cents a day … nowhere near enough to make a difference”.
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Anti-nuclear protest on front lawns of Parliament House
An eight metre-high inflatable radioactive waste barrel has been placed on the front lawn of Parliament House today, as part of an anti-nuclear protest.
Campaigner Dr Jim Green said in a statement yesterday:
The Coalition’s nuclear push risks Australia’s economy, energy system and environment. It is a threat to public health and a waste of public funds.
The barrel will be in place until 4pm, according to a statement. Here are some photos from AAP:
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Australia spends 10 times more on defence than aid, new data shows
Australia now spends 10 times more on defence than on aid, according to new data modelling from the ANU’s development policy centre.
According to the data, Australia’s aid investment has fallen to just 0.68% of the federal budget, down from 1.12% under prime minister John Howard.
The projections show if defence spending were to increase to 2.5% of GDP by 2029–30 – without a real increase in aid – Australia’s defence-to-aid ratio would rise to 16:1.
This is more than double what it was at the height of the Vietnam war, according to a statement from the Australian Council for International Development.
The ratio would widen to a record 19:1 if defence spending were to rise to 3% of GDP, as advocated for by the Trump administration.
Tim Costello, spokesperson for the Safer World for All campaign, said this was “one of the widest aid-to-defence gaps in the developed world”.
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Greens introducing bill for 12 days of paid reproductive leave per year
The Greens are today introducing a bill to give every worker the right to 12 days of paid reproductive health leave per year.
In a statement, senator and spokesperson for women Larissa Waters said every Australian, “regardless of sex or gender, is likely to experience reproductive health issues at some point in their working lives”.
While some people may simply need workplace flexibility, those who need paid leave to manage their reproductive health should be able to access it, without jeopardising their employment.
Under the legislation, all employees would be able to access the leave, regardless of gender and employment status, whether it be casual, part- and full-time.
Whether it’s for perimenopause and menopause, fertility treatments, chronic conditions like endometriosis or preventive screening for prostate cancer – it’s about supporting workers at every stage of life.
If someone wants to get a vasectomy or be with their partner for the first scan of their baby, they will be able to under this entitlement.
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PM indulges in his love of musicals
On breakfast radio this morning, the prime minister also indulged in his love for musical theatre.
Anthony Albanese told Fox 101.9 he and his fiancee, Jodie, have an “enormous amount in common” – but start to differ when it comes to musicals:
I like musicals and I must say that Jodie and I have an enormous amount in common; same footy team, same political views broadly, same TV shows … although she’s obsessed with Married At First Sight. I’m not quite as obsessed. But she’s not into musicals! I love musicals … I dragged Jodie to West Side Story last year and I loved it, and she just tolerated it.
Later, Albanese said his mum also loved musicals and as soon as he started working, “one of my fondest memories is taking my mum to all the classics”.
I actually brought my mum down to Melbourne – she didn’t go on a plane many times in her life – to see Phantom of the Opera there.
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Prime minister backs Victoria’s bail reform
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says he supports the changes to Victoria’s bail laws “very strongly”.
Speaking with Fox 101.9 earlier this morning, he said:
I support the changes that [Jacinta Allan] has brought in very strongly. Every Australian has the right to feel safe in their local community, so whenever the Australian federal police or our security agencies have asked for more resources or new technology or changes to the law to help them do their job, my answer is just one word – which is yes.
Albanese said tonight’s budget would include additional funding for intelligence agencies.
For some analysis on the reform in Victoria, you can read more from Benita Kolovos below:
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Palmer spends $50k on single Facebook ad where he spells Tucker Carlson's name wrong
Ahead of what is expected to be a flood of ads for billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots party in the federal election, Palmer has begun boosting his online ad spend, with over $50,000 spent on one ad on Facebook in the past seven days.
Mumbrella reported Palmer had already invested heavily in YouTube ads, spending more than half a million in 11 days, but his investment on Facebook has been lower, with only about $26,000 across three ads in March.
The latest ad, featuring rightwing US TV host Tucker Carlson praising Palmer, has been boosted to the tune of $53,000 in the past seven days, reaching over 1 million users on Facebook in Australia.
Carlson’s name is spelled incorrectly in the ad.
Billboards featuring Palmer and Carlson have been spotted around the country in the lead-up to the election being called.
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New protection for NSW renters and their pets
Millions of renters will soon be spared the frustration of a no-grounds eviction, AAP reports, under long-awaited changes developed with property investors in mind.
Exactly two years after Labor swept to power in NSW, partly on a pledge to bolster renters’ rights, the premier, Chris Minns, announced major rental changes would kick in on 19 May. The laws were passed in October 2024.
