Full coverage: Federal Budget 2016
Treasurer Scott Morrison has handed down his first federal budget.
Treasurer Scott Morrison has handed down his first federal budget.
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Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has delivered his first budget but key figures in north Queensland say it fails to deliver for the region.
Topics: budget, federal-government, townsville-4810
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A Gold Coast MP says the city is the big winner from the federal budget.
Topics: budget, federal-government, southport-4215
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| UpdatedThe Nationals' Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, says Gippsland will benefit from extra roads funding in the federal budget.
Topics: budget, federal-government, youth, work, unemployment, sale-3850
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Independent Member for Indi Cathy McGowan has offered a lukewarm reception to last night's federal budget.
Topics: budget, federal-government, shepparton-3630, wodonga-3690
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| UpdatedVictorian councils believe the Federal Government has played it safe with last night's budget, in preparation for an early election.
Topics: budget, federal-government, local-government, vic, sale-3850, ballarat-3350, bendigo-3550, horsham-3400, mildura-3500, shepparton-3630, wodonga-3690, warrnambool-3280
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Normally a government's third budget is a bit like the final movie in a trilogy: it's the nice culmination of a narrative thread and leaves everyone satisfied. But Budget 2016 still leaves a lot of the story untold.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, business-economics-and-finance, budget
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| UpdatedMixed reviews from Queensland farm lobby groups and rural doctors on this year's federal budget.
Topics: budget, federal-government, health-policy, rail-transport, rural, brisbane-4000, bundaberg-4670, toowoomba-4350
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Government frontbenchers have been out this morning to sell the budget while the Opposition and the Greens have highlighted their concerns
Topics: government-and-politics, budget, elections, federal-government, australia
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| UpdatedCEO of NT Farmers says ongoing uncertainty about new backpacker tax laws could bring some Northern Territory farms to a standstill.
Topics: rural, agribusiness, government-and-politics, federal-government, budget, tax, alice-springs-0870
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| UpdatedA leading free market think tank lashes the Turnbull budget, saying it offers no credible path back to surplus and has permanently entrenched big government.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-government, turnbull-malcolm, australia
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Economy in transition? Check. A focus on nation building? Check. The politics of revenue raising? Check! While Scott Morrison wants us to look ahead, his first budget is very much in the style of the late great Sir Robert Menzies.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, business-economics-and-finance, budget, tax
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| UpdatedPrime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he is "quietly confident" of winning the election off the back of a budget which is not just an attempt to win votes.
Topics: budget, federal-government, turnbull-malcolm, scott-morrison, federal-elections, elections, government-and-politics, australia
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| UpdatedAbout 6,000 businesses across Western Australia will benefit from changes to company tax rates announced in the federal budget, according to the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Topics: federal-government, federal---state-issues, states-and-territories, budget, perth-6000, wa
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| UpdatedSouth Australia's Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis describes the federal budget as "underwhelming and uninspiring" for the state, with no new infrastructure programs for the financial year ahead.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-government, federal---state-issues, states-and-territories, sa, adelaide-5000
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| UpdatedLabor MP Andrew Leigh hits out at the federal budget's impact on the public service, warning further increases in the efficiency dividend could do lasting damage to Canberra.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-parliament, federal-government, canberra-2600, act, australia
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| UpdatedThe Victorian Government says there is very little good news for Victorian schools and hospitals in the federal budget and the spending on domestic violence is a failure of national leadership.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal---state-issues, schools, education, domestic-violence, federal-government, melbourne-3000
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government's $594 million budget commitment to an inland rail network connecting Brisbane to Melbourne is hailed as a major boost for Australian business.
Topics: budget, unions, activism-and-lobbying, federal---state-issues, federal-government, brisbane-4000, toowoomba-4350, townsville-4810, mount-isa-4825
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| UpdatedThe phrase "class warfare" was revived in parliament today, as the Government and Opposition attempted to slice and dice the budget in their interests. Review the day in politics with the ABC's blog
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-election, business-economics-and-finance, australia
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government's surprise move to cap superannuation concessions for the very well-off meets with a mixed response from retirees and industry players.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, superannuation, business-economics-and-finance, federal-government, australia
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Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison says that the Reserve Bank's interest rate cut today was not evidence that they held a pessimistic view of the health of the economy.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-elections, government-and-politics, australia
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Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen responds to the government's budget plans outlines tonight, says the country has a spending and revenue issue.
