Australia politics live: Sarah Hanson-Young waves dead salmon in Senate; Labor says Coalition would vote for budget tax cuts if they ‘cared about cost of living’

The next crossbench question goes to Monique Ryan, who also asks about the small business instant asset write-off. She asks if the government will pass the bill in the house today so it can pass through parliament this week. Julie Collins takes this one too, and says it’s the opposition who are holding up the bill. We introduced legislation in June because of course we saw those opposite did with the Instant Asset Write-Off last financial year and we want the certainty and support for small business… It only passed parliament in the dying days of the last financial year, so for this financial year of course if they want to make a commitment that we can get it through we will see what we can do. But more importantly we are looking at ways that we can ensure to give small businesses the certainty they need when it comes to the Instant Asset Write-Off and, of course, the targeted support we provide small business. So far today, the dixers have gone to all the points the government has been focused on in selling its budget. That’s tax cuts and the economy, health, women’s health, wages and the non-compete ban, education. The answers have included lots of ‘the opposition wants to everything but your taxes’ quotes in all shapes and forms. Sussan Ley takes the next opposition question The deputy opposition leader goes back to whether the government has provisions in the budget to continue the small business instant asset write-off past 1 July. Minister for small business Julie Collins answers: As the Treasurer has suggested, the Instant Asset Write-Off is for this financial year of $20,000 and, of course, those opposite have been playing around with this, as they did last year with the Instant Asset Write-Off. Last financial year it was only passed in the last week of parliament of the financial year. And we have our first point of relevance. Ley says Collins isn’t saying whether there’s money for the write-offs in the next financial year. Collins says: As a member opposite would know, it is around $290m of support for small business and, of course, it was in the budget and is part of our budget statement over $2bn of support that we have provided to small businesses over our term. Following on from our previous post … There is a some history of dead fish being used to send political messages. According to the Chicago Tribune, the former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel once sent a pollster a dead fish and a card that said “it’s been awful working with you”. That question from Watson-Brown wasn’t quite as exciting as what just happened over in the Senate… Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has just waved a huge dead salmon during a debate in the upper house. Yes, you read that correctly. Here’s what she said, before producing a dead fish the size of a small child: On the eve of an election, have you sold out your environmental credentials for a rotten, stinking extinction salmon? The senate president, Sue Lines, was far from impressed and told Hanson-Young to remove the dead fish, wrapped in plastic, from the chamber. It is a prop, remove it. Immediately. Liberal senator Michaelia Cash appears to have seen the funny side of it. At one point she had to turn around while laughing and covering her face. After a brief commotion, Labor frontbencher Jenny McAllister said: “my view is Australians deserve better from their public representative than stunts”. Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown asks: Australia’s biggest environmental organisation the Australian Conservation Foundation says you’re cutting of environmental laws with the Coalition today is a sell-out and means of nature is more poorly protected at the end of the Albanese government’s 3-year turn another start of it. Was the environment better protected under Scott Morrison than you and why has your government sold out the climate and environment? She directs the question to environment minister Tanya Plibersek, but Albanese picks up the call. I thank the member for her question and identifying a preference for Scott Morrison as prime minister. Compared with the Labor government that has put in place measures for the most serious climate change policy ever put in place by any Australian government in history. They have the hide to coming here suggest that Scott Morrison, you may well have been the environment minister as well, that is possible. So much contempt he had for the environment that when he made himself treasurer, Finance Minister, industry Minister and everything else, he forgot to appoint himself as environment minister. That is how much contempt he had for the environment. (Just a reminder for those who might have forgotten, this is a reference back to Morrison secretly swearing himself into several other portfolios during the Covid pandemic including treasury, finance, resources and health) Albanese ends listing off other environment and conservation programs the government has funded. We’re now going to small business support, and the small business instant write-off Angus Taylor asks whether it’s been budgeted by the government past 1 July this year. Chalmers – who’s been saying today that the legislation is being held up by the Coalition in the Senate. Not for the last time, the shadow treasurer is confused and he is confused between the instant asset write off that has been in parliament for eight months and being held up by those opposite, which is in the budget, confusing that with any future further assistance that we might give to small business. If he cares about small businesses he would tell his friends in the Senate to vote for our instant asset write off. Shadow trade minister Kevin Hogan gets the next opposition question Staying on the cost of living theme. He asks: The cost of groceries has increased by 30%. This means for the average family they are around $3,000 a year worse off. How will 70 cents a day in 15 months’ time help cash-strapped families like these? Chalmers goes straight back to the Coalition’s decision not to support the tax cuts It will help them with their combined tax cut of $50 a week to help them with the cost of living. If the honourable member really cared about the cost of living pressures that people are confronting, he would have voted for tax cuts. The consequence of the position that the Shadow Treasurer talked the honourable member into, is that a Liberal party came in here, given the opportunity to vote for lower income taxes and instead voted for higher income taxes. That is why I am told there is a bit of chirp on the backbench because people don’t think this is a good idea. Angus Taylor is back at the microphone He’s now asking about the impacts of migration on the cost of living and housing. Chalmers says on housing, the government is dedicating as many resources as it can to improve the housing construction pipeline (and points to $33bn costed in the budget to build more homes). What the shadow treasurer’s question refuses to acknowledge is net overseas migration is coming down substantially and we are seeing that in the budget numbers that were released last night. There was a spike after Covid and we have been responsibly managing down that net overseas migration in recognising that we have needed to do that … What we are doing on this side of the house is managing migration down, at the same time as we build more houses. The Coalition had previously promised to cut net overseas migration by about 25% but then walked back that promise. They haven’t yet laid out what their net migration target will be. The first crossbench question comes from Helen Haines The independent Indi MP asks why there’s no new funding for the growing regions program or the regional partnerships and precincts program in the budget. Chalmers goes straight to how the tax cuts will also flow to people in regional areas, including in her electorate, and the GP clinics that