The most significant shift will force landlords to provide reasons for kicking tenants out and provide longer notice. Minns told 2GB:
We’ve listened to both sides, we didn’t just rush in with the law.
He said he understood a lot of people had invested their life savings into property but stressed a need to address the flight of young people from Sydney each year.
Primarily, [young people] move to other states where housing is cheaper.
The premier, however, suggested landlords could continue to keep pets out of their properties “if they did not want the pet”, despite changes to boost pet ownership from 19 May.
Under the changes, landlords have three weeks to refuse a tenant’s pet application and must state a specific reason, such as the property being unsuitable. Minns said:
You can’t put [no pets] on the application form.
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Shadow environment minister on salmon farming in Tasmania
Tasmanian Liberal senator and shadow environment minister, Jonno Duniam, spoke with ABC RN earlier about the state’s salmon industry.
During the interview, he was asked if the Coalition would withdraw its support for the industry if evidence finds it could lead to the extinction in the Maugean skate? He responded:
If evidence finds that there would be irreversible damage and extinction resulting in that, then we would need to revisit this decision, absolutely. But today, the science doesn’t point to that.
There is science pointing to the fact that the industry can coexist with the skate and indeed conditions, in the harbour are better than they’ve been in a decade.
For more on this issue, you can take a listen to today’s Full Story podcast:
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More from Chalmers’ doorstop in Canberra this morning
Talking about cutting debt and interest repayments and delivering two surpluses (even though tonight will be a deficit), Jim Chalmers gave an interesting fact, claiming he would be the first treasurer to hand down four budgets in a three-year term since the 1940s. He said:
The election will be a referendum on Medicare. And the budget takes its responsibilities to strengthening Medicare very seriously.
We asked if that line of attack was blunted somewhat by the fact the Coalition had quickly matched both the $8.5bn bulk-billing incentive and the cheaper medicines policy – which Chalmers rebuffed. He claimed:
Last time Dutton was the health minister, he went after Medicare, and undermined it. He cut tens of billions of dollars out of health. That’s the risk here. The reason they haven’t come clean on the secret cuts is because Peter Dutton’s secret cuts would interrupt the progress in the economy and make people worse off.
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Frames of election pitch forming as Chalmers hints at tonight’s budget
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, was in a pretty upbeat mood this morning ahead of delivering tonight’s federal budget, declaring the coming election would be a “referendum on Medicare” and raising fears of the Coalition’s “secret cuts” to health and other public services.
Budget day has a few standard traditions in Canberra, one of the mainstays being the treasurer arriving into the ministerial entrance of Parliament House and wandering through the water features to take a short press conference at the back door to the building. Outlining the three key themes of tonight’s budget as seeking to “help with the cost of living, strengthen Medicare, and build Australia’s future”, Chalmers admitted many Australians were still doing it tough, and flagged more assistance to come.
In saying (twice in the space of two minutes) that “there’s more work to do, because people are under pressure, and the global economic environment is so uncertain”, you could see the frames of an election pitch forming, where Labor will concede people have not had an easy run, but argue that uncertainty at home and abroad means voters shouldn’t change horse mid-race.
If you missed it the first time, or the second, he said it a third time, he said:
The budget tonight will be a platform for prosperity in a new world of uncertainty … It will make our economy more resilient in the face of all of this global economic uncertainty.
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Queensland man charged with alleged DV murder
In some other breaking news today, Queensland police have charged a man with the alleged domestic violence murder of a woman known to him.
Police located a 79-year-old woman with a fatal stab wound at The Gap yesterday afternoon. She was declared dead at the scene, and a crime scene was established.
A 40-year-old Victorian man was subsequently located at Brisbane airport by the AFP that night, and taken into custody.
It will be alleged the woman and man were known to each other. The man has been charged with murder (DV), and remanded in custody to appear before the Brisbane magistrates court today.
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Greens accuse government of working with Coalition to ‘gut’ environmental laws
The Greens have accused Labor of working with Peter Dutton to “gut” Australia’s environmental laws. Senator Nick McKim gave a doorstop this morning and told reporters:
The environment legislation being tabled in the house today will be designed to underpin the profits of multinational salmon farming corporations in Tasmania. But the scope is far, far broader than just salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour.
It will prevent the minister from reconsidering a large number of projects in Australia, including potentially many fossil fuel projects. The prime minister is opening the door for fossil fuel corporations and other corporate polluters to get off scot-free in terms of preventing the minister from reconsidering a decision that’s been made.
You can read more on this from Dan Jervis-Bardy below:
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Zempilas likely to become WA Liberal leader today
Basil Zempilas is expected to become Western Australian Liberal leader today.