Topics: budget, federal-elections, federal-government, federal-parliament, government-and-politics, australia
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| UpdatedScott Morrison's move to rethink Work for the Dole and pay Australian businesses to take on thousands of young interns is slammed by unions but welcomed by Australia's peak social services body.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-government, unions, youth, industrial-relations, business-economics-and-finance, australia
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The Federal Government moves to plug a future funding gap in the National Disability Insurance Scheme, establishing a savings fund that will accrue $2.1 billion by 2020.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-election, government-and-politics, disabilities, australia
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| UpdatedSmall business concessions in the federal budget will assist Western Australia, Premier Colin Barnett says.
Topics: budget, federal-parliament, federal-government, government-and-politics, wa
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government will save $51.4 million over the next four years by removing or amending items it pays rebates for on the Medicare Benefits Schedule.
Topics: budget, health-administration, health-policy, doctors-and-medical-professionals, health, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-elections, government-and-politics, australia
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| UpdatedThe Opposition has already rejected one of the budget's key tax relief measures, setting up a potential election battle on the definition of a small business.
Topics: budget, small-business, business-economics-and-finance, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia
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Credit ratings agency Moody's reaffirms Australia's Aaa credit rating following the budget, but warns that it is vulnerable to shocks.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, budget, federal-government, australia
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| UpdatedThe ABC signals "changes to staffing and programming" after being hit with a funding cut of almost $20 million in this year's budget.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-elections, government-and-politics, broadcasting, abc, information-and-communication, arts-and-entertainment, australia
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| UpdatedTasmania's struggling hospitals receive a $50 million boost over three years in a pre-election federal budget that largely overlooks the state.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-parliament, budget, federal-government, tas
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| Updated11 key questions you need answered to understand Treasurer Scott Morrison's first budget.
Topics: budget, federal-government, australia
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Government cuts funding for key agricultural research body to fund dam studies.
Topics: rural, agribusiness, research-organisations, research, science-and-technology, government-and-politics, budget, federal-government, canberra-2600
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| UpdatedGeoscience Australia will receive an extra $100 million to try to re-energise the mining sector with the money to be spent on mapping mineral and groundwater potential
Topics: budget, federal-government, agricultural-policy, agribusiness, parliament-house-2600
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| UpdatedGovernment spends $750 million to help hundreds of thousands of young people get jobs.
Topics: budget, federal-government, agricultural-policy, agribusiness, parliament-house-2600
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| UpdatedAlready agreed between industry and government, the budget confirms a range of levy changes for several industries
Topics: budget, federal-government, agribusiness, agricultural-subsidies, forests, pests, fruit, forestry, livestock, pest-management, research, research-organisations, agricultural-policy, parliament-house-2600
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government is giving Landcare a $22 million boost in this year's Commonwealth budget.
Topics: budget, federal-government, agricultural-policy, agribusiness, environmental-impact, environmental-policy, environmental-management, environment, parliament-house-2600
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| UpdatedAustralia will open a new consulate in China to help take advantage of free trade connections
Topics: budget, federal-government, agricultural-policy, beef-cattle, livestock, dairy-production, vegetables, fruit, rural-tourism, tourism, agricultural-marketing, trade, viticulture, agribusiness, parliament-house-2600
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government will revamp the way it targets aged care funding to try to make it fairer for rural and remote areas.
Topics: budget, federal-government, agricultural-policy, agribusiness, aged-care, health, parliament-house-2600
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government has confirmed it's extending its highly popular tax write off for equipment to businesses with an annual turnover of up to $10 million
Topics: budget, federal-government, agricultural-policy, agribusiness, parliament-house-2600
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| UpdatedThe government says a $2 billion loans scheme will help the states and territories to build dams and pipelines
Topics: budget, federal-government, agricultural-policy, agribusiness, states-and-territories, federal---state-issues, dams-and-reservoirs, regional-development, pipelines, regional, water-management, water, water-supply, agricultural-subsidies, community-development, irrigation, parliament-house-2600
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government is spending $594 million on buying land for Inland Rail but none of the funds will go towards construction.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, budget, industry, rail-transport, business-economics-and-finance, canberra-2600
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| UpdatedFederal Government overhauls wine industry tax arrangements in 2016-17 budget.
Topics: viticulture, food-and-beverage, trade, agribusiness, agricultural-prices, agricultural-subsidies, agricultural-policy, budget, federal-government, melbourne-3000, sydney-2000, adelaide-5000, perth-6000, brisbane-4000, hobart-7000
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government will crack down on the Disability Support Pension and cut off carbon tax compensation for all new welfare recipients to help fund the $22-billion NDIS.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-election, government-and-politics, australia
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| UpdatedA wine tax crackdown, loans for water projects but little for farmers to get excited about in budget 2016.