will benefit from higher Medicare rebates. He adds that there is already money flowing out of the two programs for regional infrastructure. We have invested a billion dollars, my colleague reminds me in those two funds, one of them $600m and one of them $400m and that is because we do believe in providing grant funding to the regions and we are doing that in the most responsible way. Those aren’t the only investments we are making in regional Australia. Think about the investments the Communications Minister is making in the NBN. Think about the investments we’re making in health care, regional education. There are a whole range of investments. Health Minister Mark Butler’s having his own fun He’s answering a dixer on Medicare spending, and the opening of new Medicare urgent care clinics. Butler gives a shout-out to Victorian Liberal backbencher (and member for Casey) Aaron Violi, who had a petition for a Medicare urgent care clinic. The opposition Leader and Opposition have called it wasteful and opposed this from day one. Like so many of the ideas from the Leader of the opposition, the backbench is starting to take a different view. The young edge energetic member for Casey back there loves urgent care. He has had a petition calling for Medicare urgent care clinic in the Yarra Ranges. Violi starts shouting back (we can’t quite hear what he’s said), but Butler continues: I say this to the member for Casey, we have got your back. Even if this bloke [Dutton] has left you high and dry, but I also say to the member for Casey, you shouldn’t be surprised, this guy has never liked free Medicare services. The second question from Angus Taylor goes to the budget being one for “the next five weeks, not the next five years”. Chalmers says if the opposition “cared about cost of living, you would have voted for our tax cuts”. It hasn’t dawned on the shadow treasurer that he is asking that question on the same day that he voted against tax cuts for every Australian worker. This was the consequence of the brain snap that the shadow treasurer had in budget lock-up yesterday, when he decided in the face of these cost of living pressures, to recommend to his backbench that they vote against a tax cut for every Australian worker to help them with the cost of living. Chalmers then makes a more personal sledge at Taylor: That is why they’re [Coalition backbenchers] all looking at their phones and their shoes because they know, once again, that the Shadow Treasurer’s been found out and he has been found wanting. This is why one of them described the shadow treasurer to The Australian as a “dead weight”. I couldn’t agree more. The first question from Peter Dutton is on tax cuts How does the “cruel hoax” of a cut help people pay for their mortgage and electricity bills? Anthony Albanese says – as he’s said before – this is part of an accumulation of tax cuts and cost of living help. The same guy [Dutton] who voted just earlier today against tax cuts – tax cuts where we’ve topped up the tax cuts from last year to deliver $2,500 for people, $2,500 in people’s pockets that they [the Coalition] said they would oppose before they saw it, and then they said they would roll back, and then they called for an election a year ago. That is how much they hated it. They hated tax cuts. This is the mob that want to cut everything to pay for $600bn of their nuclear reactors. Albanese goes to the other energy bill relief, medicare support and urgent care clinics that Labor will fund and open. It’s got a strong pre-election vibe. The chambers are filling up and getting louder which means it’s time for … you guessed it … question time! Post-budget QT is always a cracker so get excited. Nirvana album cover rejig makes a splash with treasurer What did Chalmers make of the newspaper front pages today? As the West Australian’s Katina Curtis gets up to ask a question… Chalmers: I don’t know about that front page today! Curtis: What have you got against Nirvana? (The front page was a pic of the Nirvana Nevermind album – the one with the naked baby in the pool – with Chalmers’ face Photoshopped on to it.) Chalmers: It was a bit confronting. Host Tom Connell asks the treasurer if he likes any of the front pages … he’s met with silence, and then some laughter. Treasurer says US tariffs pose risk to Australian industries and workers Chalmers is pressed further on what on earth is going on with the tariffs out of the US. He says the government has been given no guarantees by the US administration on a future exemption or carve out. We take no outcome or no option for granted, but we are engaging, as you would expect us to, wherever we can – we are engaging. And we’re speaking up for standing for Australia’s interest. You know, there are two kinds of concern associated with these escalating trade tensions for us. The direct impact on our industries and workers and businesses, obviously a big concern. But more broadly as well, these escalating trade tensions are very substantial concern … We will continue to engage where we can, will continue to speak up and stand up for Australia’s interest. Treasurer says Senate hold up of instant asset write-off for small business is ‘shameful’ Earlier we brought you some of the negative feedback from the council of small business organisations Australia (Cosboa) that there wasn’t enough in the budget for that industry. Chalmers says the extension for instant asset write-off is being held up in the Senate, and has already been budgeted for. I think that’s, frankly, shameful that it’s been held up, held hostage to some Senate shenanigans. We want to see that passed. We’re talking with the crossbench about that right now. We’re doing what we can to support them – energy bill relief, this instant asset write-off, supporting the hospitality sector with a tax break, extended practices for the ACCC to level the playing field. Chalmers says cutting cigarette taxes won’t ‘get the objective we want’ The next question goes to the tobacco excise, and whether it should be lowered to make the illegal cigarette trade a little less attractive. Money raised from taxing cigarettes is dropping – Chalmers says there are two reasons why that would happen. One is that “people give up the darts” (which he says would be a good thing) and the other is that more people avoid the tax and there’s an increase in organised crime (which he says is a bad thing). There was $188 million in resourcing for compliance and enforcement in January of 2024. We know we’ve got a problem there. We know we’ve got to do something about it. We’re not convinced that by cutting taxes for smoking we’ll get the objective we want. We think the better way is to invest in enforcement and that’s what we’re doing. Government’s past savings will help pay for tax cuts – Chalmers How will the government pay for the $17.1bn for tax cuts that come into effect over the next two years? Chalmers says the money the government has saved ($95bn over the past four budgets) is helping to cover the cost of living relief on offer. Asked another question on whether the government will promise to announce any other cuts to the budget before the election, Chalmers says: If they’re decided before the election, we’ll reveal them then. The budget is not 20 hours old yet. The best sense of what we plan to do in the economy is what’s in the budget – a couple of billion dollars of savings already. It’s normal in the course of an election campaign for there to be subsequent announcements and subsequent decisions taken and we’ll outline them in the usual way. Treasurer says ‘we know there’s more work to do’ on economy Chalmers gets a few questions from journalists on the budget bottom line, and whether the government should be doing more to address the structural deficit issues in the budget. Phil Coorey puts to him that the previous and last Coalition budget deficit only turned out to be 1.4% of GDP, where last night the government forecast a deficit of 1.5% GDP The treasurer says there’s “an appetite to rewrite that time and pretend away the fact that spending as a