What we learned, Sunday 7 May
That’s it for our live news coverage today. Thanks for being with us.
Here’s what we learned.
The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been doing a media blitz ahead of handing down Tuesday’s budget.
Among the measures announced on Sunday were changes to the petroleum resource rent tax (PPRT) that would collect an additional $2.4bn over four years and a plan to subsidise electricity bills up to $700. Oil and gas producers welcomed the PRRT tax plan and called on the Coalition to negotiate with the government over the passage of the bill.
The PM, Anthony Albanese, is on his way home after attending the Coronation of King Charles III, where he took an oath of allegiance ahead of the budget. The Australian republican movement had called on Albanese to remain silent during the oath, while the Monarchist League criticised a decision not to allow a display on the Sydney Opera House by NSW’s premier, Chris Minns.
Labor has flagged that it will reposition on its hard stance against a lift to jobseeker, with speculation the government will raise Jobseeker by $20 a week. The Greens are critical, saying that if the amount reported is true it will be a “slap in the face” for people in “desperate” need of assistance.
Angus Taylor has attacked the government, saying a “big-spending” budget will not solve inflation.
Have a good rest of your weekend. We’ll have another live blog tomorrow.
Updated
Victorian Liberal leader will vote to expel exiled MP
The Victorian Liberal’s leader, John Pesutto, has backed a second bid to expel an exiled MP from the party despite her backing down from threats of legal action.
On Sunday, the state opposition leader confirmed he would vote in favour of a motion to expel Moira Deeming during a motion to be heard at a party room meeting on Friday.
He revealed the five MPs who came to him with the motion were the former party leader Matthew Guy, along with James Newbury, Cindy McLeish, Roma Britnell and Wayne Farnham.
What those five members of the party room have done reflects the concerns that many ... including myself share about needing to resolve this matter so it will be dealt with on Friday morning.
It will be the second time the party considers expelling Deeming after she attended an anti-transgender rights rally in Melbourne where neo-Nazis performed the “heil Hitler” salute.
A previous vote in late March led to a nine-month suspension from the Liberals.
On Friday, the federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton, flagged intervening in the Victorian division as a way to sort out “the whole mess”.
- AAP
Updated
Plan to fast-track new Tasmanian AFL stadium
The Tasmanian government is pushing for the new $715m Hobart stadium and redevelopment of the surrounding area to be fast-tracked.
The Macquarie Point development will be nominated as a major project under legislation allowing an independent expert panel to assess the masterplan, rather than the local council.
The Tasmanian Planning Commission used the same process to approve the Bridgewater Bridge project.
State development minister Guy Barnett said the process took politics out of the decision-making process and allowed projects to be assessed on their own merits.
Tasmanians can be assured that if declared a major project that there would be an independent process that is rigorous and which provides genuine opportunities for community engagement.
The government says the process still allows for public input and the planning minister will consult with a range of interested parties.
Last week, the AFL awarded Tasmania the 19th team licence, with the men’s team slated to join the competition by 2028, while details on an AFLW team are still being worked through.
The controversial stadium development will get a $240m funding injection from the federal government, while the Tasmanian government will pitch in $375m.
The remainder will come from the AFL and commercial land sales.
Opponents of the development argue the choice of site is poor and the money would be better spent on housing amid a growing number of homeless people and financially stretched households in the island state.
– AAP
Updated
Early reactions to the proposed PRRT changes are coming in …
The govt has just announced its reform of the PRRThttps://t.co/S85GpCX07a
— Chris Richardson (@ChrisEconomist) May 7, 2023
They’re not doing what I thought they would (and most speculation thought they would)
They’re not adding to the amount of revenues to which this tax applies
Note there’s a very good case for them to have done that: the ‘taxing point’ (which decides what revenues are & aren’t subject to the PRRT) is very generous
— Chris Richardson (@ChrisEconomist) May 7, 2023
But that’s not where they’ve headed
Rather, they’ve limited the deductions available under this tax
1. I think the gas producers should be happy with this – it leaves them as far & away the big winners from developing Oz gas
— Chris Richardson (@ChrisEconomist) May 7, 2023
2. I think Australian taxpayers could have hoped for more. This is one of the biggest policy failings in Australia, and the change is a very modest one
Updated
Qantas reportedly cancels Australian Financial Review from its lounges
Qantas has reportedly cancelled the Australian Financial Review from its lounges after persistent critical coverage by columnist Joe Aston.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports print copies of the paper have disappeared from Qantas airport lounges and its articles are no longer able to be found on its in-house wifi network.
