Today
- Opinion
- Opinion
This is the most irresponsible budget in recent memory
The government set itself a simple standard: not to make the Reserve Bank’s job harder. Michele Bullock may just choke on her cornflakes.
- 1 hr ago
- Steven Hamilton
The "cost of living" budget
Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivering his third federal budget. 14 May 2024
- 1 hr ago
- Opinion
- Opinion
There is method in the energy rebate economists will hate
This is a budget that acknowledges the government is facing a mountain of problems that cannot be solved any time soon.
- 1 hr ago
- Laura Tingle
The 14 measures you might have missed
From fast-tracked passports to sweet potato levies, there are many more things in the 1000 pages of federal budget documents than you might imagine. Here are some of them.
- 1 hr ago
- Tom Burton
Power bill relief, tax cuts in a budget ‘for every Australian’: Chalmers
The Treasurer has handed down his third budget, promising cost-of-living relief to struggling Australians while delivering a second consecutive surplus. How the day unfolded.
- Updated
- Gus McCubbing, Esther Han and Maxim Shanahan
- Opinion
- Opinion
This budget won’t be a catalyst for rate cuts
When setting monetary policy, the RBA will look through temporary factors impacting prices to understand the underlying trend for inflation within the economy.
- Warren Hogan
The budget in five key charts
The five key graphs to understand the government’s latest federal budget.
- Edmund Tadros
- Opinion
- Opinion
Chalmers’ Made in Australia is just a drop in the bucket
The new strategy is just a drop in the bucket compared with the US, and taxpayers can be relieved that the treasurer has been remarkably frugal in its funding.
- Karen Maley
- Opinion
- Subscriber exclusive
The costs of the future still start adding up today
Jim Chalmers is betting he can get the balance right between curbing inflation in the short term while promoting growth in the longer term.
- Jennifer Hewett
Labor pumps $630m into green jobs
Labor will spend more than $630 million to help secure workers for its signature Made in Australia agenda.
- Tom McIlroy
Decade of deficits to spark debt interest surge
While Treasurer Jim Chalmers was spruiking debt in 2023-24 being $904 billion, gross debt is forecast to rise sharply in the years ahead.
- Ronald Mizen
Treasury expects unemployment to climb to 4.5pc by this time next year
Sluggish hiring could lead cautious households already grappling with higher interest rates to save rather than spend the windfall from tax cuts.
- Michael Read
Housing investment surge predicted
After three years of falling or stagnating dwelling activity, Treasury expects a 6.5 per cent rise in 2026. The property sector has been more pessimistic.
- Campbell Kwan
Tax fraud, capital gains tax crackdown to raise $3.3b
The budget includes a broad crackdown on tax fraud, the shadow economy and the avoidance of capital gains tax by foreign residents, which Labor hopes will raise $3.3 billion.
- Tom McIlroy
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why Andrew Forrest is a big budget winner
Jim Chalmers’ $23 billion bet on turning Australia into a green industry superpower ignores many of the issues on the top of the business sector’s wishlist.
- James Thomson
Pessimistic iron ore, coal forecasts give Chalmers room to wriggle
Treasury assumes that iron ore and coal prices will fall from their present elevated level back to their long-run levels by the end of the March quarter in 2025.
- Karen Maley
- Opinion
- Subscriber exclusive
Gender and family advocates will have to wait a bit longer
The issue with announcing a rise in wages for childcare workers is that there is a multi-enterprise bargaining process underway.
- Sally Patten
Super on parental leave adds $4250 to retirement balance
The government will also spend $55.6 million over four years to establish the Building Women’s Careers program.
- Sally Patten and Joanne Tran
- Opinion
- Opinion
Chalmers’ latest effort basks in a green glow
Sit back and behold Jim Chalmers’ big green Australian budget. But making forecasts is easy, and will voters buy the story?
- Andrew Clark
R&D tax incentive to blow out by $2.6b
Tax breaks for companies and superannuation payments for veterans and public servants have overshot expectations, adding billions in costs to the budget.
- Joanna Mather