share of the economy was near a third of the economy and we got it down to closer to a quarter and that’s progress”. He also points to the savings that he and finance minister Katy Gallagher have banked to improve the budget bottom line. On whether the government could do more he says: We don’t pretend that the job is finished. One of the reasons we’re asking Australians, respectfully, for another term in government is because we know there’s more work to do. Dental could be added to Medicare some day – Chalmers When will the government add dental to Medicare? Chalmers says it’s a “crucial question” on how long it will take to help people who cannot afford to see a dentist. He says many have been lobbying and advocating for the inclusion of dental, but it all comes down to the cost in the budget: We’ve got to make sure that we can afford it and make sure there’s room for it in the budget. In this budget, the priority is incentivising bulk billing and women’s health, but that’s not to say that in some future budget under a government of either persuasion that we might find room from this. The Greens have been heavily pushing for this as well, and leader Adam Bandt said it was time to add dental in his interviews last night and to the House of Representatives today. Tightening immigration needs to be ‘methodical’ – Chalmers What is the government doing about migration numbers? Chalmers says the budget papers show a clear trend that migration numbers are dropping. He says that’s because we’re seeing the downhill slide of the post-Covid migration spike, and that the government has been trying to tighten the numbers of those who are brought in. But he says action needs to be “methodical”. We want to make sure that we manage down net overseas migration and do it in a considered and methodical way which recognises that there are genuine economic needs for migration as well. You won’t solve, for example, a housing shortage without sufficient workers, mostly by training them, but there’s also a role for migration. We’re managing it down in a considered and methodical way. There’s a role for migration in our economy and the best way to set policy is not to dial up division like our political opponents try and do. Chalmers says Labor spurring downward pressure on power prices Will the tax cuts get eaten up by higher election prices? That’s the first question to the treasurer, who says the government is doing “everything we can” to put downward pressure on electricity bills. The energy bill rebates have helped to bring down those prices now, while the energy transition continues. We know from the first two rounds that that has been helpful and meaningful. It’s been effective in limiting increases to power bills. Better than that – in the official CPI last year, the year to December 2024, electricity prices came down about 25%. In the medium and longer term, we are adding more cleaner and cheaper, more reliable sources of energy to the grid, and over time that will put downward pressure on prices as well. Quorum call thins the audience A little earlier a few of Jim Chalmers’ colleagues had to walk out of his speech while the house bells were ringing. Turns out Liberal MP Dan Tehan caused that by calling for a quorum (which means at least 30 members must go to the chamber). It was before debate started on a telecommunications amendment bill (so not one of the big or controversial pieces of legislation). Going back to Chalmers at the National Press Club, the treasurer is reacting to the Coalition not supporting the government’s tax cuts bill in the House of Representatives earlier today. Cutting cost of living help is the only motivation that seems to bind together this particular Coalition clown show. They’ve opposed cuts to student debt. They’ve opposed energy bill relief… And today they voted for higher taxes on Australian workers. It beggars belief that a Liberal shadow treasurer can recommend to his party and walk into the parliament and vote for higher taxes on Australian workers. But that’s what happened today. He also rebuts the criticism from the Coalition that this is a budget for five weeks and not for the next five years. A budget is never about one week or five weeks, it’s overwhelmingly a program for the years ahead. And that’s what ours is. But it makes the economic case for our re-election. Labor bringing on a debate over tax cuts is a tricky one for the Coalition, when they’ve previously said taxes would be lower under their government. Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio has weighed in on the plight of the Maugean skate, an endangered fish species threatened by salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour. As the Senate debated the government’s legislation to protect the salmon industry on Wednesday, DiCaprio called for action to ensure the skate’s future in a post to his 60.4 million Instagram followers. He said the Australian government was deciding the fate of Macquarie Harbour and had “an opportunity to shut down destructive industrial non-native salmon farms”. It’s not the first time DiCaprio has publicly advocated for a threatened species found in Tasmania. In February last year he called for an end to native forest logging to protect the habitat of the critically endangered swift parrot. Global shocks increasingly the norm – treasurer Chalmers is quick to highlight the risk trade tensions could have on the global economy. He says the escalating trade tensions risk becoming the fourth big shock in just 17 years, and says this is changing the way we see these economic shocks and respond to them. There’s a tendency to talk about economic shocks as punctuation – our break in the flow. But the last 20 years or so have proven global shocks in one form or another are now chapters in their own right. They no longer interrupt the story, they are the story. Earlier we brought you a clip of the PM saying “delulu”. We now have the footage of Peter Dutton talking about Uncle Arthur (who I learned today was played by Glenn Robbins). So here you go: Jim Chalmers is now talking at the National Press Club after handing down the budget last night. The treasurer begins by saying this speech will be the government’s pitch for re-election. I wanted to talk about how our economy is turning a corner, even as global conditions take a turn for the worse. I want to explain how seismic changes in the world validate and vindicate our strategy, rather than undermine it, and I want to lay out our government’s economic case for re-election. So far it’s all very similar to what he’s said since he handed down the budget last night. But for a little peak behind the curtains for what happens in the lead-up to the budget: I’m sure Katy [Gallagher] would now agree it’s not the most glamorous of rituals. The pile of boxes and a sea of tired eyes comes up the week and the weeks before. Wong vows to raise new ‘reprehensible’ letter with China The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has described another threatening letter sent to an exiled Hong Kong dissident in Australia as “reprehensible” and a “threat to our national sovereignty” and “the safety and security of Australians”. Earlier today, we reported on an anonymous letter being sent to the Adelaide workplace of Ted Hui, a pro-democracy campaigner, which offered his colleagues $203,000 for information on him and his family. Hui, who fled to Australia in 2019, was convicted in absentia for his role in pro-democracy protests. The letter, sent from Hong Kong, was received just days after China’s foreign ministry accused the Albanese government of interfering with its internal affairs. When Hui and Melbourne based pro-democracy campaigner Kevin Yam were the subject of similar letters earlier this month, Wong pledged to raise the issue with Chinese officials. Wong has now issued a fresh condemnation of attempts to intimidate Australian residents and citizens. Continued attempts to target individuals in Australia are reprehensible and threaten our national sovereignty, as well as the safety and security of