Aston has been persistent in his critical coverage of Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, the fleet and its customer service over the last nine months.
If confirmed the situation would mark the latest in a years-long skirmish between Qantas and mastheads owned by Nine papers, with the company responding poorly to negative coverage.
Updated
Ezidi refugees put down new roots in New England
When Shiroqe Majid Talo Ali was a child, her friends called her Doctor Shiroque.
“It was my dream to be a doctor in Iraq,” she says.
Instead, along with thousands of Ezidis, she was forced to flee her home to escape the Islamic State genocide in northern Iraq. A decade on, Ali, now 21, is studying nursing in Armidale, New South Wales. She and her family are among 650 Ezidis to have resettled in the New England city between 2018 and 2022.
“When I came here, I started – step by step – to work on my dream,” she says.
Ezidis are one of the oldest ethnic and religious minorities of Iraq and Syria. Hundreds were massacred or enslaved during attacks in the Sinjar region in 2014 and an estimated 40,000 fled to nearby Mount Sinjar, where they were encircled by the jihadists and left without food and water. More than 100,000 people were forced from the region, igniting global calls for asylum.
For more on the success of the scheme to resettle the Ezidis in Australia, read the full report Michael Burge:
Updated
Challenging situation for Australians still in Sudan
Australian officials are battling to help more than a hundred citizens left in war-torn Sudan who face significant challenges trying to leave the country.
Assistant foreign affairs minister Tim Watts told the ABC on Sunday the government is tracking 152 Australians still in Sudan and is working with partner countries that have officials on the ground.
The situation that we confront in assisting those people is a challenging one.
There’s not an Australian embassy in Sudan, communications infrastructure is patchy at best.
Movement in Sudan is hampered by limited access to transport, while some of the Australians in the country might be reluctant to leave for family reasons.
Watt said Australian consulate officials were able to provide help in Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Egypt.
Some 237 Australians have already left the country and about 100 have arrived back in Australia.
On Saturday, the federal government committed $6m in humanitarian assistance for those caught up in the conflict.
Some $1m has been allocated to the International Committee of the Red Cross to provide immediate relief and a further $5m will go to Australia’s international partners delivering humanitarian assistance.
Sudan’s health ministry reports more than 550 people have been killed and more than 4,900 have been injured since fighting between the country’s army and a paramilitary group started on 15 April.
– AAP
Updated
Chalmers slip hints at possible budget surplus
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, appears to have misspoken in his interview with Sky News, hinting at a possible surplus.
Asked about a return to surplus, Chalmers said:
It’ll be made clear on Tuesday night what the budget position is. It is already clear you wouldn’t be asking me these questions were it not for the responsible approach that we’ve taken to the budget over the course of two budgets now, banking most of the upward revisions to surplus, ah, to revenue, banking the upward revision to revenue.
The official transcript says only “banking most of the upward revision to revenue” removing the error and the correction. It is marked E&OE, which means “errors and omissions excepted”.
Updated
Climate scientists first laughed at a ‘bizarre’ campaign against the BoM – then came the harassment
For more than a decade, climate science deniers, rightwing politicians and sections of the Murdoch media have waged a campaign to undermine the legitimacy of the Bureau of Meteorology’s temperature records.
Those records say Australia has warmed by 1.4C since 1910, the year when the bureau’s main quality-controlled climate dataset starts.
Extremely hot days come along more often than they used to, and the warming trends are happening everywhere, at all times of the year.
As a target for those with an often visceral distrust of the established science of human-caused global heating, the bureau’s temperature record might be seen as ground zero.
“This has frankly been a concerted campaign,” says climate scientist Dr Ailie Gallant, of Monash University. “But this is not about genuine scepticism. It is harassment and blatant misinformation that has been perpetuated.”
Despite multiple reviews, reports, advisory panels and peer-reviewed studies rejecting claims that its temperature record was biased or flawed, Gallant says the “harassment” of the bureau has continued.