Topics: budget, federal-government, agricultural-policy, trade, dams-and-reservoirs, water, water-management, water-supply, agricultural-marketing, agricultural-subsidies, viticulture, farm-labour, agribusiness, parliament-house-2600
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| UpdatedBusiness is a centrepiece of Treasurer Scott Morrison's first budget, with small companies receiving a surprise extra tax cut but large multinationals facing a fresh crackdown.
Topics: small-business, multinationals, business-economics-and-finance, tax, budget, federal-government, australia
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| UpdatedBusiness is a centrepiece of Treasurer Scott Morrison's first budget, with small companies receiving a surprise extra tax cut but large multinationals facing a fresh crackdown.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-elections, government-and-politics, australia
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| UpdatedFind out who scores and who misses out in Scott Morrison's first budget.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, australia
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| UpdatedThe tax cuts announced by Treasurer Scott Morrison flow overwhelmingly to high-income earners, with 70 per cent of taxpayers gaining nothing from the shift in the point at which people begin paying 37 cents in the dollar tax.
Topics: budget, federal-government, tax, federal-parliament, federal-election, government-and-politics, australia
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| UpdatedTreasurer Scott Morrison announces the biggest shake-up to Australia's superannuation system in a decade, targeting high-income earners while retaining concessions for the lowest paid.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-election, government-and-politics, australia
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| UpdatedExplore an interactive breakdown of where the Government gets its money, how it's being spent, and what's changed since last year.
Topics: budget, federal-government, australia
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| UpdatedThe Government wants you to believe that cutting company tax for small and medium-sized businesses will create a surge in jobs and economic growth. Not true, writes Stephen Long.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-election, government-and-politics, tax, australia
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government abandons its policy of full university fee deregulation, but Scott Morrison is still banking $2 billion in savings from the higher education sector.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-elections, government-and-politics, education, australia
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| UpdatedUpper-middle Australia is set to reap the greatest rewards from the Turnbull Government's election eve budget, while high-income retirees are facing a surprise hit on their earnings.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-elections, government-and-politics, australia
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| UpdatedThe Treasurer will deliver a pre-election budget in the coming hours, announcing a plan to lower the tax rate for some businesses and a new tax-avoidance taskforce.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, federal-elections, government-and-politics, australia
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| UpdatedCommunity Legal Centres across Australia called on the Federal Government to guarantee future funding in Tuesday's budget, warning services and clients may be dropped if money is allowed to run out.
Topics: federal-government, budget, broken-hill-2880
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The Federal Opposition says it hopes the Turnbull Government sees the light and commits to more health and education funding in this year's federal budget.
Topics: budget, activism-and-lobbying, federal-government, ballarat-3350
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government says a focus of tonight's budget will be jobs and growth for north Queensland.
Topics: budget, federal-government, activism-and-lobbying, qld, cairns-4870, townsville-4810
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The Bendigo Business Council says local traders want the Federal Government to use its budget tonight to set a deadline for the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Topics: budget, activism-and-lobbying, information-and-communication, federal-government, bendigo-3550
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The Mackay Mayor says funding for the north Queensland city's ring-road and large infrastructure developments is what he is hoping to see in tonight's federal budget.
Topics: budget, federal-government, activism-and-lobbying, regional-development, mackay-4740
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The Mayor of Rockhampton is hoping tonight's federal budget includes funding for major water infrastructure projects in central Queensland.
Topics: budget, federal-government, activism-and-lobbying, dams-and-reservoirs, water, water-management, rockhampton-4700
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| UpdatedThere will be no budget relief on the backpacker tax according to National's MP Andrew Broad. Farmer Bill McClumpha and the National Farmers' Federation's Sarah McKinnon say workers are already being deterred by uncertainty around the tax. Read more.
Topics: regional-development, regional, budget, federal-government, farm-labour, agricultural-policy, fruit, vegetables, agribusiness, beef-cattle, livestock, rural-tourism, rural-youth, parliament-house-2600, mildura-3500
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| UpdatedA National MP says changes to higher backpacker taxes will come after the federal budget.
Topics: regional-development, regional, budget, federal-government, farm-labour, agricultural-policy, fruit, vegetables, agribusiness, beef-cattle, livestock, rural-tourism, rural-youth, parliament-house-2600
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| UpdatedIf Australia's total budget spending were $100, how would it be spent? Test your knowledge.