Australians. Australia will not tolerate the targeting, surveillance, harassment or intimidation of any person in Australia by a foreign government. The Australian government and our security agencies are acting to keep Australians safe, protect their democratic rights, and support affected individuals and communities. Australia has raised, and will continue to raise, our concerns directly with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. How Labor put Coalition in a spot over budget tax cuts This is the message Labor was privately hoping would come as a result of their bid to rush the tax cuts bill through the House of Representatives this morning: “NEWS: Peter Dutton and the Liberals just voted against giving you more tax cuts,” Anthony Albanese tweeted just before midday, shortly after the Coalition had opposed the $5 a week tax changes in the lower house. As Krishani brought you earlier, while the Coalition did vote against preliminary motions in the lead-up to the final vote, the third reading vote – the substantive one that sees the bill finally be passed by the house – was passed “on the voices”, or without a formal vote being called. From video of the chamber, it appears the Coalition didn’t call out “no” on the final vote. But Peter Dutton and Angus Taylor have said since 7.30pm last night that they were against the tax cuts, calling them a “cruel hoax” and “election bribe”. Calling on the vote early on Wednesday forced the Coalition to put their opposition to the changes on the parliamentary record - and, presumably, they will go to the election pledging to repeal them. If you, like me, enjoy watching some of the sillier (or cringier) moments in politics, well here you go. Feast your eyes and ears on our PM saying the words “delulu” and “solulu”. What’s the chance it ends up at the end of Insiders on Sunday? Inflation fall is welcome news for Labor The Labor government will be pleased with today’s drop in inflation, with the headline rate now at 2.4% in the 12 months to February, down from the 2.5% reading a month ago. Importantly, the RBA’s preferred measure, the “trimmed mean”, is also slightly down. While another pre-election rate cut seems unlikely, the figures could spark some discussion that a surprise reduction on 1 April is still possible. Either way, the data is supportive of the incumbent government’s economic credentials, given inflation appears to be coming under control. It also dampens any lines of attack from the Coalition. After some debate, the leader of the House of Representatives, Tony Burke, moved to rush the legislation through so it can get to the Senate for debate and a vote this afternoon. On the vote to have the bill read a second time (a vote before the final one), all bar one crossbencher supported it, but the Coalition and former Liberal turned independent Russell Broadbent voted against. The final vote passed on voices, which means the Coalition didn’t arc up and call a division to officially oppose the legislation. It will now go to the Senate. Bandt says new tax cut ‘won’t help that much’ There’s plenty of debate going on in the house and the Senate over the tax cuts and salmon legislation. In the house, Adam Bandt (whose party will back the tax cut top up, but wants more tax for billionaires) spoke a bit earlier: These tiny tax tweak budget is a massive missed opportunity for real cost of living relief like getting dental into Medicare. Three cents a day in 15 months’ time won’t help that much when rent has gone up hundreds of dollars already. Independent MP Kate Chaney also entered the debate, saying we need an actual solution to stop bracket creep, which this one-time cut only goes some way to addressing. We rely way to much on personal income tax and a big driver of this is over-reliance on bracket creep … There’s only one honest long-term way to address bracket creep and that’s to index our tax brackets. The headline inflation rate was 2.4% in the 12 months to February, a slight decrease on the previous month’s figure, according to consumer price index figures released today. The Reserve Bank’s preferred measure for inflation – the “trimmed mean” or underlying inflation that strips out volatile items and various government subsidies – fell to 2.7% from 2.8%. The CPI data will help inform the next rate decision, scheduled for 1 April, the last before an election which must be held by mid-May. While the monthly figures can be volatile and are seen as less authoritative than quarterly data, they are still an important data point for the RBA to consider. The central bank wants the trimmed mean to ease back to the middle of its target 2-3% band. The RBA cut the cash rate by a quarter-point last month to 4.1% in the first reduction since the early days of the pandemic. Indigenous group welcomes budget childcare boost The peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children has welcomed the budget measures aimed at Closing the Gap and boosting access to childcare through the guarantee for three days of government subsidised care. The chief executive of SNAICC – National Voice for Our Children, Catherine Liddle, said early education and care was critical to closing the gap in outcomes for Indigenous children. Closing the Gap starts with our children, and the $5 billion commitment to reforming early education and care is an important foundation that will help shift the dial… We know investing in early education and care not only sets up our children to thrive, it makes all the difference to their life outcomes and builds stronger and resilient families where children are less likely to enter child protection and youth justice systems. Effectively abolishing the child care activity test for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children by guaranteeing 100 hours of subsidised care a fortnight for families, increasing workforce wages and establishing a $1 billion fund to build new centres are very welcome investments. Of course, there is so much more still to be done, but budget 2025 has made some significant commitments to fund much needed changes. Liddle said there were also missed opportunities, including that there weren’t more measures aimed at reducing children in detention and reducing the high rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children entering out of home care. Man held after allegedly ramming car into Hobart call centre Taking a break from the budget for a moment… A man who allegedly rammed his car into the Qantas call centre in Hobart has been arrested by police after the building was evacuated. In a statement, Tasmanian police alleged that about 9.30 this morning the man, who they said was armed with a knife, stole a vehicle before crashing it into the building in the Technopark area. Police said: Around 9.30am police were called to a report of a man behaving erratically at Moreton Crescent, Claremont, armed with a knife. The man then allegedly stole a vehicle and drove to the Goodwood area, where he crashed into a building on Longreach Avenue and entered the premises. Police were at the scene within minutes and took the man into custody. The building has been evacuated. Emergency services are at the scene and people are asked to avoid the area. There is no ongoing risk to the community. Delulu v Uncle Arthur in House of Reps OK, so going back to what can only be described as generational discourse warfare in the House of Representatives earlier, I’d like to add some context. Someone has thankfully chimed in in the comments, and told us Uncle Arthur is … The “daggy old uncle” character played by Glenn Robbins in the 1980s Australian comedy series The Comedy Company. (I have now learned something today – and shout out to Robbins TBH, he’s hilarious.) If you’re still confused about why Albanese was talking about the opposition being “delulu”, here’s some more info for you: Continuing from the last post … Other measures in the budget for First Nations people include: $33.6m over two years from 2025–26 to extend the Clontarf Foundation program for the 2026 school year to support