Good morning. There will be a raft of reaction today after the federal budget was handed down late on Tuesday. You can build your own coverage here. A public memorial service for Shane Warne will be held tonight at the MCG after the cricket legend’s sudden death earlier this month – here’s how to get tickets or watch from home.
Josh Frydenberg is pegging his government’s re-election chances on a budget cash splash fuelled by a “remarkable” economic rebound, with $8.6bn promised for Australian households and billions of dollars of new spending for the regions, defence and infrastructure. Tuesday’s budget includes an extra tax cut for 10 million low and middle income workers aimed at softening the blow of rising inflation. The budget papers also show climate spending is expected to fall from $2bn next financial year to $1.3bn in the three years that follow. “If we move from Frydenberg’s rhetoric to content, we discover this budget isn’t a serious plan for the future crafted by serious people in serious times. This is a plan for the next few months,” writes Katharine Murphy. Here are six graphs that reveal the sugar-hit election strategy.
