Workers will wait two more years for a lift in real wages after the Albanese government's first budget warned inflation would outstrip pay growth until 2024/25.
Federal treasurer Jim Chalmers has laid the groundwork for future belt tightening in his first federal budget, while outlining cost of living help and extra spending on health and housing.
The federal government believes itself ready to launch into the difficult task of budget repair after inheriting a structural deficit and record levels of debt.
Australia's new Finance Minister, ACT Senator Katy Gallagher says Labor has inherited a serious set of economic and budget challenges, but will take tough decisions while also focusing on cost of living issues.
Motorists have enjoyed a rapid decline in petrol prices in the past four weeks, aided by the federal government's temporary halving of fuel excise in last month's budget.
The expansion of national security agencies announced in this year’s Budget may result in an increase in the Australian Public Service, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr believes – but he is concerned about plans to move APS agencies out of Canberra.
The Federal Government has invested more than $1.3 billion in Canberra rail and road infrastructure projects – since 2013. But in this year’s Budget, the ACT received $51 million, mostly for roadworks.
Foremost in the Budget is what Treasurer Josh Frydenberg termed a “temporary, targeted, and responsible” cost of living package “to take pressure off household budgets”. The cost of living, he said, had risen due to the pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine.
The Coalition promises that the 2022–23 Budget will “deliver Australia’s plan for a stronger future”, but does it meet Canberra’s needs? Is it really a plan for the future, or is it, as pundits and politicians from other parties argue, a short-term plan designed to win votes in the forthcoming election?
Funds allocated for housing in last night’s Federal Budget have drawn a mixed bag of responses from the sector – some positive, some negative, and some on the fence.