school engagement for First Nations young men. $28.4m over four years from 2025–26 to construct urgent additional coastal defences on three low-lying islands to protect vulnerable communities and infrastructure against climate‑related flooding and erosion, subject to joint investment with the Queensland Government. $24.7m over four years from 2025–26 to improve access to culturally safe and qualified mental health support including scholarships for up to 150 First Nations psychology students to boost the First Nations health care workforce. $21.8m over two years from 2025–26 to continue to provide family, domestic and sexual violence services to First Nations women, children and communities. More on budget measures for Indigenous Australians There’s a few items in the latest budget for Indigenous people, with much of the funding focused on measures to improve infrastructure in remote areas, Closing the Gap target measures and improving communities preparedness for climate change in the Torres Strait Islands as well as mental health. The budget commits $506.4m over five years from 2024–25 to achieve better outcomes for First Nations people under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, with many targets stalling or worsening recently. This funding also includes $137.3m over three years from 2024–25 to help job seekers transitioning between the Community Development Program and the new remote employment service. The government has also pledged $70.9m over two years from 2025–26 to boost home ownership for First Nations families and build intergenerational wealth through Indigenous Business Australia’s home loan capital funding scheme. As already, previously announced, the government has announced a $50m measure to address the very high rates of food and groceries in remote community stores, to ease cost‑of‑living pressures and improve food security. Disability advocates say community left ‘holding their breath’ Advocates at People with Disability Australia have welcomed a $364.5m budget spend on new support but warn a lack of clear planning leaves their community “holding their breath”. PWDA’s acting president, Steph Travers, says dedicated funding was encouraging but recipients needed the certainty of a national agreement: We can’t be left holding our breath every time a budget is handed down, wondering whether these supports will be developed or still exist. People with disability deserve the security of a long-term, legislated commitment [which] will change lives and reduce strain on other government systems. The new spend is for support to help people with disability and their families, carers and kin access help from outside the government’s main support scheme, the NDIS. So-called foundational supports are meant to be provided by the states and territories from 1 July, but there is still no agreement on what those foundational supports actually are. The budget also saw the government add 3,400 jobs to the public service, a major chunk of which will go to the National Disability Insurance Agency, which Travers welcomed: In this case, more bureaucracy is good … these are the people that answer the calls on the end of a helpline, and these are the people putting together plans for the NDIS. Overall, the government will spend $48.5bn this year through the NDIS but expects cost will rise at a slower clip than it projected in last year’s budget, surpassing $60bn a year from mid-2028 instead of mid-2027. Greens label salmon farming amendments a ‘stitch-up’ The Greens environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, has told the Senate the government’s environmental law amendments prove Labor “cannot be trusted to do the right thing by nature”. Hanson-Young said the amendments to protect salmon farming in Macquarie harbour were being rushed through with “no proper process, no proper scrutiny”. She said there was no ability for the department or advisers to provide details on any potential consequences of the legislation. This is a stitch-up between the Labor government and Peter Dutton’s Liberal party, a stitch-up to gut Australia’s environment laws to facilitate the continuation and expansion of an industry that is polluting the Macquarie harbour and that is pushing the Maugean skate, our wildlife, to the brink of extinction … It’s all about bowing to the corporate pressure, bowing to the donors, hushing up the community concern [and] silencing the environment. Tax cuts face Senate uncertainty Jumping back into the tax cuts, here’s a little update on the parliamentary maths. While the vote will sail through the lower house due to Labor’s parliamentary majority, its passage is not guaranteed in the Senate at this stage. The Greens will support the tax cuts in both houses, and Jacqui Lambie will back the change in the Senate, but Guardian Australia understands crucial upper house crossbench votes including David Pocock and Lidia Thorpe are still considering their position. At this stage the government needs at least one more vote to get the tax cuts passed through the Senate. The Senate will be busy tonight – the government has just passed an “hours motion” to extend the sitting, with several key bills to be voted on past 10pm. That includes the EPBC changes relating to salmon farming in Tasmania, as well as the tax cuts bill. Inflation data to inform rates decision Monthly inflation data is due out shortly, which should provide some insight into whether mortgage holders can expect another rate cut in the near future. Economists at the Commonwealth Bank expect headline inflation to be unchanged at an annual rate of 2.5% in February. The Reserve Bank’s preferred measure for inflation, known as the “trimmed mean” or underlying inflation that strips out volatile items and various government subsidies, is expected to remain unchanged at 2.8%, according to CBA. Anything that differs greatly from these forecasts could shift the odds of another cut at the next rate decision, on 1 April. The market is pricing in an 8% chance of another 25 basis point decrease at next week’s meeting, according to the ASX’s rate indicator which tracks expectations through the pricing of cash rate contracts. The RBA cut the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.1% at its February meeting, representing the first reduction since early in the pandemic. The meeting minutes deflated the hopes of mortgage holders of another quick-fire reprieve in lending rates. X asks federal court to overturn ruling over eSafety infringement Elon Musk’s X is seeking the full federal court to overturn a ruling against the company last year, after X sought to argue it was not required to comply with an infringement notice and subsequent $610,500 fine from the eSafety commissioner because Twitter ceased to exist when X merged with it. The company’s barrister, Bret Walker SC, has argued before the full federal court on Wednesday that the original notice, issued to Twitter, effectively “expired” under Nevada law when the company became X. The federal court ruled against X late last year, with Justice Simon Wheelahan finding X Corp “failed to show that it was not required to respond to the reporting notice” related to how it tackled child abuse on its platform. The eSafety case seeking the court to penalise X has not yet been heard. Peak agricultural body labels budget ‘a single, small scoop of vanilla ice cream for the bush’ One of Australia’s peak agricultural bodies has criticised the federal budget for failing to adequately address the climate crisis. The GrainGrowers CEO, Shona Gawel, said in a statement on Wednesday that the budget “fell short of delivering the bold investments needed to unlock the full potential of the grain industry”. Despite the critical challenges climate change poses to agriculture, the Budget included only limited additional resourcing to support sustainability and climate resilience across the sector. Gawel also criticised the lack of additional funding for regional roads and freight routes and greater trade diversification, though she welcomed funding to support greater economic engagement with India. The organisation opened its statement by saying the budget was “like a single, small scoop of vanilla ice cream for the bush – predictable and lacking the flavour to truly satisfy regional Australia”. Bill to protect Tasmanian salmon farming debated in Senate Debate about the government’s legislation to protect salmon farming in Macquarie harbour has commenced in the Senate after passing in the lower house with support from the opposition last night. The Coalition’s environment spokesperson, Jonno Duniam, said “this government have stuffed it royally” and had left the senate with no choice but to consider an “11th hour fix to get this off the political agenda”. So here we are [with] this 11th hour fix, to try and get an issue off the political agenda, to make it not an election issue, so that they can go down the west coast of Tasmania and say, ‘we’ve fixed it. We’ve saved your jobs.’ Well, why was it not done before? Dutton says government choking housing supply while increasing demand Peter Dutton has gone the other way on generational references, by bringing up … Uncle Arthur from the Comedy Company. (Here’s a refresher if you need one.) The opposition leader is continuing the debate on these tax cut top ups in the house – this back-and-forth may go on for a while as MPs chime in with their two cents. Dutton says: Remember Uncle Arthur? There he was, where he was floating around, rambling around – [this] speech by the prime minister, which darted back to the Gillard years to project himself forward, he was stuck yesterday. What was that incoherent rant from this prime minister who is out of luck and out of time? Dutton’s putting forward his own election pitch to the people, and singles out the housing crisis. He accuses the government of choking supply while increasing demand, and says the government still hasn’t built a house under its billion-dollar programs. (It was revealed at Senate estimates that the government has bought homes but not physically built any as yet). You know how many houses they’ve delivered? I mean you would have thought, out of the four budget announcements, you would have thought, I mean, you would have thought – they’re promising 1.2 million homes – that maybe, after three years, I don’t know, maybe they’ve achieved 400,000 homes … You would have thought 100,000, it’s not 100,000 even. [It’s] not one home, not one home. It’s their housing crisis, at the same time that they’ve choked supply and they have increased demand for housing. The prime minister has gone gen Z … Mr Speaker, they are delulu with no solulu. What’s that, you may ask? To translate, he says the Coalition is delusional with no solution. Earlier the PM also took aim at the Coalition’s energy and economic plan, saying the opposition won’t be able to pay for their nuclear plan without more cuts. This guy [Dutton] wants a plan that will cost $600 billion that will produce 4% of Australia’s energy needs. That’s the most expensive form of new energy possible sometime in the 2040s – sometime in the 2040s – and a plan that the private sector won’t ever borrow, which is why it’s got to be funded by the taxpayer, which is why they will have to cut help to education, to services, to housing, to public servants, or cuts to everything. Except the only cut this bloke doesn’t want is a cut to people’s taxes. This debate has all the hallmarks of an election message, which I know we’ve been saying for weeks – but it feels like things are really heating up now, with the government trying to specifically wedge the opposition on tax cuts. Moving away from the tax cuts for a moment: Victorian independent senator Lidia Thorpe has responded to the federal budget, accusing the Albanese government of “losing interest” in Indigenous justice issues after the failed voice to parliament and the Uluru statement which called for treaty and truth-telling. It comes as no surprise that truth and treaty are completely off the agenda. The government had made clear they already broke that promise. This government started their term talking big about First Nations justice, and its first budget in 2022 gave us hope that First Peoples justice would be centred on the political agenda. Three years later, this budget offers so little – just more crumbs on the table. The Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung senator said most of the announcements were not new. Including $842m for NT remote community spending, we already know that a quarter of that – $205m – goes to the police, who will only hurt and criminalise more of our people and send more of our children into jail. This will widen, not close the gap. Thorpe also criticised a lack of additional investment in legal assistance services, or diversion programs for young people away from the justice system. However, she welcomed other budget measures including plans to improve the affordability of groceries and food in remote stories and mental health funding and the extension of the stolen generations redress scheme for survivors in the NT and the ACT. Government have navigated ‘turbulent seas’, Albanese says The PM is now up to debate on the tax cuts legislation: I’m looking forward to the leader of the opposition explaining to people why he doesn’t support tax cuts for Australians. But then again, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, Mr Speaker, because this time last year, they were in here, firstly saying they would oppose our tax cuts, then saying they would roll them back, and then demanding an election a year ago, just in order to stop hard working Australians getting a tax cut. Anthony Albanese says the government and treasurer, Jim Chalmers, have navigated the “turbulent seas” since the Covid pandemic, global economic uncertainty, and conflicts that have helped to keep inflation high. He reiterates the point that these tax cuts add to those that came into effect last year, plus the energy relief and Medicare funding that will help households. For those playing at home, here’s what’s going on in the house right now. So the government just moved to suspend standing orders – that means to stop the program for the house that they had already decided – to bring forward debate and a vote on their bill to legislate the tax cut “top-up”. The Coalition voted against the suspension along with crossbenchers Zoe Daniel, Helen Haines, Dai Le, Monique Ryan, Rebekha Sharkie, Allegra Spender, Zali Steggall and Kylea Tink. This doesn’t mean any of them will necessarily vote against the actual bill, they just voted against changing the program. (Haines’ office has confirmed she’s only against changing the program.) We also know that the Coalition had previously said it wouldn’t support the stage-three tax cut changes but came around and eventually voted for them, so anything could happen. Angus Taylor got up to speak after the vote: We saw interest rates that have been higher for longer in this country. And I talked about the average Australian family with a mortgage: $50,000 they had to find that they weren’t expecting to find. $50,000, Mr Speaker – his [Chalmers’] answer is 70 cents. You’ve got to be joking. You absolutely have. He has no concept for the pain that they are experiencing. Jim Chalmers is up in the house to bring the tax cuts he announced last night to a vote. He says cost of living is front and centre of the budget and the government’s economic plan. The Coalition has said they won’t be supporting the bill, which Chalmers has called a “brain snap”. To vote against this legislation would be to stand in the way of more hard-earned money staying in the pockets of every hard-working Australian. To vote against this legislation would be to stand against more cost of living relief that Australians need and deserve, Mr Speaker, now this is what those opposite are proposing with the shadow treasurer’s brain snap last night when he said that he would oppose more tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer. This is big wedge against the Coalition, and Chalmers is digging in, saying “on