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Young skilled workers needed in Australia: Tehan
By Caroline Schelle
The Coalition’s immigration spokesman has been questioned about whether he believes migrants are helping to avoid a recession in Australia.
Dan Tehan was on RN Breakfast this morning and was asked about the government’s plan to overhaul the migration system and about suggestions the numbers of migrants were going down.
He said evidence showed there would be 715,000 people would be migrating to Australia in the next two years.
“Actually, what we’re going to see in this budget is infrastructure spending delayed, so you’re not going to see it improve ... [People are] going to say where is the plan to deal with the pressure this is going to put on our health services right across the country, which are already under severe pressure,” Tehan said.
Tehan was also asked about whether he believed migration was helping the country avoid recession, which leading economist Chris Richardson has said.
In response the MP said the government needed to bring in young skilled workers to deal with workforce shortages.
But he was pushed on the issue by host Patricia Karvelas.
Here’s part of the exchange, edited for length:
Karvelas: Do you accept though that migrants are helping us avoid a recession in this country?
Tehan: I’ll go back to what I said ... you bring in young skilled workers that are addressing workforce shortages that helps your economy if you bring in 715,000 people without a plan it doesn’t. It actually is a negative to your economy.
Karvelas: So are you saying Chris Richardson is wrong?
Tehan: No I’m not saying [he’s wrong], I’m just saying that a blanket statement like that actually needs to be defined because when you look at what the Productivity Commission has said and others, it’s the type of migrants coming into your nation, which helps build a sustainable economy. What Labour’s doing is putting pressure on our economy in the longer term, on housing, on rents on our health services.
Tehan says budget surplus a ‘one-off’
By Caroline Schelle
We will leave the treasurer, and turn to the opposition’s immigration spokesman Dan Tehan.
He was on ABC Radio this morning and was questioned about the budget and surplus, which Jim Chalmers earlier described as the “biggest turnaround on record”.
RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas asked the politician whether the Liberal Party lost the claim of being the better economic managers because of the $4 billion surplus.
Dan Tehan (centre) says the government’s surplus is a one-off.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“No, it’s not because it’s based on higher taxes,” Tehan said.
“What we’re going to see ultimately is bigger spending as well over the forward estimates ... it’s a one-off budget surplus based on the highest tax take that this nation has seen since 2008,” he said.
He said spending would increase in the coming years and that would plunge the budget back into a deficit.
“What I would give them credit for is if there were ongoing surpluses, if there was a plan to deal with inflation and if there was a plan to deal with the net overseas migration numbers.”
Treasurer promises ‘broader’ cost of living support
By Rachel Clun
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says many households will get help with cost of living pressures in today’s budget.
“The cost of living relief in this budget is broader than what has been speculated on. It has a number of elements it won’t all be limited by age or by other distinctions,” he told reporters this morning.
“There will be help for the most vulnerable but also for middle Australia as we get through these difficult times together and lay the foundations for a much better future.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he is proud of the budget he will deliver tonight. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The treasurer is less than 12 hours away from delivering his second budget, and the government has already announced it will contain cost of living measures worth $14.6 billion over four years.
Chalmers has also revealed it will be the first budget in 15 years to deliver a surplus – the government has forecast a surplus of about $4 billion for this financial year.
The treasurer said while the surplus was a welcome improvement, the structural pressures on the budget will intensify.
“We will be making a structural difference to the budget, a positive structural difference to the budget tonight, but we understand that the job’s not finished,” he said.
“It’s not my style to make ‘Back in Black’ mugs like my predecessor did … frankly, I’m taking a much more cautious approach.
“I’m proud of the budget that we are handing down tonight, I’m proud of the discipline that has meant that we are now forecasting a surplus for this year. But a much stronger budget position isn’t an end in itself.”
Telstra customers experience outage, unable to make or receive calls
By Olivia Ireland
In non-budget news, Telstra customers say they are unable to make or receive phone calls as the telecommunications provider confirmed it was working urgently to resolve a widespread issue.
The outage was first reported last night when some mobile customers reported problems with their service.
Telstra is experiencing a widespread outage.Credit: Bloomberg
“We’re sorry for the late-night hassle and our technicians are working urgently to fix the issue,” Telstra said yesterday.
The outage continued into this morning and Telstra advised affected customers to try to make a data call using Wi-Fi instead. Triple zero and mobile data is not affected.
Treasurer hits back at claims budget surplus due to coal prices
By Caroline Schelle
The treasurer has been questioned about whether the budget surplus is entirely due to resources prices.
Jim Chalmers also hit out at claims that “anyone” could have delivered a surplus during his press conference in Canberra this morning.
