Budget

An independent economist has laid the blame for the ACT's financial woes at the feet of the government, saying it's "entirely" due to policy decisions. But even he agrees the territory is uniquely challenged in its ability to raise revenue.

WA is desperate to retain the GST deal it struck with Scott Morrison as the Productivity Commission looks to rein in cost blowouts, and says exempting 25 per cent of mining revenues could help.

Tasmania's Department of Treasury and Finance has issued a dire warning about the state's finances, and says there are no easy fixes.

A government source said it would make sense to consider changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax together, but that no decision was close to being made.

The Tasmanian government is considering reducing the superannuation given to high-earning public servants as a way of reining in its $7 billion unfunded superannuation liability, the ABC understands.

Council amalgamation is being discussed in South Australia, where multiple local governments have been ranked as unsustainable.

Angus Taylor wrote to the prime minister pitching the plan just days after being elected leader of the Liberal Party. 

Pauline Hanson might not have any substantive policies, but her rhetoric about reducing migration is clearly finding an audience.  

As the opposition and government wrestled in the hay barn over who's to blame for this week's Reserve Bank interest rate increase, there's a much bigger story unfolding in the wings.

Temporary teachers in Indonesia paid low wages criticise a government decision to direct one third of yearly education funding to the president's flagship free meals program.

The ACT's mid-year budget papers show the deficit has been reduced by more than $600 million but has not met the government's forecast.

The federal government has a variety of options available if it wants to do more to stave off inflation, but none are popular.

The Commonwealth will try to force a deal on hospital funding at a National Cabinet meeting this week, after months of stalled negotiations with angry state leaders, who say the federal government is not contributing its fair share.

For most other governments, a $2.5 billion surplus would be news to shout from the rooftops — but in WA's case, it's a headache with little prospect of relief.

Labor has two options when it comes to straddling a budget in the red and accusations it has become a green Grinch on health funding.

Today the federal government pressed ahead with releasing its mid-year budget update, showing a reduced deficit for this financial year but little change to the long-term forecast of deficits in the next decade.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher hand down their first budget update since the 2025 federal election.

A combination of savings and higher tax takes have delivered an $8.4 billion improvement to the federal budget's bottom line, the mid-year update is expected to show when it is released on Wednesday. 

The Queensland LNP government says it aims to roll out 2,600 new hospital beds across the state by 2032 at a cost of about $18.5 billion.

The reforms have unleashed a wave of confusion and despair amongst hundreds of thousands of elderly Australians, from those wanting care to those who already have it.