Federal Budget
Better budget bottom line, higher inflation on the way
18 December
Treasury has updated its economic and fiscal forecasts for the next four years in its mid-year budget update. BUDGET DEFICITS (PREVIOUS IN BRACKETS): * 2025/26 – $36.8 billion ($42.2b) * 2026/27 – $34.3b ($35.4b) * 2027/28 – $36.2b ($27.1b) *...[Read More]
Budget $5.4b better off as Chalmers tightens the belt
18 December
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will unveil a $5.4 billion improvement in the federal budget this financial year, even as the deficit sinks to its worst level in five years. With judicious use of words such as “sensible” and “restraint”, Dr Chalmers...[Read More]
Chalmers spins battery blowout into budget savings
18 December
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has used a $4.9 billion blowout in home battery subsidies to claim the government saved taxpayers $6.7 billion in the mid-year budget update. The battery subsidy program was initially set to cost taxpayers $2.3 billion but the...[Read More]
Budget takes $8.2b hit thanks to black market tobacco
18 December
Australia’s roaring tobacco black market has blown more holes in the federal budget but Treasurer Jim Chalmers continues to stare down calls to tackle the excise driving the trade. In Dr Chalmers’ mid-year budget update released on Wednesday,...[Read More]