The high-profile Perth lord mayor narrowly secured the seat of Churchlands at the recent election. The Liberal party appears to have just secured a seventh seat, by less than 100 votes, meaning he would become the official opposition leader.
It comes after Libby Mettam said she would not continue as WA Liberals leader, but would seek to stay on as deputy, after it became clear she lacked the support of party colleagues after the election defeat.
The WA Liberals party room will meet today.
Leadership instability heightened in November after leaked polling suggested the party’s vote could be higher at the election if Zempilas led the campaign.
- with AAP
Chalmers dismisses ‘speculation’ ahead of budget
Taking a final question, a reporter asked if taxes would be higher or lower as a result of the budget.
Jim Chalmers said there has been a lot of speculation before the budget – and “not all of it is right”.
For example, one commentator was saying that he expects this year’s tax-to-GDP to go up. You’ll see tonight that tax-to-GDP goes down in 2024-25. You’ll see predictions about gross debt this year not being correct. And so, I encourage you to pore over the numbers in the budget tonight.
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Chalmers welcomes ‘opportunity’ to hand down ‘four budgets in single parliamentary term’
A reporter noted that if not for ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, it was expected the government would be in campaign mode – is this an election-boosting budget?
Jim Chalmers said there were a “series of assumptions” in the question he wouldn’t answer, but said he was “pleased” for the “opportunity” to hand down “four budgets in a single parliamentary term”.
The hasn’t happened since the 1940s. But from my point of view, it’s a very welcome opportunity to put the economy front and centre on the eve of an election.
Now, this is not a budget for the election. It’s a budget to build Australia’s future … We do expect the economy to be central to the election campaign, and I think that that is a very good thing.
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Chalmers on how budget will respond to Trump’s tariffs
Taking questions, Jim Chalmers was asked what measures are in the budget to protect against global uncertainty – and specifically, protecting against Donald Trump’s tariffs?
He said Australia’s “best defence against global economic uncertainty is a more resilient economy”.
And that’s what the billions of dollars, for example, we’re investing in green metals is all about. That’s what the modest amount of money that we’ll be devoting to the Buy Australia promotion is all about. But also, making our economy more competitive and dynamic.
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Chalmers addressing reporters in Canberra
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been speaking with reporters in Canberra this morning ahead of tonight’s budget.
He said it would be “responsible”, help with the cost of living, strengthen Medicare and “build Australia’s future.”
We know that cost of living is front of mind for most Australians and it will be absolutely front and centre tonight in our budget … We have made a lot of progress together and the budget is about building on that progress together as well.
He argued the budget, and the Australian economy, was in “much better condition than we found them three years ago.”
We’ve got the Liberal debt down by $177bn, and that is saving Australians something like $60bn in debt interest.
Albanese takes more questions on environmental protection laws
Continuing from our last post, here is what Anthony Albanese said of the environmental protection legislation:
We did not have a majority for the Senate for the environmental legislation that we put forward. It’s been in the Senate since the middle of last year. At any time, a majority could have emerged to support that legislation. That simply wasn’t there.
So it was your decision to walk away from that, or Tanya Plibersek’s? He said:
No, it’s the numbers. It’s called having a majority in the Senate, which we did not have.
Albanese on environmental protection laws
Anthony Albanese was asked what the point of having environmental protection laws is, when the government has legislated to protect the Tasmanian salmon industry?
He responded that the environment protection laws “which we inherited from John Howard, they’re not fit for purpose”.
We need to make sure that we have a proper federal environmental protection of authority. We need to make sure that we ensure that industry can function, but also that sustainability occurs.
The host noted this is the second time in a few months that the prime minister has overruled the environment minister – but Albanese said this was “completely not true”.
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Albanese on future of gas in Australia’s energy mix
Q: Are you planning to match the Coalition when it comes to their gas reservation policy to try and secure more gas supplies, particularly for the east coast of the country?
Anthony Albanese argued the Coalition spoke about a gas-led recovery in the middle of their term, but “had years to do something and did absolutely nothing.”
All that happened during their period was, because [of] their climate denial, there wasn’t investment in new energy that was required. My government has a future gas strategy. We acknowledge that gas has an important role in the future, including on providing firming capacity for renewables along with storage, and my government has been getting on with that job.
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PM defends decision not to means test energy bill rebates
The PM was asked why the energy bill rebates aren’t means tested, and said you could “either just give them to people who are welfare recipients, or you can give them to all Australians.”
