Good morning. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, delivered a “no surprises” budget yesterday, but there’s plenty to dig into – with inflation, debt and cost-of-living pressures paramount, and a tricky political tightrope to walk. Overseas, the UK’s new prime minister is pulling together a fresh cabinet, and Russia is making new claims over a supposed “dirty bomb” in Ukraine.
The Albanese’s government’s first budget has been defined by spending restraint in the face of skyrocketing inflation, Jim Chalmers says, as the country faces a “complex combination” of economic pressures that pose further risks to households. The treasurer also flagged the need for tax reform. “Restraint is the name of the game in this budget,” he said. Here are this budget’s winners and losers, and six graphs to put it all in perspective.
Guardian Australia’s political editor, Katharine Murphy, says the budget has been framed in the shadow of the chaos in UK politics: “In scary times, being crazy brave can get you killed,” she writes. “So the no surprises government delivered the no surprises budget, with no cash handouts to help with living pressures.” It’s a budget that builds “signposts for the future”, hoping that future isn’t just “constant crisis management”.
Labor has overhauled Australia’s climate spending, redirecting nearly $750m in Coalition commitments, including some spending on gas and carbon capture and storage. The budget also revealed: $1.2bn of practical measures to close the gap, including $75m for a referendum for an Indigenous voice to parliament and $5m for a truth-telling commission; $200m for additional help for Ukraine and $500m to support Australian veterans and their families; and an additional $83.7m over four years for the ABC to restore funding lost from the Coalition’s freeze on annual funding increases.
And in world politics, the UK’s new PM, Rishi Sunak, has made the first appointments of his cabinet reshuffle by keeping Jeremy Hunt as chancellor and appointing Dominic Raab as deputy prime minister and justice secretary, after the departure of nearly a dozen cabinet ministers including Jacob Rees-Mogg, who left a typically idiosyncratic handwritten note referencing a 15th-century battle.
Australia
Alcohol-induced deaths are at their highest rate in 10 years, and one doctor says a quarter of his hospital’s ICU resources are being used to treat critical illness directly related to alcohol consumption.
The New South Wales government faces the possibility of losing two sitting Liberal MPs in bitter preselection contests as it deals with an ever-growing list of senior ministers departing at the next election.
Families of students with disabilities, and their advocates and allies, are pushing to reform Queensland’s school system to prevent students being excluded based on their disabilities. Hazel Lloyd turned to home schooling her son, Taylor, 15, after being unable to get him included in mainstream classes at his high school.
A convicted murderer wants to recall his unexpected guilty plea after claiming he confessed out of fear his wife could come after him, a Sydney appeal court has heard.
The world
Russia has stepped up its rhetoric over a supposed Ukrainian “dirty bomb”, delivering its claims to the UN in a letter. It is feared to be a ruse setting up a pretext for Russia’s own plans for escalating the war. Meanwhile, a Russian court has rejected an appeal by US basketball star Brittney Griner against her nine-year prison sentence on drug offences.
Adidas has ended its partnership with Kanye West, saying it “does not tolerate antisemitism” after the rapper made “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous” comments.
Five Palestinians have been killed and 21 wounded in a huge raid by Israeli forces in Nablus, one of the deadliest operations so far during a year of mounting violence in the occupied West Bank
Norway has arrested a man claiming to be a Brazilian academic whom it suspects of being a Russian spy.
The whistleblower who revealed how Uber flouted the law has called on European lawmakers to tackle the “disproportionate” and “undemocratic” power held by tech companies.
Recommended reads
Deni Todorovič has been a big name in fashion for more than a decade, having worked as a celebrity stylist and fashion editor at Cosmopolitan magazine. Todorovič’s own family has been a source of strength for the style icon turned author; a pair of slippers gifted by their grandmother has become a prized possession. Here, Todorovič tells us about that special pair of footwear and other important personal belongings.
If you are casting about for a movie to watch this Halloween, you have to watch – or rewatch – It Follows, which is heart-racing perfection, according to Adam Fleet.
After a difficult few years, therapists are tired, busy and exhausted. “Many in my field are struggling,” writes Ahona Guha. “There is an iceberg heading our way, and it’s the iceberg of therapist burnout.”
Listen
Labor’s first budget in a decade warns of dire economic conditions on the global stage and the risks of rising inflation. It delivered on promises made on childcare, parental leave, housing and skills but deliberately contained no surprises. In today’s Full Story, Laura Murphy-Oates talks to Guardian Australia’s editor Lenore Taylor and political editor Katharine Murphy about Labor’s plans for the nation and how it intends to roll out its progressive policies slowly and steadily.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Marcus Stoinis has smashed one of the fastest half-centuries on Australian soil to seize control of Australia’s T20 World Cup match against Sri Lanka and deliver a much-needed win after a shaky start in Perth.
Ever since the 2022 Fifa World Cup was awarded to Qatar in 2010, there has been much talk about the human rights implications of the tournament. Australia’s governing body, Football Australia, has been relatively quiet on the issue with Socceroos players so far taking the lead.
Media roundup
Good news: the La Niña weather system that has broken rainfall records across Victoria and New South Wales is predicted to ease in December, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. And the Herald Sun covers a federal court action in Melbourne against foreign affairs minister Penny Wong by Russian oligarch Alexander Abramov, who says Australian sanctions against him were based on false information.
Coming up
There will be a flurry of post-budget interviews on Wednesday.
Inflation figures will be released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
And if you’ve read this far …
An Iranian hermit nicknamed the “world’s dirtiest man” for not taking a shower for more than half a century has died aged 94. In 2014, the Tehran Times reported that Haji believed that cleanliness would make him ill. A few months ago, villagers had persuaded him to wash for the first time.
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