For more on the bizarre campaign against the Bureau of Meteorology, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s environment reporter Graham Readfearn.
Mystery surrounding dead man found at Melbourne intersection
A man has died after being stabbed in the early hours of the morning in Victoria’s east.
The victim was found at an intersection in Sale, about three hours from Melbourne, at 1am on Sunday.
Police provided first aid as they waited for an ambulance but were unable to save the man.
Homicide squad detectives are investigating, and circumstances surrounding the incident have not been established.
Anyone who witnessed the attack or has further information is urged to come forward.
- AAP
Greens say reports of Labor’s $40 a fortnight social security increase ‘paltry’
Greens spokesperson for social services senator Janet Rice says speculation Labor may increase the social security payments by $40 a fortnight is a “slap in the face” to those doing it tough.
Even Morrison did better.
In a statement released on Sunday, Rice said that “if reports today are true” it meant “Labor is doing even less to help welfare recipients than the Conservative party” despite attacking the Morrison government in opposition for its own small increases.
While in opposition, Labor slammed the Morrison government for its paltry increase and now in government, Labor is doing even less to help welfare recipients than the Conservative party.
The last time a Labor government increased the base rate of unemployment benefits was in 1994 under Keating. They’ve done nothing for decades, and now all they’re offering is to tinker around the edges of a system that’s killing people.
$2.85 a day is woefully inadequate and doesn’t even keep up with the rising costs of food and rent. This is still $500 a fortnight below the Henderson poverty line, and more than $200 below the recommendations of the government’s own hand-picked Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee.
Poverty is a policy choice, and this government is doubling down on their choice to leave people without heating or food or medicines as they struggle to pay the rent.
There is also no mention from Labor of increasing youth allowance, the disability support pension, parenting payment or the age pension. Labor can’t keep ignoring the millions of renters, single parents, students, women, and people with disabilities all doing it tough too.
We need to build a strong social safety net for everyone who needs it. No one deserves poverty. Labor must raise all income support payments above the poverty line to $88 a day.
Updated
Labor is flagging that it will lift social security payments for all groups at the budget. To put that in perspective:
The base welfare payment for a single adult with no children is $346.55 a week.
It has been suggested a $40 a fortnight increase is in the works, amounting to $20 a week.
This would raise the current base rate to $366.55 a week.
After the pandemic, the Morrison government lifted the rate by $50 a fortnight, or $25 a week.
If true, this means Labor’s proposed increase would be less than what the Coalition achieved during its tenure.
ACOSS wants the rate raised to “at least $76” a day or $532 a week.
In Henderson poverty line sat at $611.27 (including housing) a week for a single adult in March quarter, 2022.
Updated
Seems weather is happening out in Canberra right now, though Guardian Australia’s chief political correspondent Paul Karp reports that it’s not snowing everywhere in the nation’s capital.
Yet some of the pictures sure are pretty.
Oh my #Canberra @abccanberra @BOM_ACT pic.twitter.com/adHCuAvU55
— Adam Shirley (@adammshirley) May 7, 2023
#Canberra a few minutes ago: freak #hail or freak #snow? pic.twitter.com/lx837thFvC
— ☔Jason Murphy (@jasemurphy) May 7, 2023
Meanwhile, the BoM has warned of worsening weather across the broader state of New South Wales.
Strong winds will develop along the NSW coast this evening as a low deepens. Locally damaging winds are possible along the #Illawarra coast, including #JervisBay, #Kiama and #Wollongong. Conditions will ease on Monday as the low moves away. See https://t.co/Ss766eSCrL pic.twitter.com/V69ZseLUXW
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) May 7, 2023
Large and powerful southerly waves are developing as a low deepens off the NSW South Coast and generates vigorous winds. This will make surf conditions hazardous for the coming days, including for parts #Sydney, #Illawarra and the #Hunter.
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) May 7, 2023
Monitor https://t.co/0kBlJ1d3MC pic.twitter.com/M8WKGaD5rp
And Melbourne has been experiencing its own weather with showers and small hail overnight.