Topics: budget, federal-government, australia
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| UpdatedA little bit of context can go a long way to understanding budget figures and policy costings. What's the timeframe? Is this new or recurrent funding? Is that graph accurate? It's time to make the maths a bit clearer.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, business-economics-and-finance, budget
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| UpdatedTreasurer Scott Morrison has handed down his first budget, unveiling a plan to save billions by cracking down on multi-national tax avoidance and shaking up the superannuation system. Look back at how the night unfolded.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-parliament, federal-government, federal-elections, australia
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Youth unemployment and infrastructure spending are at the top of the wish list for Tasmania's business lobby in today's federal budget.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-parliament, tas
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| UpdatedFederal Treasurer Scott Morrison will tonight hand down a budget that will help to define this year's lengthy election campaign and include the Opposition's proposed cigarette excise.
Topics: budget, federal-government, tax, scott-morrison, tobacco, australia
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| UpdatedBamboozled by bracket creep, no idea about negative gearing? Use our jargon buster to help wrap your head around some of the terms being bandied about this budget.
Topics: budget, federal-government, government-and-politics, australia
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The Nationals' Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, is expecting his electorate will benefit from additional roads funding in tomorrow night's federal budget.
Topics: budget, programs-and-initiatives, federal-government, sale-3850
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In matching or co-opting some of Labor's initiatives in the budget, the Government will hope to neutralise the Opposition's attack and clear the battlefield of all but the key points of differentiation before the election.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, business-economics-and-finance, budget
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government will use a $5 billion fund to pay for major public transport projects in the federal budget, with the Melbourne Metro and Sydney Metro rail projects sharing in half the funding.
Topics: budget, federal-government, federal-elections, government-and-politics, federal-parliament, australia
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| UpdatedThe latest State of the States report shows NSW remains the country's best-performing economy, but Victoria is edging closer to the top spot.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, federal-government, government-and-politics, budget, economic-trends, unemployment, housing-industry, retail, population-and-demographics, australia, act, sa, wa, qld, vic, tas, nsw, nt
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| UpdatedDespite murmurs of personal and company tax cuts, the Deputy Prime Minister used Question Time to launch a forceful defence of the budget spend to infect carp with herpes and eradicate them. Catch up on all the latest.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-parliament, federal-government, federal-elections, australia
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The era of windfall gains from a China boom has long passed and this budget may well be the last opportunity for a government to sell a coherent message about where we go from here.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, business-economics-and-finance, budget, tax, trade
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| UpdatedLiberal MP John Alexander, who led a parliamentary inquiry into housing affordability, concedes negative gearing has contributed to Australia's biggest ever housing boom and led to a market "dominated by speculative investors".
Topics: housing, government-and-politics, budget, federal-government, political-parties, federal-elections, australia
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| UpdatedMalcolm Turnbull says there will be "substantial" changes to the tax system in tomorrow night's budget, as MPs prepare for what is expected to be the final week of Parliament before the election is called.
Topics: federal-government, federal-elections, federal-parliament, turnbull-malcolm, bill-shorten, budget, australia
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The Australian Education Union says it is "astonished" the Government will not be matching the funding levels required by Gonski, accusing it of abandoning the children who need the most help.
Topics: education, education-industry, schools, budget, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia
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| UpdatedTreasurer Scott Morrison confirms wealthy Australians will pay more tax on their superannuation, as he frames his first budget in the shadow of an election.
Topics: budget, tax, superannuation, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government promises to pump an extra $1.2 billion into the nation's schools, as part of a wider package of reforms, partially reversing the cuts made in the 2014 budget.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-parliament, federal-government, elections, education, australia
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| UpdatedTwo Government frontbenchers hint that tax relief is a priority in next week's federal budget, saying addressing "bracket creeping" for middle income earners is a "big issue".
Topics: budget, tax, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia
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| UpdatedThe steady growth in the number of people diagnosed with dementia will ratchet up the pressure on the health budget in decades to come, with 1 million Australians expected to be living with the illness by 2050.
Topics: alzheimers-and-dementia, diseases-and-disorders, budget, federal-government, australia
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| UpdatedFarm lobby groups are appealing to Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce to publically support a compromise on the so-called backpacker tax.
Topics: agricultural-policy, federal-government, budget, farm-labour, rural, brisbane-4000
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Lee Smales, a senior lecturer at Curtain University in Western Australia, is backing the Federal Government's approach to forecasting the impact resource commodity prices will have on the federal budget.
