They’ll see that it is broader than any one initiative. “People will see our cost of living package on Tuesday night. Guardian Australia and other outlets have reported that the increase in the jobseeker base rate is likely to be limited to people aged over 55.Ĭhalmers said that pre-budget speculation is “very rarely the full story”, hinting at further measures, believed to be one-off payments that apply irrespective of age. The government has been pushed by its poverty experts on the economic inclusion advisory committee for a “substantial” increase in “seriously inadequate” jobseeker payments and by the women’s economic equality taskforce to abolish the activity test for childcare subsidies, which is not expected in the budget. On Friday the government revealed it will create a national net zero authority, delivering on unions’ expectation of an authority to help the energy transition and redeployment of workers. “Clean energy will be absolutely front and centre.” “The clean energy transformation is the most important part of our plans to grow the economy in the budget,” he said. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup “Our job in this budget is to provide responsible cost of living relief, targeted to the most vulnerable people in ways that don’t add to inflation, at the same time as we show spending restraint in the budget and invest in the drivers of growth including in areas like the clean energy transformation,” Chalmers told the Guardian.Ĭhalmers said energy bill relief would “take some of the edge off” higher electricity prices and inflation while energy transformation would help make Australia “more resilient to international shocks like the war in Europe”. With inflation having reached its peak, real wage growth is now expected by early 2024 and unemployment to peak at 4.5% in 2024-25.Ĭhalmers revealed updated forecasts on wages, with real wage growth of 0.75% for the year to June 2024, up half a point since the October budget, and on unemployment, predicted to be 3.5% in the June quarter of 2023 and 4.25% in the June quarter of 2024, both an improvement of a quarter point since October.Īfter the 11th consecutive interest rate rise on Tuesday, Chalmers said the budget’s impact on the economy was “broadly neutral”, noting the Reserve Bank’s governor, Philip Lowe, had acknowledged the government “is not making his job harder”. But on the surplus which senior economists including Chris Richardson believe is within reach, the treasurer insisted the “final numbers” would be revealed on budget night.

Promises pomegranates