A cold and unstable airstream has brought showers and small hail to Melbourne overnight, with the highest falls in the east. Further intermittent showers are expected throughout the day. #Melbourneweather
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) May 6, 2023
View the radar: https://t.co/D2b10Jrl61 pic.twitter.com/o8yMjgnNf3
Updated
Those who watched the coronation may have been surprised by the presence of singer-songwriter Nick Cave who attended as part of the Australian delegation.
Here’s a few snaps of Nick Cave being … well, Nick Cave.
Updated
Reactions to the coronation continue
The Australian Monarchist League has criticised a NSW government decision to cancel plans for the Sydney Opera House sails to be lit up in honour of the coronation, citing the cost involved.
National chairman Philip Benwell said in a statement that the position was informed by premier Chris Minn’s “republican sympathies”.
From now on, should taxpayer funds ever be used to light up buildings, it will prove that this decision was based on his republican sympathies and not on cost.
🇦🇺 History made. Our people, the Australian people, at the center of our King and Queen’s #coronation . #LongLiveTheKing pic.twitter.com/OR1P1de4cx
— The Australian Monarchist League (@Austmonarchist) May 6, 2023
Meanwhile, the Australian Republican Movement held their own gatherings last night to mark the occasion.
Thanks to everyone who came along to the #DemocracyNotMonarchy gathering last night in Perth. If you'd like to show your support, sign up today at https://t.co/U4HjxbuZ7X#ausrepublic #auspol pic.twitter.com/6pT3BTbmAz
— Australian Republic Movement (@AusRepublic) May 7, 2023
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe also addressed a Sovereign Tea Party in Melbourne on Saturday where she spoke about the “violent colonial occupation” by the British.
Today is a painful day for our people and all colonised people around the world.
The British empire proudly displays the wealth it has stolen from us while our people continue to suffer and die at the hands of a colonial system that was violently imposed on us.
Senator Thorpe made several statements in the lead up to the coronation about the history of colonisation on First Nations peoples.
Today I join representatives from 12 Commonwealth countries (with the King as head of state) in calling on the new king to recognise British acts of genocide, issue a formal apology to all First Nations and Indigenous peoples impacted by British colonisation,
— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) May 4, 2023
– with AAP
Updated
Albanese’s pledge of allegiance to King Charles was ‘crucial’: Chalmers
Anthony Albanese’s choice to pledge allegiance to King Charles III was “crucial” according to federal treasurer Jim Chalmers.
Albanese, a “lifelong republican” repeated the oath during the coronation despite the Australian Republican Movement calling for him to remain silent.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers, said it was the right call for the prime minister to join the pledge on behalf of Australians.
This was an important day and it’s obviously crucial that the prime minister attend and pledge allegiance – I think that’s what people expect.
At 3pm on Sunday, a 21-gun salute by Australia’s Federation Guard, will be held on the forecourt of Parliament House in Canberra.
This will be followed by a flypast from the Royal Australian air force to mark the coronation.
– AAP
Updated
Changes to the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax @JEChalmers #auspol pic.twitter.com/3QdYxkCzJp
— Political Alert (@political_alert) May 7, 2023
Budget and data to measure wisdom of RBA interest rate rise decision
The strength of the national economy will take centre stage this week as financial markets turn their attention to the federal budget and a fresh round of confidence and spending data.
Last week, the central bank trimmed its growth projections and now sees gross domestic product bottoming out at 1.25 per cent by the end of this year, down from 1.5 per cent.
Growth is then likely to gradually pick up to two per cent by mid-2025, the Reserve Bank of Australia said in its quarterly statement on monetary policy released on Friday.
This outlook will be measured against the new federal Treasury’s growth forecasts in the budget to be handed down by treasurer Jim Chalmers at 7.30pm on Tuesday.
But earlier on Tuesday, new data on business and consumer confidence and consumer spending will be published.
The National Australia Bank business survey for April will deliver the latest measures on conditions and whether firms are absorbing costs or passing them on.
The May Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer confidence report will also be released, along with Australian Bureau of Statistics retail trade numbers for the March quarter and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s household spending indicators for May.
The Reserve Bank, which has raised interest rates 11 times since May 2022 in a bid to curb inflation, keeps a close watch on retail data for signals on consumer spending and confidence.
