Today
‘Dangerous’ to rely on key budget number given $80b spending splurge
More than $80 billion of under-the-radar spending on initiatives such as Snowy Hydro, NBN and clean energy undermines budget deficit forecasts, Saul Eslake says.
- 1 hr ago
Investors welcome Chalmers’ new ‘front door’ service (with caveats)
Big investors want to be consulted as the proposal for an investment concierge moves from budget papers into reality.
- 1 hr ago
Holiday home owners to get $600 in power bill discounts
Holiday and second home owners will receive multiple $300 energy bill credits, after the government says all households would automatically receive the benefit.
- Updated
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Chalmers is telling a big budget fib
Treasurer Jim Chalmers stood in front of 600 guests at his post-budget speech in Parliament House on Wednesday and repeated a misleading number about spending.
Yesterday
- Opinion
- Federal budget
There’s an $80b spending bomb buried in the budget
The people who should be most worried about this profligate pre-election budget are Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock and home borrowers.
$24b in front-loaded spending risks fuelling inflation
Spending and taxing decisions in this budget will tip an extra $24 billion into the economy, jarring with the government’s claims that it is putting downward pressure on inflation.
This Month
- Updated
- Tax disputes
Lendlease tax woes could trigger second profit downgrade
John Wylie’s Tanarra Capital is pushing for a seat on the Lendlease board, as the country’s largest property group faces the prospect of a damaging profit downgrade after tax officials handed it a $112 million bill.
- Updated
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Jim Chalmers rips up Paul Keating’s economic playbook
The treasurer is breaking from Labor’s previously claimed belief in the Hawke-Keating market-based economic model that helped deliver 30 years of prosperity.
- Exclusive
- Tax avoidance
Lendlease hit with $112m tax bill over retirement business
The property group has been hit with an initial $112 million bill from the Tax Office, in a dispute that could ultimately cost it more than $300 million.
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.
- Exclusive
- Federal budget
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.
The instigator of WA’s GST deal says it is failing
Colin Barnett says there was no need for the prime minister to lift WA’s minimum GST “floor” from 70¢ to 75¢ in the dollar, as is set to occur from July.
- Opinion
- Federal budget
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.
- Opinion
- Interest rates
‘Vigilant’ RBA puts home loan borrowers on notice
Governor Michele Bullock has issued a fresh warning to mortgage holders, two years after the Reserve Bank of Australia began raising interest rates.
- Updated
- Exclusive
- Interest rates
Philip Lowe warns rates could rise again
The former RBA governor says with data surprising on the strong side getting back to a 2.5 per cent inflation level sustainably is not yet guaranteed.
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.
- Exclusive
- Interest rates
RBA rate rise shock is being underestimated, history shows
It has raised interest rates almost every time in the last 25 years that it has faced the current high quarterly inflation figure immediately before a board meeting.
- Analysis
- Australian economy
‘Made in Australia’ risks higher interest rates and a poorer future
The old rules of economics still apply and the consequences of Albanese’s big gamble could be widely felt.
How three economists would fix the housing crisis
An economic adviser to the government has suggested a “quick win” to encourage older Australians to downsize and free up housing for younger families.
- Opinion
- Interest rates
Bullock must now warn that interest rates may rise again
When the RBA board meets next week, the key question governor Michele Bullock will be grappling with is the future pace of disinflation.
