Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

The Latest Breaking News from Chris Richardson

Treasury considering changes to Australia’s contentious tobacco excise, as calls grow for a freeze

The tax has climbed by 60% since 2020 and accounts for three-quarters of the legal cost of a packet of cigarettes

The Guardian - AU

Chalmers spins battery blowout into budget savings

Clever accounting has been used by the treasurer to claim the government's policy decisions improved the budget bottom line for the first time in eight years.

AAP

Mid-year budget update will project deficit of nearly $37 billion for current financial year

Wednesday’s budget update will project a deficit of $36.8 billion for this financial year, which is $5.4 billion better than forecast in the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook (PEFO) issued before the May election.

The Conversation

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Plea for spending cuts as banks tip interest rate hikes

Half of Australia's big four banks are tipping the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates at its next meeting as inflation is pushed outside the target zone.

AAP

Budget update to reveal Australia's fiscal fortunes

The federal treasurer says he's booked another $20 billion in savings in the budget update, but is keeping mum on whether that means a smaller deficit.

AAP

‘Pure political pork’: government ends energy bill rebate as treasurer flags ‘difficult’ budget decisions

Chalmers flags pressure on national finances as Reserve Bank contemplates possibility of interest rate rises next year

The Guardian - AU

Call to examine 'perverse' excise fuelling illegal cigs

Nationals leader David Littleproud says parliament needs to take a "courageous look" at the tobacco excise amid a surge in black market sales.

AAP

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

The Coalition says ‘Jimflation’ is wrecking the nation – but would we have accepted the alternative?

Public spending can drive inflation, but from healthcare to education, Australians expect more and better public services – and Labor provided

The Guardian - AU

Treasurer defends $4b hit from super tax backdown

An overhaul of a signature Labor tax plan will cost the budget billions, but the treasurer says it shouldn't be seen in isolation.

AAP

Cigarette prices to jump by almost 7% amid growing concern about Australia’s booming black market

Rise in tobacco excise kicks in Monday as experts warn ‘prohibition style’ approach is doomed to fail

The Guardian - AU

As the economy slows and productivity flatlines, is Australia having another banana republic moment?

In 1986 Paul Keating warned the nation was headed towards economic disaster without reform. Now, Jim Chalmers faces a similar dilemma

The Guardian - AU

Grattan on Friday: Can Jim Chalmers reap a healthy crop with the help of his big worm farm?

One observer describes next week’s economic roundtable this way: “Chalmers has opened a can of worms – and everybody has got a worm”.

The Conversation

If the economics of broadening or lifting Australia’s GST are challenging, the politics are horrendous

Labor is fundamentally opposed to changing the tax on consumption on the basis it hurts poorer Australians. And the worry about fairness is real

The Guardian - AU

‘The damage is done’: Why Trump’s tariff pause has not stopped the risk of global recession

Even with a 90-day halt on aggressive tariff hikes, leading economists say uncertainty has already caused considerable harm

The Independent UK

Get all your
news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One news app.

AAP

Up in smoke: billions wiped off tobacco tax forecast

A booming tobacco black market has created a taxation deficit and forced a belated national crackdown on dodgy retailers and criminal gangs.

AAP

'Optimism' in budget as Australia seen turning a corner

The cost of living will be centre stage in the government's budget as many continue to do it tough, but a cabinet minister says there is reason to have hope.

The Conversation

View from The Hill: 5 things to look for in the budget – and why we really need another budget soon

Jim Chalmers likes to boast, or marvel, that he is the first treasurer since Ben Chifley to deliver four budgets in a term.

The Conversation

View from The Hill: Alfred forces Albanese into budget of risks and opportunities

The “maybe” March 25 budget is now a definite, the government’s hand forced by Cyclone Alfred.

Get all your
news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One news app.

AAP

Labor set for budget boost thanks to higher tax take

Australia's bottom line will be $11 billion better off, if the government releases a budget before the election, a leading economist predicts.

AAP

Coalition, Labor miss the mark on $347b spending claim

The opposition's claim Labor has added $350 billion in spending omits the impact of inflation, while Labor's response misconstrues the coalition's planned cuts.

AAP

Crackdown on tobacco research, phoenixing boosts budget

Policy decisions will result in a $17.5 billion deterioration of the federal books, even as tax crackdowns boost revenue, a mid-year budget update predicts.

AAP

Hint of consumer recovery to keep RBA focused on prices

Australia's retail sales enjoyed a boost from an early start to Black Friday discounting and recovering bank balances following tax cuts.

The Conversation

Grattan on Friday: Donald Trump’s win will make 2025 even more challenging for Anthony Albanese

Early Wednesday evening, Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan raced down the Parliament House stairs to collect a bag of McDonald’s from an Uber. To celebrate Trump’s victory, he called out as he ran.

AAP

Chalmers threads budget needle with difficult economy

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is confident he can beat inflation in the near term while gearing up for growth in a low-carbon world in his government's third budget.

AAP

'Under the pump': expenses help for battling families

Cost-of-living support will be a key focus in the Albanese government's third federal budget, which will be handed down next week.

1 2 3

People

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Organisations

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Topics

Places

Fourteen days free

Download the app

One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.