The host noted that this means extra money will be going to some people who don’t need it – is that an example of what the Coalition might call wasteful spending? Anthony Albanese responded:
Well, they regard all of it as wasteful spending, all of our cost of living relief. That’s what they themselves have said … This time last year they were saying that there should be an election to stop tax cuts going through. They regard free Tafe as not being valued because it’s free, insulting the 600,000 Australians who’ve enjoyed free Tafe.
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Albanese speaking ahead of tonight’s budget
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is also speaking with ABC RN this morning ahead of tonight’s budget – which he says will build “on the foundations that we’ve laid over the last three years”.
Asked why isn’t there a target Labor is working towards for bringing the budget back into balance, the PM responded:
What we won’t be doing is doing what the Coalition did, which was to produce Back in Black mugs – and they treated Australians like mugs. They never produced a surplus in their decade in office. What we’ve done is produce two budget surpluses. We have cut our debt by $200bn as a result of our responsible economic management.
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Shadow finance minister critical of Labor spending in budget
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, was up on Sky News this morning ahead of tonight’s budget. She called on the treasurer to “restore our lost standard of living” and bring inflation “under control sustainably” in the budget.
We want to see those budget disciplines, those guardrails, put back into our system, so that we can guarantee that in the future, budgets won’t run out of control … Those guardrails are a discipline that have served Australians well for so many decades, they’ve disappeared under this government.
But the Coalition has agreed to match most of the government’s measures – so how is this disciplined spending?
Hume argued the Coalition has knocked back “around $100bn worth of spending ambitions of the Labor government” over the last three years.
Some of those, unfortunately, got through the parliament anyway, but that doesn’t mean to say that we agreed with them … So much of this Labor spending has been baked in [and] that’s going to be really hard to unwind, but under a Coalition government, you’ll see a restoration of those disciplines that will take us back to a structural balanced budget over the long term.
Chalmers says budget will be about making economy resilient amid global uncertainty
The treasurer was asked if there was extra money in the budget tucked away to help Australian companies that could be harmed with reciprocal tariffs that might come, and jobs that might go as a consequence.
Jim Chalmers said one of the “major themes” of the budget is “making our economy more resilient in the face of all this global economic uncertainty”.
We’re a very trade exposed country. We’re not uniquely impacted by these tariffs out of Washington DC, but we’ve got a lot of skin in the game. And so what the budget will be about, in addition to helping with the cost of living and strengthening Medicare, it will also be about making us more resilient to these external shocks …
Our contingency is to make our economy more resilient … This is a new world of uncertainty, and the budget will be a platform for prosperity in that new global context. A lot of the investments that we’re making in a Future Made in Australia are all about that.
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Chalmers says gas has role to play in energy mix into future
Sticking with energy, Jim Chalmers said there was a role for gas to play into the future – “whether it’s in firming or manufacturing or in other ways”.
We are working very hard to ensure that there’s the necessary gas supply to make sure that we can get this energy transformation right, and I’m confident that we will …
We’ve made it very clear with our future gas strategy that we’re striking the right balance here and making sure that there’s enough gas, at the same time as we invest in cleaner and cheaper sources of energy into the future.
Chalmers rules out energy bill rebates as permanent fixture of future budgets
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking with ABC RN about tonight’s budget.
He was asked about the energy bill rebates, and if that would become a permanent feature of future budgets to protect households from the ongoing cost of the renewables transition? He responded:
We’ve extended those energy rebates for another six months, not because we see them as a permanent feature in the budget, but because we know that people are still under pressure.
We’ve made a lot of progress together as Australians in our economy, the economy is turning a corner, but we know we’ve got more work to do, because people are still under the pump, and there’s all of this global economic uncertainty … We’re [addressing this] in the most responsible way that we can, and that six month extension reflects that.
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ACTU president on what she wants to see from today’s budget
The Australian Council of Trade Unions president, Michele O’Neil, has outlined what she hopes to see in today’s budget.
Speaking on the Today Show earlier this morning, she said the “number one thing” that matters to working people is to see “real wages continue to go up.”
What we’ve seen is in the last 12 months, we’ve seen more growth in real wages in 12 months than we saw under nine years of the previous Coalition government. But there’s more work to do, we really need to make sure that workers wages keep going up, that we stay in front of inflation. That’s the biggest cost of living issue for working people.
Being able to “protect Australian jobs from what’s happening with the effect of Donald Trump all over the world” was another key priority, she outlined.
It’s not just our American exports. It’s also what happens with other countries trying to dump their goods here.
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Good morning
And happy budget day! Emily Wind here, signing on for blogging duties. I’ll be bringing you all the latest ahead of tonight’s budget, to be handed town by the treasurer Jim Chalmers at 7.30pm AEDT.
As always, you can reach out with any tips, questions or feedback via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s go.
