Scott Morrison says he's very conscious of the cost-of-living pressures Australians are facing and is carefully considering a response in next week's federal budget.
The prime minister was in Brisbane on Monday to launch a $1.8 billion joint investment between state, local and federal governments to facilitate more than 30 projects, as part of a "city deal" for southeast Queensland.
"We're very conscious of those cost-of-living pressures that have been caused by these awful events that we've seen with the unlawful invasion of Ukraine by Russia," Mr Morrison told reporters.
"The budget is on next week and we've been carefully considering our response to ensure that we can deliver a budget that both addresses those immediate needs but also ensures that we continue on with our strong economic plan."
There has been speculation the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will cut fuel excise from 44 cents in the litre of petrol as pump prices soar above $2 dollar a litre.
However, the Nationals, in particular, are reluctant to support such a move when the money raised goes into road spending.
"There is no silver bullet to cost of living pressures. There will be mechanisms and forces outside our control," deputy Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters in Toowoomba.
"We've got to be careful about our spending, because government spending will also put pressure on inflation."
The federal government is injecting $667.77 billion into the southeast Queensland city deal.
"It's everything from waste management to improving local amenities to major transport infrastructure particularly out there at the Gabba Hub," Mr Morrison earlier told 4BC Brisbane radio.
"And it's also about the jobs of the future."
Labor frontbencher Mark Butler said the South Australian election, which saw the Liberal state government ousted, showed people were worried about having their household budgets smashed by flat wages and rising costs.
"While you hear Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg consistently patting themselves on the back about the state of the economy, that doesn't reflect the real lives of working Australians," he told the ABC on Monday.
The government also announced a further $60 million for its recycling modernisation fund aimed at tackling problematic plastics such as bread bags and chip packets.
The investment, to be included in the March 29 budget, will increase the fund to $250 million, as it helps drive a $1 billion transformation of the waste and recycling sector.
Mr Morrison said the government was committed to stopping harmful plastics from entering the oceans, choking up waterways and destroying marine life.
Mr Frydenberg could hand down a much-improved budget position due to a strong economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and a commodity price boom caused by the war in Ukraine.
Deloitte Access Economics economist Chris Richardson is forecasting a deficit of $68.8 billion for the 2021/22 financial, compared with the $99.2 billion predicted in December's mid-year budget review.
Meanwhile, the government wants a significant shake-up of Australia's payments system aimed at supporting growth, investment, jobs and innovation.
"Cryptocurrencies and assets are a global phenomenon and as more Australians invest in these new asset classes and embrace the new technologies underpinning them, it is critical that we have a robust and competitive tax and regulatory regime in place," Mr Frydenberg said.
"Tax certainty for investors and those transacting will also be vital."
As such, the government has initiated a Board of Taxation review into the appropriate tax settings for these assets.
