Labor will deliver a $300 energy rebate to every Australian household as the $3.5bn centrepiece of a cost-of-living budget likely to reignite political debate about whether the Albanese government is doing enough to fight inflation.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has revealed the federal budget’s second surplus in a row, of $9.3bn, chased by a $28.3bn deficit in 2024-25 due to a raft of “unavoidable” investments in government services and a $7.8bn cost-of-living package.
