Today
- Opinion
- Opinion
Why did Labor drop a big policy change at 6pm last Friday?
While the media scrambled to get across a housing announcement late Friday, the government quietly dropped long-awaited changes to foreign student numbers.
- 56 mins ago
- Phillip Coorey
Readers want government to cut debt, rein in spending
Almost 60 per cent readers want Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ federal budget priority to either reduce debt or reign in government spending in this year’s budget - but another 24 per cent want cost-of-living relief to be the focus.
- 1 hr ago
- Edmund Tadros
Markets on edge ahead of budget cash splash
Australian shares are set to edge lower on Monday as they wait to assess the impact of federal budget spending on the central bank’s path to an interest rate cut.
- Cecile Lefort
Budget to provide billions for wages, super blowout
Tuesday’s federal budget will include a massive provision for pay rises in aged care and childcare as well as the recent decision to apply compulsory superannuation to parental leave.
- Phillip Coorey
New laws to cap international student intakes
The federal government has stopped short of imposing a hard cap on international student numbers, but will introduce new limits for each provider.
- Julie Hare
- Opinion
- Opinion
Tax inertia pushes budget towards a black hole
Redesigning the tax system against the principles of fairness, efficiency, sustainability and coherence would deliver us all with an economic dividend.
- Cherelle Murphy
This Month
Labor to spend $11.3b on social housing
The new package to be detailed in the budget aims to enable states and territories to combat homelessness and repair social housing.
- Updated
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Opinion
GST and gas show a government that’s still out of tune
A huge GST handout to WA and a report that gives a free pass to the state’s gas industry show how far parochial toadying in the west will go.
- Laura Tingle
- Analysis
- Perspective
The budget that could be make or break for Labor
Jim Chalmers is gearing up for his third and most important budget. If he spends too much and stokes inflation, he knows he’ll own the next rate increase.
- Updated
- Phillip Coorey
Michele Bullock’s run of good news may be about to end
RBA governor Michele Bullock has proven a better communicator than her predecessor Philip Lowe. But her real test may still be yet to come.
- Ronald Mizen
- Opinion
- Public service
Why headcount matters when it comes to budgets
As any finance chief will attest, the number of bums on seats tells you most of what you need to know about an organisation’s underlying size and costs.
- Tom Burton
Budget tips business investment to slow
The recovery in business investment is tipped to slow markedly in federal budget forecasts, as a cooling economy forces firms to reassess capital expenditure plans.
- John Kehoe and Michael Read
- Opinion
- Opinion
A responsible pre-election budget is a delicate balancing act
The treasurer must not stimulate the economy, but cannot ignore the fact that some Australians are bearing more than their share of the pain.
- Aruna Sathanapally
- Exclusive
- Jim Chalmers
The budget is already adding to inflation
The federal budget has injected $22 billion of new policy spending over two years, which economists say will cause higher interest rates than necessary and delay any rate cuts.
- John Kehoe
Everything we know about the budget so far
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down Labor’s third budget on May 14. Here’s what we know about the proposed spending measures.
- Updated
- Tom McIlroy
What we expect in Tuesday’s federal budget
This week on The Fin podcast, political editor Phillip Coorey on what is likely to be announced in the federal budget and what it means for inflation and interest rates.
Ex CSIRO boss would pick different ‘winners’ in $1b quantum push
Larry Marshall, former CEO of CSIRO, says taxpayer money should be targeted at points in the quantum computing supply chain, not the finished product.
- Liam Walsh
- Opinion
- Opinion
The government goes bold to poke the inflation bear
The Albanese government, after being cautious with its spending in 2022 and 2023, has decided to take risks this year. The greatest is that it brings the RBA off the bench.
- Chris Richardson
Chalmers locks in business tax breaks to help Made in Australia
The budget will contain tax breaks for investors to turbocharge the government’s Future Made in Australia Act, Jim Chalmers has confirmed.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Jim Chalmers
Australia’s ‘dumb’ luck budget in one extraordinary chart
Treasurers have been extremely lucky to receive big tax revenue windfalls from the China-driven mining boom, but none have been as lucky as Jim Chalmers.
- John Kehoe
