Jim Chalmers

Deputy Liberal leader says Coalition should listen ‘very carefully’ to results of Farrer byelection. Follow the latest updatesFederal budget 2026: what we know so farSee all our Australia budget 2026 coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAsked last night about a possible Liberal/National alliance with One Nation, Jane Hume refused to reject the idea outright.Pressed on the possible scenario, she said “only One Nation are in favour of that” and wouldn’t talk about “what is going to happen after the next election”.The most important is to get the primary vote up for the Liberal and National party … There are so many hypotheticals … I will say that the Coalition are determined and dedicated to present to the Australian public a platform that they can vote for …There is no-one in the Coalition party room today that is telling us we need to expand the Coalition to include One Nation.The message we sent in Farrer was that the teals vote with Greens, 70% of the time and for the people of Farrer that wasn’t going to represent their interests … We will always put our preferences where we think the national interests lies, where we think the interests of the electorate lies and that is what we did in Farrer.They wanted change. Standing on a booth with teals in orange on one side and One Nation in orange on the other, both of them were saying ‘vote for change’.This is … a byelection that nobody wanted. It occurred only a year after the election, after a local member had retired, after a quarter of a century which is a long time to have a seat … There was no love lost for the Labor party either. It is just that the Labor party didn’t have the balls to turn up … The Liberal party lost its way. The Coalition lost its way. We split twice in the last 12 months. There is frustration out there. We will take the result with humility. Continue reading...

The treasurer also says May federal budget will play ‘helpful not harmful role in fight against inflation’Jim Chalmers has warned there will be little room for more cost of living support in his fifth and “most responsible” budget yet, as he ruled out an immediate extension of the 26-cent cut to the fuel excise and downplayed hopes for additional tax relief for workers.The treasurer also said Australian voters would forgive Labor for breaking a pre-election vow not to touch negative gearing rules for landlords, which is set to form part of a package that would also scale back the capital gains tax discount in the name of intergenerational fairness. Continue reading...

Treasurer plans ‘ambitious’ changes to target intergenerational inequity. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.Jim Chalmers will today promise to deliver a trio of “ambitious reform packages” in the May budget that will rebuild fiscal buffers, make the tax system fairer and lift the nation’s lagging productivity performance. The treasurer will be speaking at an event in Melbourne at 12.30pm. More coming up. Continue reading...

Economists predict RBA will raise interest rates this week and in May – days before treasurer unveils budgetFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHouseholds can expect significant additional cost-of-living pressures because of the war in the Middle East, with Jim Chalmers confirming that the government expects inflation to rise beyond 4.5% in Australia.But the treasurer said he did not expect the economy to fall into recession because of the war sparked by US and Israeli bombings in Iran. Continue reading...