The federal budget is less than three weeks away.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers still has a lot to do between now and then, including releasing a number of important reports.
He wants his budget to provide cost-of-living relief for households, and to support employment and wages for workers, in line with voters' wishes from the election.
But he has recently returned from Washington DC, where he was warned by the International Monetary Fund of the coming slow-down in the global economy.
Here's what's happening as we countdown to the budget on 9 May.
Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee: Just released
This report was released late yesterday afternoon.
The Albanese government established this committee last year after a deal struck with independent senator David Pocock in return for his support for the government's industrial relations legislation.
The committee is supposed to become a permanent feature of Australia's political landscape.
It will annually review the adequacy of income support payments, such as JobSeeker, and investigate ways to reduce barriers to work for the long-term unemployed.
This is the first of its pre-budget reports to be produced. Here are some of its 37 recommendations:
- The current rate of the JobSeeker payment, and related working-age payments, are "inadequate," and the government should commit to a "substantial" increase in the base rates of those payments.
- The government should commit to increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance and reform its indexation.
- The government should commit to "full employment" as a critical means of maximising economic inclusion. The appropriate full employment target for labour utilisation, based on recent labour market outcomes, should be a rate of unemployment close to 3.5 per cent.
- The commitment to full employment should be given increased weight in the design of macroeconomic policy — both monetary and fiscal.
- The government should commit to a target for a much lower rate of labour market underutilisation.
Treasurer Chalmers has already ruled out increasing unemployment benefits to adequate levels in next month's budget.
However, he said the recommendations will be considered in some of the government's other initiatives currently underway, such as the development of its Employment White Paper, its Measuring What Matters Statement and its Early Years Strategy.
Women's Economic Equality Taskforce: Just released
This advice was released on Wednesday morning.
It's from the Women's Economic Equality Taskforce. It lists the taskforce's priorities for how the upcoming budget could improve women's economic equality.
The government received the advice last month. Here are some of its recommendations:
- Reinstate the Parenting Payment (Single) for women with children over eight years old. The taskforce says this will more appropriately classify single mothers as doing parenting work, rather than as being unemployed.
- Abolish the Parents Next program. This should be accompanied by a commitment to reinvest in a new evidence-based program co-designed with young parents, and based in principles of encouragement, support, flexibility and meeting their needs.
- Abolish the Childcare Subsidy Activity Test.
- Pay superannuation to primary carers while they are on Paid Parental Leave.
- Increase the rate of Commonwealth Rental Assistance to improve women's immediate housing security.
- Invest in an interim pay-rise for all early childhood educators and aged care workers in recognition of the historical undervaluation of their work and the urgent need to retain and attract workers to the sector.
Katy Gallagher, the minister for women, said she welcomed the taskforce's recommendations.
"We are considering the taskforce’s recommendations in the context of the 2023-24 budget, including what we can responsibly deliver in a tight fiscal environment," she said.
Reserve Bank review: Out very soon
The Albanese government initiated a review of the Reserve Bank last year.
Mr Chalmers received the report from the review panel late last month, but he's yet to release it.
On Monday, he said it would be released very soon, either this week or next.
He said he had already discussed the contents of the report with RBA Governor Philip Lowe and he'd like to talk with the Opposition and crossbench MPs about it.
He plans to release the review's 51 recommendations before the budget, along with his initial view of those recommendations.
"There are some recommendations which would require legislative change, there are some that would require the Governor and the Board to change the way that they go about things at the bank, [and] there are some pieces of it which will factor into the statement of conduct of monetary policy," he said on Monday.
When asked by Bloomberg TV if Australians could expect a major shake-up of the RBA, he said some major aspects of monetary policy would remain in place.
"Obviously inflation targeting is a really important role and I wouldn't expect there to be substantial changes there," he said.
"Nor would I expect there to be a winding back of the independence of the Reserve Bank, which is a key feature of our central bank in Australia," he said.
Treasurer's Investor Roundtable: Friday
On Friday this week, Mr Chalmers will convene his second "Investor Roundtable" in Brisbane.
He announced this series of roundtables in October.
The roundtables are for leaders from the investment community including from some of Australia's largest superannuation funds, the major banks and global asset managers, to identify and overcome barriers to investment.
Each roundtable is focusing on a separate investment class of national importance.
The first roundtable, in November, discussed the problems in Australia's housing sector.
The focus of Friday's meeting will be "cleaner and cheaper energy," with a particular focus on the investment climate for clean energy in Australia and around the world.
Mr Chalmers said he wants to broaden and diversify Australia's industrial base to take advantage of the "immense opportunities" that will come from the shift to net zero, particularly in the context of developments in the United States.
He said the government was also reaching the conclusion of its discussions with state and territory leaders about energy rebates and household assistance for electricity bills.
"The energy assistance, household assistance and small business assistance will be a centrepiece of the May budget," he said this week.
"Ideally, I can update you on those negotiations with the states and territories before then, but certainly at the very latest in the budget," he said.
Petroleum Resource Rent Tax report: In government hands
Treasury officials recently handed the Treasurer a report that recommends ways to substantially reform the $2 billion-a-year petroleum resources rent tax (PRRT).
The tax applies to gas and oil projects in offshore waters.
Treasury officials were originally asked to review the effectiveness of the PRRT by then-treasurer Scott Morrison, but their work was paused during COVID and only restarted towards the end of last year.
"I have now received the report from Treasury, the advice which is the culmination not just of the work that they have been doing in Treasury over the life of two governments, but also the substantial consultation that they've been engaged in over a long period of time now," Mr Chalmers said on Monday.
"We will come to a view on it at some point, I'm not prepared to say yet whether that will be before or after the budget, we haven't decided that," he said.
"But we are working through it right now in a methodical way, considering the recommendations and suggestions and proposals that the Treasury have put to me."