– AAP
Updated
Rising commodity prices ‘not the biggest part of the contribution’ to budget health
Federal treasurer Jim Chalmers has told the ABC’s Andrew Probyn that “all will be revealed on Tuesday night” when the budget is released.
The treasurer has continued his media blitz on Sunday by hosing down budget speculation. The interview was much of what has been repeated elsewhere – there will be a focus on inflation, cost-of-living pressures remain high, changes to the PRRT and some help across the board.
On the health of the budget itself, Chalmers said “there will be a substantial improvement in the budget in the near term”.
The pressures on the budget after that intensify these. We will make clear on Tuesday night what the budget position is.
Chalmers was quick to hose down speculation about the role commodity prices have played in the changing budget position saying “they are not the biggest part of the contribution”.
Commodities are an important part of the story, they are not the biggest part of the story, only about one thing of the improvement is from higher commodity prices. The biggest part of it, the 40% contribution is from improvements in the Labor market, low unemployment and higher wages growth. That makes the biggest contribution 40%. 20% is commodity prices as they are the contributors beyond that. So commodity prices are important, but they are not the biggest part of the contribution.
The treasurer flagged his government was committed to “spending restraint” in the face of “upward revisions to revenue, combined with savings”.
There will be substantial savings in the budget on Tuesday. As well as modest but meaningful tax changes, which make the budget more sustainable as well. So that was a combination of that in October.
Updated
Coronation a chance to ‘celebrate change’: Dutton
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has released a statement on the coronation through his Facebook page.
Most of us have only ever lived under one monarch, such was the extraordinary seventy-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
But today, our new Sovereign – King Charles III – and the Queen at his side – Camilla – will be crowned.
This is truly a momentous occasion for the British people, for Australians and for all citizens of the Commonwealth. It’s a moment when an age-old tradition brings with it both a sense of reconnection to history and regeneration in our times. It’s a moment of celebration which will resonate around the world.
Charles was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He was the boy who waited. The prince of patience. The king seven decades in the making. No other royal has journeyed longer to sit on the British throne. No other royal has been better prepared to wear the crown.
Dutton said the coronation doubled as a chance to “celebrate change”.
Today, as our new Sovereign and his Queen are crowned, we celebrate change. But we also celebrate our historical connections with Britain and our British inheritance. We remind ourselves of those institutions and values which our forebears drew upon to forge a modern nation. May we never take this British inheritance for granted. And may we always be proud of our British origins along with our Indigenous heritage and migration and multicultural success – the three strands of our national story.
Updated
The prime minister may not be the world’s biggest fan of the monarchy but his Twitter suggests he took advantage of the moment to run some diplomacy on the sidelines, shaking hands with his Canadian counterpart and discussing Australia-EU trade deal.
Good to catch up with Canadian Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau and other Commonwealth leaders ahead of the Coronation. pic.twitter.com/hzOu7qLKCI
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 6, 2023
Very positive meeting yesterday on the sidelines of the Coronation - look forward to getting Australia-EU trade deal done for our mutual benefit 🇦🇺🇪🇺 https://t.co/9aGVVWNQ17
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 6, 2023
Updated
Here are a few photos from the coronation of King Charles III overnight where prime minister Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon were in attendance.
Updated
Australia’s oil and gas producers welcome changes to PRRT
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) has backed the Albanese government’s proposed changes to the PRRT saying it will “see more revenue collected earlier to address budget pressures”.
In a statement on Sunday, APPEA chief executive Samantha McCulloch said the changes “aim to get the balance right between the undeniable need for a strong gas sector” and “more sustainable national budget”.
The announcement today will provide greater certainty for our industry to consider the future investment required to maintain both domestic and regional gas supply security for our customers.
Our investments support tens of thousands of Australian workers and deliver substantial economic benefits to communities across Australia.
PRRT revenues are already at their highest level ever, forecast to deliver revenue of more than $11bn over the forward estimates. The PRRT changes are forecast to deliver an additional $2.4bn over the forward estimates at current forecast commodity prices.
McCulloch called for a “bipartisan approach” to “provide certainty for future investment” and for the government to work “constructively and cooperatively” with the opposition.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has previously said limiting global heating to 1.5C as set out in the Paris agreement meant there can be no new oil, gas or coal investment beyond 2021.
