Federal budget
Move over, Met Gala: Labor’s budget night bash the big ticket in town
Tickets to a Labor budget night fundraiser have sold out. The Liberals, meanwhile, can’t fill their tables.
- by Kishor Napier-Raman and Stephen Brook
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Opinion
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If Chalmers gets the budget wrong, interest rate rises may kill his government
For Treasurer Jim Chalmers, this budget is existential. Bad decisions could increase unemployment or provoke more interest rate rises. Both would be political nails in the government’s coffin.
- by Shane Wright
Exclusive
Jim Chalmers
Australia, let’s have more babies, says Jim Chalmers
Australians are having fewer children with the fertility rate tumbling. The treasurer says people should think about having more kids.
- by Shane Wright and David Crowe
Blown-out North East Link’s extra $3.25 billion gets Albanese’s thumbs up
Next week’s federal budget will feature extra money for the blown-out road project, bringing the Commonwealth’s contribution to $5 billion.
- by Broede Carmody
Opinion
Political leadership
Albanese’s is an ‘experimental’ government – and it looks like the experiment is failing
It’s the first federal government I’ve seen that has sought to build most of its political and policy mandate after winning office rather than before it.
- by Shaun Carney
Households bank on tax cuts and anti-inflation budget plans
Tax cuts, worth on average $1888, and a further round of cost-of-living measures will be at the heart of Jim Chalmers’ third budget.
- by Shane Wright
Opinion
National security
When politicians fire up on ‘security’, my bulldust detector goes to DEFCON 1
Using “security” as a justification for a policy initiative opens the door to interventions that are, in the words of former Treasury secretary Dr Ken Henry, “frankly, bad”.
- by Ross Gittins
Updated
Interest rates
RBA inflation outlook ups pressure on Chalmers ahead of budget
The Reserve Bank revealed it expects price pressures to grow through the rest of the year, which may require another lift in official interest rates.
- by Rachel Clun and Shane Wright
Editorial
Opinion
Chalmers’ challenge: Hard-headed budget discipline
Australia’s debt-laden households need the treasurer to keep federal spending in check.
- The Herald's View
Analysis
Interest rates
Reserve Bank delivers a hospital pass of problems to Chalmers
Jim Chalmers, a Brisbane Broncos fanatic, will wonder what hit him after the Reserve Bank signalled higher interest rates for longer.
- by Shane Wright
No scorched earth: Chalmers promises budget spending as economy slows
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is poised to deliver a second successive budget surplus, but deficits in coming years to support the economy.
- by Shane Wright