this side of the house, we proudly stand for lower taxes for Australian workers. We are for Australians earning more and keeping more of what they earn.” Labor has the numbers to pass the bill through the house, but will need crossbench support in the Senate. The Greens have said they’ll pass it, but the government will also need more support from independents. To give you a bit of a sense of what the morning interviews look like – all the TV networks set up their cameras in a parliament courtyard and Albanese, Chalmers and Dutton all circulate around for their allotted slots. You can see below just how close they’re all standing around each other: Who says you can’t have a bit of fun in politics? On News Breakfast earlier James Glenday made this playful dig at the end of his interview with Peter Dutton: Glenday: You didn’t answer my question at all but I appreciate you joining the show this morning. Dutton: I think that the way that you asked them in different ways was fantastic, James. That was very creative! I tell you what, there are only so many ways you can ask about what the Coalition will do on tax cuts (and I’ve heard a lot of them this morning). But we’d all probably still prefer a bit more accountability and transparency from those in Canberra … Budget tax cuts should be means tested, Lambie says Independent senator Jacqui Lambie was not happy last night when the tax cut top-up was announced, and she argued again earlier this morning that it should be means tested. She told Sunrise there’s a lot of “waste” in the budget because the support like the cuts and energy rebates aren’t targeted towards those who need it most. We spent billions of dollars giving people like myself and you, Nat, I’m sure you don’t need it, and neither does Jane Hume. She doesn’t need the tax cuts. If we target those people that [need] money down here we could have tripled what they’re getting. Lambie was on a panel with the shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, who is also no fan of the tax cuts. But Lambie also had some choice (and fiery) words for the opposition – particularly on their nuclear policy and plan to cut public servants. Oh my goodness, I cannot wait to see their budget reply on Thursday night. Have they become the Grinch, have they? … What is in your budget paper apart from you spending $360bn on [a] nuclear power plan that is completely going to blow out of proportion … Jane [Hume], I want to know this, this morning, are you going to go in and cut the veterans’ affairs [department] again? Are you going to put that [work] out to consultants? Because you took a lot of my mates out over that nine years and spent $20bn of taxpayers’ money to consultancy firms. Are we going back to those days, Jane? Help to Buy expansion ‘will not move the needle’ on housing affordability, advocates say Housing advocates have also accused the government of tinkering at the edges of affordability instead of addressing the issue. The federal government is expanding its shared equity scheme, which helps first home buyers into the market by stumping up 30% of the person’s despot for an established dwelling. It then gets paid back later. As announced before last night, the government will expand the criteria – single applicants now have to earn less than $100,000, and couples less than $160,000. Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said: Expanding the Help to Buy scheme may help some, but it will not move the needle on the housing crisis which is affecting millions of Australians. The housing crisis is deepening and hurting more and more Australians. We need a response that matches the scale of the crisis. We need leaders that will take bold leaps forward. The election is an opportunity for the federal government to offer the ambitious, visionary, and transformative solutions that voters are crying out for. Azize said there was broad support for winding back negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, and building more social housing. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, was asked on RN Breakfast why the government hadn’t lifted the rate of jobseeker, and instead chose to cut taxes. Chalmers said jobseeker is indexed (which means it automatically goes up every year – though advocates have said it’s by not nearly enough), while taxes are not. He also argues that other measures for health and education have helped those on jobseeker payments. The single rate of jobseeker, I think from memory, is $138 higher than when we came to office. And part of that, but not all of that, is that we gave a permanent increase to jobseeker in one of our budgets, we found room to do that from budget to budget, you use a different combination of ways to help with the cost of living in this budget, tax cuts for every taxpayer, strengthening Medicare, because more bulk billing means less pressure on families. Cheaper medicines, cutting student debt and the energy rebates as well. Budget has ‘betrayed welfare recipients’: Antipoverty Centre Antipoverty Centre spokesperson and disability support pension recipient Kristin O’Connell said: This is an irresponsible budget that once again has betrayed millions of welfare recipients and left us in deep poverty … This budget puts the nail in the coffin of Anthony Albanese’s cruel, false promise to leave no one behind. So-called energy bill relief does nothing to help when energy companies keep ratcheting up prices. The government needs to stop pretending to help poor people with more handouts for big business, landlords and corporate charities. For people on Centrelink payments life is harder now than it was three years ago, and this budget does nothing to change that. Lack of welfare increases in budget an ‘act of cruelty’, welfare groups say Welfare groups have accused the government of leaving the poorest Australians behind by not lifting the rate of welfare payments. The CEO of Economic Justice Australia, Kate Allingham, says the cost-of-living relief in the budget, including the $150 energy rebate and cutting the cost of medicines, will do little to alleviate pressure. Allingham said leaving vulnerable groups out is an “act of cruelty”. There are more than 1.5 million Australians who are living off working-age payments such as jobseeker, youth allowance and parenting payments. As an example, the base rate for jobseeker is $390.55 per week. Routine indexation that took place last week increased this by $1.55 per week. That is just not enough money for a person to live on. Carers, parents, students, people living with a disability or illness, volunteers, people in crisis, people who can’t work, low-wage workers or those who are looking to find employment – these are people that rely on our social security system. We should be investing in a system that financially supports people when they need it. It is an act of cruelty, to put out a budget promising to assist those struggling through the cost-of-living crisis and yet to completely ignore those most in need of economic relief. Budget bolsters Australia against global shockwaves – Chalmers On Donald Trump’s tariffs and the economic impacts of that, Chalmers says the budget has been designed to help insulate our economy against global shocks. Some of that is what the government has been saying before about diversifying trade, and putting our export eggs into more baskets. The other part of that, Chalmers says, is bolstering manufacturing in Australia. Are the tariffs keeping him up at night? asks Sally Sara. The treasurer said: These escalating trade tensions are obviously keeping us awake at night, because trade tensions are bad for growth and they’re bad for inflation. They are a big part, but not the only part of the global economic uncertainty, which does cast a dark shadow, not just over our budget and our economy but the budgets and economies of the world. Chalmers adds he still believes the economy will continue to grow – which is why the government keeps saying it has “turned a corner”. Small business group ‘disappointed’ at budget