Updated
Chalmers on relief for ‘more than one age cohort’ amid reports of broader jobseeker changes
Sky’s Andrew Clennell and the ABC’s Patricia Karvelas are reporting that the base rate of jobseeker may be lifted across the board, not just for the over-55s.
On Monday Channel Seven and Guardian Australia reported that the jobseeker increase was likely to be limited to over-55s – reports which treasurer Jim Chalmers cautioned may not be the full story, but did not contradict.
Asked on Sky if the jobseeker increase will be across the board, Chalmers said:
Well, this will be a responsible budget for Australians who are doing it tough and central to that … will be a cost-of-living package which is broader than what has been speculated on, which prioritises the most vulnerable people … and which applies to more than one age cohort.
We’ve already announced cheaper medicines, cheaper early childhood education, help with energy bills, and there will be the other elements to it as well.
This answer is consistent with a jobseeker base rate increase for all, or something else for all (like one-off payments). The treasurer has not contradicted but has not confirmed the report of a base rate rise for all.
For more, read The Guardian’s previous reporting on the speculation ahead of the budget:
Updated
Government repositioning on jobseeker
The ABC’s Patricia Karvelas says she has independently confirmed “from a few different sources” that there will be an “across the board increase to jobseeker”.
Karvelas made the comments during an appearance as a panellist on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday morning while discussing an unofficial leak of material that suggested the government was would raise social security payments to over-55s.
The truth is that the over-55s will get a higher boost, but I understand and had it verified from a few different sources that there will be an across the board increase in jobseeker. That wasn’t part of the deal the other day.
Updated
‘It’s tough’: Taylor on whether LNP can hold Fadden after Stuart Robert retirement
Taylor is asked whether the LNP can hold Fadden at the upcoming byelection to fill the spot left by Stuart Robert after he suddenly announced his retirement and says “it’s tough”.
That’s the nature of modern politics.
But.
But the point I would make is the real test right now is this inflation test.
Updated
‘Big spending budgets are inflationary’: Taylor
Taylor says a balanced budget is necessary to keep inflation in check and that “big spending budgets are inflationary”.
The more the treasurer talks about restraint, the more we know he’s planning to spend. That is the double speak we are getting from Labor right now.
Though he is not using the word, the word for what Taylor is advocating is an “austerity” – and the talking point is inflation, inflation, inflation.
I think it is a test of whether inflation is being dealt with. The truth of the matter is we know there is no bigger conversation around the kitchen table right now than this inflation that’s hitting. It is a tax on everyone and everything. We want to see a budget that deals with that.
Updated
Priority is ‘getting people into work, not cash splashes’: Taylor
Taylor wouldn’t be drawn to take an explicit position on raising jobseeker, but when asked said “there are a lot of vacancies in the economy”.
We have over 430,000 vacancies in the economy, that’s almost as many vacancies as unemployed Australians. We haven’t seen that ratio in living memory. This is an extraordinary situation. The priority right now has to be helping people into work. Sure, we’ve got downward pressure on inflation when they get into work, so real wages are strong, so that has to be the priority.
I think Australians understand that if you walk down the main street of any town or suburb these days, you see ‘work wanted’ signs in the windows. There is a lot of jobs around. Our challenge is to get people into work. That’s why the policies we announced on pensioners, the work bonuses it gets more people into work.
When pressed about whether the answer was “no”, Taylor said: “There are a lot of job vacancies, the priority is getting people into work, not cash splashes.”
Updated
Pay rises for aged care workers a decision for Fair Work Commission: Taylor
Asked about pay rises for aged care workers, Taylors says “this is a decision for the Fair Work Commission” but adds that if “government wants to help all Australians, all vulnerable Australians” the government has “to get inflation under control”.
The critical point is that inflation is impacted by the overall budget, not just an individual initiative. We have to look at this overall budget, when we see it and it needs to be a bud that will fight inflation, that will take the pressure off all Australians. It is a big tax on everyone and this is the best way for all Australians, including aged care workers, to be better off, to make sure that there is lower inflation and that they get stronger real wages as a result.