Topics: mining-rural, federal-government, iron-ore, budget, oil-and-gas, coal, mining-industry, perth-6000
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| UpdatedEconomist says Federal Government right not to put too much emphasis on resources returns in the budget.
Topics: mining-rural, iron-ore, tax, federal-government, federal-elections, budget, oil-and-gas, coal, mining-industry, perth-6000
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A pack of cigarettes will rise in price because of a hike in excise, even though former Prime Minister Tony Abbott was one of the most vocal critics of what he called a "workers tax" on smokers.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-government, smoking, australia
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Just a week out from the Turnbull Government's first budget, it's decided to reveal what's not in it. The Prime Minister and the Treasurer have ruled out any changes to negative gearing tax breaks on investment properties.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia
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Cut through the BS (budget spin) and be the most valuable contributor to your dinner table debate on the Federal Government's finances with these pass notes.
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government will allocate $50 million towards supporting new infrastructure projects for the nation's cities in next week's budget.
Topics: government-and-politics, budget, federal-government, federal-parliament, australia
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| UpdatedThe federal Greens are calling for a new "millionaire's tax" saying they want taxes to rise, not fall, in next week's federal budget.
Topics: budget, greens, federal-government, tax, federal-elections, australia
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| UpdatedThe oil and gas sector wants no changes to tax in federal budget, but Minerals Council pushes for a commitment to lower the company tax rate.
Topics: mining-rural, tax, federal-government, federal-elections, budget, oil-and-gas, mining-industry, perth-6000
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government abandons at least $5 million worth of work to produce a white paper on how to fix the relationship between the states and the Commonwealth.
Topics: tax, federal-government, turnbull-malcolm, budget, government-and-politics, australia
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| UpdatedElection year budgets are usually full of juicy promises, but this year's will have a different flavour just days from a double dissolution poll being officially called.
Topics: budget, federal-elections, federal-government, government-and-politics, australia
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Global accounting giant KPMG is urging the Federal Government to stop focusing on getting re-elected and think deeply on how to cut the deficit.
Topics: budget, federal-government, economic-trends, australia
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| UpdatedJohn Howard and Peter Costello did not set out to make the income tax system an agent for inequality, but that's what their tax cuts helped achieve. What can we learn from this as Budget 2016 nears?
Topics: budget, federal-government, business-economics-and-finance
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Australia risks being seen as "building a Donald Trump-style wall" around its borders if it slashes a further $224 million from the already depleted foreign aid budget, CARE Australia chief executive Julia Newton-Howes says.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, budget, government-and-politics, federal-government, relief-and-aid-organisations, foreign-affairs, australia
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| UpdatedWho is using negative gearing to claim losses on their investment properties as a tax deduction? Search the data to see which occupations use it most.
Topics: federal-government, budget, government-and-politics, federal-parliament, housing, housing-industry, australia
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| UpdatedMalcolm Turnbull says the fact investment property tax concessions heavily benefit high-income earners is "beside the point", and Labor's plan to restrict deductions is "unjust".
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, budget, government-and-politics, federal-government, turnbull-malcolm, australia
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| UpdatedDitching the naff political cliche of "mums and dads", what Scott Morrison is saying is that it's mainly the middle class who use negative gearing to get ahead. But does this argument really stack up?
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, business-economics-and-finance, tax, budget
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A clear commitment to inland rail, more money for mobile black spots, and a backpacker tax resolution are on the National Farmers' Federation's budget wish list.
Topics: rail-transport, telecommunications, regional-development, regional, budget, federal-government, mobile-phones, agribusiness, agricultural-subsidies, fruit, grain, vegetables, wheat, agricultural-policy, parliament-house-2600
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A commitment to inland rail, more money to fix mobile black spots, and a decision on the backpacker tax: the National Farmers Federation has released its wish list ahead of next week's Federal Budget. The Treasurer Scott Morrison will hand down his first budget next week, setting the scene for an expected July election. NFF chief executive Tony Mahar says funding for an inland rail network between Melbourne and Brisbane is a top priority.
Topics: rail-transport, telecommunications, regional-development, regional, budget, federal-government, mobile-phones, agribusiness, agricultural-subsidies, fruit, grain, vegetables, wheat, agricultural-policy, parliament-house-2600
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| UpdatedMalcolm Turnbull takes to his blog to savage an independent report recommending changes to negative gearing, arguing the document is littered with inaccuracies, unsupported claims and direct contradictions.
Topics: turnbull-malcolm, government-and-politics, parliament, budget, federal-parliament, australia