The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (Cosboa) told RN Breakfast this morning it was “shocked and quite disappointed” the budget didn’t have more for small business, and didn’t bring certainty on the instant asset write-off. Cosboa CEO Luke Achterstraat told the program: The government’s trying to make reassurances that they’ll have more to say about the instant asset write-off in coming weeks. But we’ve said that we need certainty about this program … So we were quite shocked and quite disappointed that, you know, the budget did not cater for that last night. Sally Sara put that a little earlier this morning to Jim Chalmers, who blames the Coalition. The treasurer said: If Luke is looking for certainty, then he should call the Liberal party and tell them to stop holding up the earlier round of instant asset write-off for small businesses. We are enthusiastic supporters of small business, whether it’s the instant asset write-off we’ve been trying to legislate, whether it’s the energy bill relief, whether it’s the competition policy reform to try and level the playing field, changes to the relevant acts to make it easier for small business. Tax cut tease? Dutton says ‘significant announcement’ coming in budget reply We haven’t gotten any details out of the Coalition on whether they’ll offer tax cuts, but Dutton did give us something of a forward sizzle on the budget reply tomorrow night. Thursday night will be a big night, because we’ll make a very significant announcement, and it will be about how we can help Australian families deal with Labor’s cost of living crisis. A “significant announcement” – we’ll try and see if we can get any more hints as to what that will be. But Dutton adds that on Thursday he’ll “start” to detail out the Coalition’s plan, but there’ll more outlined during the election campaign PM says government will work ‘constructively’ with Queensland on 2032 Games We’ve also had some reaction to the Queensland Olympics announcement that state premier David Crisafulli made yesterday. Albanese told News Breakfast a bit earlier that the government would continue to work “constructively” with the state for the Games. Our funding is is there for the Queensland Olympics. We’ll work constructively with the premier, we know that Brisbane 2032 Games is an opportunity for Queensland – and importantly an opportunity for the nation – to showcase us to the world, just as Sydney 2000 and Melbourne 1956 did. I’m sure they’ll be a tremendous success and we’ll work constructively with Queensland. Meanwhile, Dutton was asked on News Breakfast whether building a stadium at Victoria Park was “a good idea”. He said: I’m really excited about the announcement that the premier made yesterday. It’s been a couple of years of stuffing around and the premier, I think, has finally put out a plan which we can all accept, and which now we can get on with constructing. I think that the 2032 Games will be an inspiration… David Crisafulli has nailed it, and let’s get on with building it now and build a great opportunity for our country. Dutton reiterates public service cuts target of 40,000 What about public servants? The opposition has waged a war against the public service, saying they’ll cut down staff and make most of them come back and work from the office. Dutton tells News Breakfast he wants “efficiency” in the public service and will look to save money from the public service growth that’s been seen over the past few years. More than 3,000 public servants have been added in last night’s budget – which the government says is necessary (and you can read the details of that here). Host James Glenday asks: “Just to be specific - about 40,000 is the target to cut?” Dutton replies: That’s exactly right, and we’ve been very open and honest with that. Because we want an efficient public service, but growing by 40,000 the number of public servants in Canberra is not going to help families put food on the table or deliver the services that they need as a family or as a pensioner. And we will always manage the economy more effectively, and we will always keep Australians safe. Budget a ‘missed opportunity’ – Dutton The opposition leader is focusing on energy, migration, housing and security in his criticism of the budget. On ABC News Breakfast Dutton says the budget is a “missed opportunity” to properly address those issues: Labor’s created not just an economic crisis, not just a housing crisis, but a crisis of confidence… There’s nothing structural around the energy system of trying to address grocery price problems that people are experiencing every day in their own budgets. And that’s the missed opportunity of this budget. In this, and other interviews this morning, Dutton has said the opposition’s nuclear policy will bring down energy prices and be 44% cheaper than a renewable heavy grid. You can read more about the facts of the Coalition’s nuclear policy here: New tax cut a ‘rounding error’ – Dutton Peter Dutton has moved over to Sky News – the gist of the interview is: you’ll here more during the budget reply on Thursday. Host Pete Stefanovic tries to get answers on whether the Coalition will introduce tax cuts (something every journalist in the press gallery has been chasing), and when the opposition would be able to get the budget back to surplus. Dutton skirts the question on tax cuts and says: I’ll provide my response on Thursday night. I think the fact is that the government offering 70 cents a week in 15 months’ time is a cruel hoax. It’s not 70 cents a day, either way. It’s just a rounding error for families. I believe calling the tax cut top up a “rounding error” is a new one – we’ll see how many times it’s repeated. The government is trying to remain optimistic about the budget and the economy, despite the growing deficits. Albanese and Chalmers are both emphasising that the top-up tax cuts, in conjunction with their other policies on health and education, will make a difference for households. Are the tax cuts designed to win votes? Albanese says no, telling ABC News Breakfast: All of these measures are aimed at assisting Australians at a time when people are under financial pressure. We’re turning the corners. The economic figures that were put in the budget last night show that inflation, which had a six in front of it, now is at 2.4. Employment is continuing to grow, with 1.1 million jobs created. We’re continuing to see positive growth, real wages increasing. All of those measures mean that people will feel that support which is there, and the government is doing our bit by adding a top-up, if you like, for the tax cuts that we introduced last year. The economy turning a corner was a key moment in Chalmers’ budget speech last night too – and you’ll probably hear more of it in the lead-up to the election. Budget weather warms PM Albanese and Chalmers are doing their interviews this morning from a Parliament House courtyard. While the earlier budget (in March rather than the normal time slot of May) means the budget tree isn’t a stunning shade of red and orange, it does mean it’s not as freezing as it often is – something Albanese told ABC News Breakfast he’s pretty grateful for. One advantage that we have here in having a March budget is that it is a little bit warmer than it usually is in May. So I think that it is not a bad idea to maybe continue this! Lane also asks Dutton about the leaking coming out of his party room – which you can read more about from my colleague Henry Belot here: Does Dutton have his house in order? He says: When you look at where we are as an opposition, we are in the most significant position that an opposition has been in first term opposition’s been in since 1931, we’re on the cusp of bringing to an end a bad first term government. We have a sense of unity, as people have seen over the course over the last two and a half years, and not every day is going to be a perfect day in opposition, I can promise you. But what we’ve done is held the government to account. Peter Dutton is now on ABC AM. We know the opposition won’t support the top-up tax cuts, whi