Lack of wages growth challenges budget surplus prediction
The wages growth needed to deliver the federal budget prediction of a return to surplus is unlikely to materialise, employment law experts and economists have warned.
Federal Budget news
Labor would force ATO to give details of deals it cuts with big business
Labor would require Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan to reveal details of big companies the Tax Office cuts deals with, including the value of those settlements, as part of its plan to recoup $5.4 billion from multinationals over the next decade.
'Based on love': PM defends welfare drug test
Malcolm Turnbull says his welfare drug tests are "based on love".
'Policy concocted on the run': CBA boss slams bank tax
CBA boss Ian Narev has slammed the government's budget bank levy as an "opportunistic tax grab" and "policy concocted on the run" and warned that the cost would have to be borne by either customers or shareholders.
Stand by for another Snowy rip-off
NSW and Victoria have effectively stolen money and power from the rest of Australia for 60 years.
Julie Bishop says aid will stay in freezer until budget surplus
Foreign aid reductions to see Australia tumble down OECD ranks of donor countries.
Can't hit budget? Move the goal posts
It's been a big week for budgets with endless analysis after the event and daily leaks during the run up.
Shorten shows he is every bit as pragmatic as Turnbull
Scott Morrison succumbed to hubris before Bill Shorten's budget reply, asserting that only two groups seemed to be unhappy with his audacious budget reset: the big banks and the Labor Party.
Slugging banks is the fairest way to raise billions
If you think the big new bank tax is outrageous and unfair, tell us what would be a better, fairer way to raise a quick $1.6 billion or so next year.
Banks warn on 'unintended consequences' of new tax hit
The country's biggest banks warn that a $6.2b tax could have "unintended consequences".
Live: Turnbull, Morrison continues his budget battle with banks
Federal budget 2017-18 live: Malcolm Turnbull continues to battle with banks
9 big ideas that should have been in the budget
The federal budget is a rare opportunity to introduce big, bold decisions. Here are 9 ideas the Turnbull government missed.
'It's pathetic': Labor to oppose Malcolm Turnbull's university changes, forcing Senate showdown
Labor will put higher education at the centre of its response to this year's budget by announcing it will oppose all the government's major university changes, including the proposed rise in fees and slashing of the HECS repayment threshold.
Budget 2017: Welfare waiting periods to increase for those with savings
Taking a redundancy could see workers forced to live on minimum wage for at least six months, with the government increasing the waiting period for welfare for people with savings.Â
Government to defuse Catholic 'scare tactics' by guaranteeing funding increases
The government will introduce its school funding changes into Parliament on Thursday.
Cost of keeping the bastards honest: new watchdog to cost $80m a year
Government appoints Leonie McGregor as interim CEO of entitlements authority.
No end to bracket creep makes average earning Australians worse off
Middle-income Australians to bear brunt of budget's failure on income tax rates and thresholds.
Premier says Queensland was robbed in 'Sydney-centric' budget
Queensland Labor MPs found plenty to criticise in federal Treasurer Scott Morrison's budget.
'I'm not saying no to Gary': Treasurer reveals personal struggle behind NDIS decision
Scott Morrison has delivered one of the least conventional, and most effective, post budget sales pitches in memory.
Morrison warns big banks to absorb new tax
The federal government and Australia's five largest banks are on a collision course.
Employers fear foreign worker tax pain
Businesses soon to be hit with new levies for employing foreign visa workers say the changes will be "another barrier" to growth.
The Magic Pudding lives, it's every politician's fondest fantasy
PM promised to govern from 'sensible centre". In the new federal budget, he has found it.
Australia's big banks hit back against 'populist bank bashing'
Banks are warning they will try to pass on some of the government's $6.2 billion bank levy to their millions of customers.
Political divide muddies Morrison's 'big heart' NDIS solution
Scott Morrison's plan to utilise Australia's "big hearts" to fund the NDIS is under threat, with both Labor and the Greens raising concerns over the funding plan.
Easing of Medicare rebate freeze 'offers little relief for patients'
Patients will continue to be hit with rising out-of-pocket health costs under the Turnbull government's slow thaw in the Medicare rebate freeze, experts have warned.
Shorten to fight for deficit levy in class-warfare budget reply
Labor leader to accuse government of favouring millionaires over middle-income earners.
Senator calls on police to investigate budget leak
Senator Derryn Hinch has called for the Australian Federal Police to investigate a leak that led to $14 billion being wiped off banking stocks in the hours before the federal budget.
Housing affordability measures 'more a feather than a scalpel'
A first home buyer would only save an extra 1 per cent of the median property price in Sydney or Melbourne under the government's new super deposit scheme, analysis of the federal budget has revealed, as economists question the impact of the policy in areas most targeted by the Turnbull government.
Live: PM, Treasurer sell their tax, spend and build budget
Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison have launched a media blitz to sell, and defend, their latest budget.
There's something in the air in Canberra - they should test for it
You'd be hard-pressed to judge who had the worst job in the nation's capital on Wednesday.
Government to profile drug users for welfare trial
A government trial to drug-test welfare recipients will use a profiling tool to work out who is more likely to be a substance abuser.
The war against the black economy has only just begun
The government's measures are just the beginning of a long fight to claw back revenue.
Calls for Toowoomba Citytrain services to piggyback inland rail project
Toowoomba mayor Paul Antonio has called for a new Citytrain link between his city and Brisbane to be piggy-backed on the federal government's $8.4 billion budget commitment for the Melbourne to Brisbane inland rail route.
At last they're governing, but ducking hard decisions
Scott Morrison and Malcolm Turnbull have got back into the business of governing.
Customers unlikely to escape the bank tax
Whenever businesses are hit with a nasty new levy, there is a predictable response: we'll pass it on to customers.
The attack that banks should have seen coming
The federal government's bank levy is as personal as it is punitive and political.
Budget 2017: 'Slap in the face' budget puts Cross River Rail start date under cloud
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was unhappy about the lack of specific funding for Brisbane's Cross River Rail project, saying the budget cast doubt on whether work on the project would start this year.
Doctors split over Turnbull's health budget
Doctors have split over the Turnbull government's health budget, with the NSW arm of the peak lobby group going rogue to describe it as a "crushing blow" for GPs that won't improve affordable access to healthcare.
Turnbull's search for electoral sweet-spot a win for voters
Budget may do the trick in the electorate, the immediate threat switches to opposition within.
Budget 2017: 'No one now is talking about paying back debt' - Peter Costello
The Liberal Party's longest-serving treasurer, Peter Costello, has suggested the Turnbull government's projected budget surpluses will not be enough to pay back Australia's ballooning debt.