Updated
Angus Taylor says oil and gas companies already paying ‘a lot of tax’
Angus Taylor says the Coalition will wait for the detail on the proposed changes to the PRRT before it comments, saying that oil and gas companies already “are paying a lot of tax at the moment”.
These are complex taxes. Last time Labor brought one in was under Wayne Swan. Jim Chalmers was in that office. It was a complete dog’s breakfast, didn’t collect any real money and was a complete failure. They are very complex. The devil is in the detail. I won’t comment until I’ve seen the detail.
On the increase to the tobacco tax, Taylor says “when you are trying to fight inflation, when you want to get the price of something down, hitting it with a tax is not the obvious answer.”
Updated
Government to subsidise energy bills: Chalmers
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has flagged five million Australian households and one million Australian businesses will receive up to $500 to help cover rising energy bills.
Under the proposed package of measures, pensioners, small businesses and people on government payments will have their electricity subsidised by the government.
But the amounts on offer will vary depending on where a person lives, as the federal government had to negotiate with each state and territory government.
Chalmers told the ABC on Sunday the measure “will take the edge off what is the key drivers of these cost-of-living pressures”.
People will be getting several hundred dollars if they’re on pensions and payments, or a small business, but depending on where you live, depending on what the price pressures are, depending on how much the states and territories are prepared to kick in, because this is a co-investment with them.
Updated
Chalmers reveals energy bill relief package for ‘about five and a half million households’
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, also gave details about the energy price relief cost-of-living package.
He told Sky News:
About five and a half million households and around a million small businesses will be eligible for some energy bill relief worth several hundred dollars. And it depends where you live in the country and what the price pressures are. And it also depends how much the states and territories have kicked in because they’ve been kicking in half. So it’ll be different around the country, we’ve struck eight, different deals with different jurisdictions, around the country. But we hope, and we expect that it will take some of the sting out of these price rises, which are putting pressure on families, and households and small businesses.
Updated
PRRT changes on the cards
On Sky, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, was asked about the inevitable calls from the Greens and David Pocock to toughen the proposed changes to the petroleum resource rent tax.
Chalmers said:
Well, I’d encourage the parliament to support this. I mean, this is $2.4bn in the forward estimates, which wouldn’t be there were it not for the announcement that we’re making today. And so I hope that the parliament could find a way to support it. Voting against this, in the parliament, would be voting for lower taxes for these offshore LNG projects, and I don’t think, those crossbenchers want that outcome.
… Inevitably, when you’re making a decision of this type, there are some people who’ll say you should go harder and some people who think you shouldn’t make the change at all. I think we’ve struck a good balance here and the impact of that, the outcome of that means Australians will get a fair return on their resources sooner.
Updated
Treasurer spruiks PRRT changes and cost-of-living relief in budget
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has done a round of morning interviews discussing petroleum resource rent tax changes that will collect $2.4bn over four years.
Chalmers was also asked about cost-of-living relief and improving the jobseeker payment, after Guardian Australia and others reported that the government is poised to increase the base rate only for over 55s.
On Channel Seven’s Sunrise, Chalmers said the “cost-of-living package will be much broader than has been speculated on” – which confirms what we reported on Saturday that there are elements of the package that are not limited by age. But note, it doesn’t rule out that some measures will be.
On Channel Nine, Chalmers said the government’s aim was for the budget to be “part of the solution not part of the problem” and there are “finely balanced measures” to give relief but not add to inflation.
Chalmers was pressed about who the “most vulnerable people” are, and he said relief would begin with people “of modest means”, but that some measures would apply “to different parts of our community”.
Updated
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese is on his way home after attending the coronation of King Charles III overnight. Albanese, a “lifelong republican” described the coronation as a “historic event of enormous significance” before he boarded a plane back to Canberra ahead of Tuesday night’s budget. Opposition leader Peter Dutton, who was not invited, said the ceremony marked an “age-old tradition” that “brings with it both a sense of reconnection to history and regeneration in our times”.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is doing the rounds on media this morning ahead of the budget with appearances on Sunrise, ABC News Breakfast, the Today show and Sunday Agenda on Sky. The treasurer has been putting the spotlight on the government’s plans to help with cost-of-living relief, while at the same time trying to “set up our economy and our country for the future”.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be on the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2, where my DMs are open.
With that, let’s get started ...