Economist details how Australia got from two surpluses to ‘endless deficits’
Luci Ellis also gave us a succinct run down of how Australia got from two surpluses to what are described as “endless deficits”:
Treasury typically has a very conservative estimate about what’s going to happen to commodity prices, and therefore how much profit our large iron ore miners are going to make, and therefore how much they will pay in corporate tax. So there’s always a pleasant surprise on that front, but we think it’s going to be a smaller surprise from here. There just isn’t that uplift from here.
We know that both the volume of iron ore exports is pretty much capped out. And given that China has reached peak steel, it hasn’t grown its steel production for the last four years, and we don’t think it will. That means, you know, there isn’t sort of an uplift from there, and the price will eventually start to fall, although perhaps not as sharply as Treasury typically assumes. So there’s always a pleasant surprise on the revenue. So what they’re forecasting today will be a little bit smaller when we actually come to the outcome.
And then, of course, on the spending side, we have had this really big ramp up, in particularly the NDIS, but the other cost of living spending measures that are quite understandable given the pressure that the Australian household sector has been under.
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Mistaken belief in Australia that productivity purely depends on government decisions – economist
When it comes to productivity, it’s important because our living standards depend on the ability to add more value for every hour worked, Luci Ellis said.
However, she emphasised there’s a mistaken belief in Australia that productivity is purely dependent on government decisions:
There’s a belief in the political discourse in Australia, that productivity is something the government does to you, and that what we need is for government reform to make us more productive.
And I think this is something I railed against in my old job as well, that actually productivity is just stuff divided by time. It’s about the innovations we adopt. It’s how we organise our business models. It’s the kind of investment that both businesses and governments do, and we need to get away from the idea of waiting for governments to reform as if that’s the only thing that makes us productive, it isn’t.
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More from Westpac’s chief economist
Luci Ellis says rising taxes in Australia are enough to meet the current levels of services, The current fiscal configuration means we are “not in anywhere near the world of hurt that some other countries are in terms of the sustainability of their current fiscal position,” she said.
We really are tax and spend. You look at a lot of peer economies, places like the UK, but particularly the US, where they’re really ‘borrow and spend.’ Even though the economy there is running very strongly, they’ve got a five and a half percent of GDP deficit which is as big as it was in Australia at the peak of the pandemic.
Australia, she said, is raising taxes enough to meet the current levels of services:
The share of household income going to tax has been rising quite considerably, and even the state three tax cuts only gave back 18 months of bracket creep. So there may be a better way to raise that revenue, but at the moment, we are mostly raising that revenue.
Ellis said perhaps the question in the future would be:
What is the right size of government? What should governments be providing? Defence, obviously. We do want to support our elderly, our disabled citizens and young people better. Those are things that we’ve decided as a society to do, but are there things that maybe we should be involving the government less in so that we can make room for those other priorities?
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Budget will not ‘shift the dial’ on RBA’s outlook, Westpac chief economist says
Westpac’s chief economist says the budget will be purposefully designed not to change the Reserve Bank’s outlook on the economy.
Luci Ellis told ABC’s 7.30 program last night:
We don’t think the budget will shift the dial very much in terms of the reserve bank’s outlook for the economy, and that’s partly by design. The government would not want to be boosting spending so much that the RBA comes out the following week and says actually things are worse than we thought, and you can forget about any rate cuts from here.
We don’t expect it will change the game that much for the RBA, but they will be looking at the extension of the electricity rebates, which pushes out the date at which inflation bounces back up again on a CPI basis, and they will be looking at the nature and the timing of the spending that is announced.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog, and happy budget day! I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Emily Wind with the main action.
Jim Chalmers will deliver his budget today with the message that although the debt burden has continued to grow and “there’s more to do”, Labor are on the right track with lower unemployment and interest rates buoying the country’s economic fortunes. We have the initial reaction from Westpac’s chief economist coming up, plus loads more reaction as the news day kicks off.
We have an exclusive story this morning on how Liberal backbenchers are urging the Coalition not to cut foreign aid to pay for a potential $15bn increase in defence spending and other big-ticket election promises.
Back to Labor, and the party says it is planning to establish a federal environment protection agency if it wins the election, just weeks after the 2022 election promise was controversially shelved in what appeared to be a backing down in face of a political and industry backlash in Western Australia. The renewal of the idea looks calculated to help Labor MPs facing a strong challenge from the Greens at the upcoming federal election.
The public commitment will help placate Labor MPs anxious about the party’s green credentials after the government pushed ahead with laws to protect Tasmania’s salmon industry from legal challenge over its impact on the endangered Maugean skate. The bill is expected to go before parliament as early as today.
