Today
Qantas must atone for all old baggage
Readers’ letters on the Qantas settlement; franking credits for retirees; the Coalition push for nuclear power; and Israel’s closure of Al Jazeera.
Victorian government to shrink for first time in 15 years
Victorian budget deficit rises, but surplus predictions brought forward; Biden warns Netanyahu to pursue ceasefire, not invasion. Follow updates here.
- Updated
- Maxim Shanahan
Petrol, strong jobs market stoking inflation: RBA
The central bank on Tuesday upgraded its near-term forecasts for headline inflation and pushed back the likelihood of interest rate relief until mid-2025.
- Ronald Mizen
- Updated
- Interest rates
Reserve Bank on high alert for rate rise
The RBA is “very alert” to the cost of stubbornly high inflation lingering in the economy, signalling interest rates will need to stay higher for longer.
- Ronald Mizen
Everything we know about the budget, so far
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down Labor’s third budget on May 14. Here are all the spending measures we know about so far.
- Tom McIlroy
Yesterday
Albanese pledges $500m for drought relief as Queensland fight heats up
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are squaring off at Beef Week in Rockhampton as the political fight in central Queensland gathers pace.
- Phillip Coorey
Chalmers’ budget to fight inflation first, spend up big second
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says his budget next week will avoid a “scorched earth” approach to fight inflation, but spending will come in the out years.
- Ronald Mizen
Labor warned on overheating western Sydney road spend
Labor said on Monday that its spending in the population growth area was now more than $17.3 billion.
- Tom McIlroy
The students to get Labor’s new ‘prac payment’, and who misses out
Too strict means-testing would make the federal government’s newly announced prac payment for university and TAFE students out of reach.
- Julie Hare
Israel warns Palestinians to evacuate Rafah ahead of possible attacks
Eastern Rafah residents told to evacuate; Chalmers warns against slash-and-burn approach to spending; Qantas settlement a quick win for consumers; murdered Australian surfers identified in Mexico. How the day unfolded.
- Tom Burton
Deeming cliff looms for 850k aged pensioners, welfare recipients
With inflation running high and cost-of-living pressures continuing to plague households, the government is being pressured to extend the freeze, or at least phase in, a higher deeming rate in the budget.
- Ronald Mizen
This Month
Big government spending to widen budget deficits
Next week’s federal budget will be expansionary, not contractionary as some economists have called for, and will do less to contain inflation and interest rate pressures than Jim Chalmers’ previous surplus budgets.
- John Kehoe
Labor to give teaching, nursing students $320 per week payment
Teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students will receive a weekly payment to help offset the costs of mandatory placements.
- Julie Hare
- Opinion
- Opinion
Governor and treasurer share blame for sticky inflation
Michele Bullock and Jim Chalmers had fair warning about the need for decisive action.
- Steven Hamilton
Labor to wipe $3b from students’ HECS debt
The government will cut the student debt of around 3 million students as cost-of-living pressures continue to create pain.
- Julie Hare
Cash splash as Boomers hit the jackpot
After decades of saving, older Australians are spending up. But the wave of cash is causing headaches for the inflation-fighting treasurer and RBA. Can the good times last?
- Jacob Greber
High inflation may last another two years unless rates rise again
If Jim Chalmers does not use the budget to cool the economy, the RBA will have little chance of achieving its target without raising interest rates, say economists.
- Michael Read
Boosting investment needs more than taxpayer cash: Wesfarmers boss
Rob Scott said he was making major investments in value-added processing for lithium, but faced serious barriers from approvals processes.
- Carrie LaFrenz and Ronald Mizen
PM, Chalmers mull go-it-alone power price discounts
The Albanese government is considering a second round of power bill discounts, on top of $1000-per-household credits promised by the Queensland government.
- Phillip Coorey
Chinese investment critical to reach net-zero goals
Clean energy experts warn moves that limit Chinese investment in Australia could undermine the Albanese government’s green energy goals.
- Ronald Mizen, Elouise Fowler, Simon Evans and Ben Potter