It comes after shadow treasurer Angus Taylor repeated comments today that a “drover’s dog could deliver a budget surplus”.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers lashed claims the budget surplus was due to coal prices. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“Angus Taylor’s argument seems to be that anyone can deliver a surplus except for the Liberals in office,” Chalmers said this morning.
“They [the Liberals] promised a surplus in their first year and every year thereafter and didn’t deliver a single one,” he said.
The treasurer was also asked about whether the $4 billion surplus was due to coal prices, as Nationals MP Matt Canavan suggested.
“Of course not,” Chalmers said.
“The resources sector is making an important contribution to the budget but not the biggest contribution,” he told reporters.
“A fifth of the upward revision to revenue comes from higher commodities prices. Twice that comes from a much stronger labour market and the fact that after a decade of wage stagnation, we’re seeing the welcome beginnings of wages growth. That’s made a contribution to the improvement here.”
‘Biggest budget turnaround on record’: Treasurer Jim Chalmers
By Caroline Schelle
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is speaking in Canberra ahead of the budget tonight. He promised it was a “responsible budget”.
The treasurer said it would help people who were doing it tough in Australia and set them up for the future. It was designed to address cost-of-living pressures and not to add to them, he said.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says this budget shows the ‘biggest turnaround’ on record. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“In dollar terms, it will show the biggest budget turnaround on record, as a consequence of our responsible economic management,” Chalmers told reporters today.
“We are now forecasting a surplus this year, smaller deficits after that, and less debt throughout the budget. If this eventuates, this will be the first budget surplus in 15 years,” he said.
It comes after this masthead reported a revenue surge lifted the nation’s finances to a $4 billion surplus this year.
Watch: Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks ahead of budget
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is speaking to the media ahead of tonight’s federal budget.
Watch below:
Commonwealth Bank profits up 10% to $2.6b, but growth is slowing
By Clancy Yeates
In breaking news, Commonwealth Bank reported third-quarter profits of $2.6 billion, an increase of 10 per cent compared with a year earlier, but indicated its earnings growth was slowing in the face of stiff competition.
CBA, the country’s biggest bank, said today its unaudited cash earnings of $2.6 billion in the three months to March were 10 per cent higher than the same period last year, but 1 per cent higher than the quarter average for the December half.
CBA boss Matt Comyn.Credit: Peter Rae
The banking giant said its income was flat, as growth in its loan and deposit portfolio was offset by lower net interest margins and there being two fewer business days in the quarter.
Albanese says ‘balance needs to be right’ on offshore gas, oil taxes
By Caroline Schelle
Staying with the prime minister, who was asked about changes to taxes on offshore oil and gas projects.
He was asked on ABC Radio this morning about whether he needed to go harder and increase the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax (PRRT).
Treasurer Jim Chalmers (L) and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (R). Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
A Treasury report on the PRRT found reducing tax offsets permitted by the PRRT by 10 per cent would generate an extra $3.5 billion by 2050, and the treasurer said on Sunday it would generate an extra $2.4 billion over the next four years.
This is what the prime minister said about whether the changes went far enough:
This is a change that will bring $2.4 billion of additional revenue through the PRRT by bringing it forward ... We talked through with industry, we wanted to make sure as well that we provide that certain investment environment which is there ...
Gas is an important transition fuel as we move to renewables... but it also, of course, is an industry whose exports are producing substantial revenue to the government and if you look at the books tonight, one of the reasons why you will see an improvement is because of the increased taxation and revenue.”
He said the industries did not find the increase as “perfectly acceptable” and that no one put their hand up to pay an extra $2.4 billion.
“What we’re going to make sure is that we got the balance right,” he said.
The prime minister reiterated that gas had a role to play as a transition fuel while Australians moved towards renewable energy.
PM says government ‘needs to pay down debt’ when asked about surplus
By Caroline Schelle
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also been speaking about the budget this morning, and said his government wanted to pay down Australia’s debt.
He was on ABC Radio Sydney this morning and said he hadn’t confirmed what was in the budget, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down tonight.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government needs to pay down debt. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“We’ve got to pay down debt,” Albanese said when asked about what the government would do with the $4 billion surplus in the budget.
“We, of course, haven’t confirmed what’s in the budget ... But we inherited a trillion dollars of debt, and what that means is that the interest rate bill goes up on paying,” he said.
The prime minister said the interest rates added to future debt and the government wanted to put together a “responsible budget”.
“That means trying to create space for the investments that we need to drive the economy and productivity the support that vulnerable Australians while making sure that we’re very prudent,” he said.
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2023-05-08 23:20:41Z
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