13:40PM | 15 May 2008 | More than $5 billion in savings measures from Treasurer Wayne Swan's first budget are at risk of being blocked in the Senate by the opposition on the grounds that they increase taxes, break election promises and threaten the viability of private health insurance... more
Reaction and analysis from The Australian Financial Review columnists.
A senior West Australian business leader has forecast the state's outstanding growth could continue for 20 years, thanks to the resources boom, but warned governments were battling to keep up with it... more
The massive boost to national income from soaring commodity prices threatens to derail federal budget forecasts for slowing economic growth and easing inflation pressures... more
The chief executive of $42 billion oil and gas giant Woodside Petroleum has launched a scathing attack on the Rudd government for removing $2.5 billion of tax exemptions on the North-West Shelf project without consulting the company... more
The demise of tax-free food at company cafes has taken the catering industry by surprise, as well as employees at some of the largest banks and corporates, who have increasingly signed up for the perk... more
Treasurer Wayne Swan boasted that his budget did not rely on pulling rabbits from hats, but it sent a few ferrets up the business community's trousers. Many of these were revenue measures that raised almost $20 billion over the forward estimates period to offset about a third of the government's $55 billion of tax cuts and other breaks for "working families"... more
Australia's top eight universities have scooped almost half of the sector's $500 million budget windfall for infrastructure renewal, and medical science, veterinary science, physical science, law and business will be amongst the beneficiaries... more
The Rudd government has been accused of failing to match its rhetoric on climate change with action after it postponed spending on some of its biggest programs to cut greenhouse gas emissions... more
Treasurer Wayne Swan has revealed the government expects 485,000 people to drop out of private health insurance as a result of its decision to raise income thresholds for the 1 per cent Medicare levy surcharge... more
Australia's top public servant, Terry Moran, moved swiftly yesterday to restructure his department - Prime Minister and Cabinet - to suit the government's strategic policy needs, at the same time allaying fears of redundancies... more
A highly sensitive $280 million innovation program that helps defence companies develop and commercialise technology to protect frontline soldiers has been hit by federal government cutbacks... more
Business has blasted the government's surprise decision to save more than $700 million over four years by scrapping the Commercial Ready program of competitive grants, arguing it will disrupt the development of innovative technology and services... more
By his own measure, Wayne Swan might argue he's made a good start as Treasurer: a seven or eight out of 10 perhaps on the..... more
An increase in infrastructure and education investment would boost productivity and ease capacity constraints while measures to slow inflation wold take the.... more
15 May 2008 | Alan Mitchell | The Australian Financial Review Online
Reaction and analysis from The Australian Financial Review columnists.
After adjusting for the Rudd and Howard governments' accounting fiddles, last night's budget represents, at most, a modest tightening of fiscal policy. The budget therefore will make little difference to inflation and interest rates in the coming year.
For the first budget of a new government
sky high in the opinion polls and facing a clear inflation threat, it represents
a distinct policy timidity. If Kevin Rudd could not slash spending in this
budget, he most surely never will.
The financial services industry won't be complaining; it has seen action from the government to expand exports of financial services via withholding tax relief and a starting date for the first home savers account system which... now looks set to increase in size.
Is Kevin Rudd 'John Howard lite'? Not according to the budget strategy his Treasurer, Wayne Swan, set out in his first budget last night. Labor has been good to its word in cutting back on Howard and Costello's profligate, electorally targeted spending of recent years.
It was not a good day for Robin Hood. If the arrows don't hit home in the first budget, they never will. Against this, it was a much more responsible budget in its overall fiscal impact than Peter Costello managed in the latter year of the Howard government.
Rudd and Swan are making no bones about the fact that they are looking after their working families - the former Howard battlers - who they consider to be those earning about $120,000... The coalition is welcomed to anyone over the $150,000 threshold.
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Laura Tingle
Is Kevin Rudd 'John Howard lite'? Not according to the budget strategy his Treasurer, Wayne Swan, set out in his first budget last night. Labor has been good to its word in cutting back on Howard and Costello's profligate, electorally targeted spending of recent years.
Alan Mitchell
After adjusting for the Rudd and Howard governments' accounting fiddles, last night's budget represents, at most, a modest tightening of fiscal policy. The budget therefore will make little difference to inflation and interest rates in the coming year.