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Government to subsidise energy bills: Chalmers
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has flagged five million Australian households and one million Australian businesses will receive up to $500 to help cover rising energy bills.
Under the proposed package of measures, pensioners, small businesses and people on government payments will have their electricity subsidised by the government.
But the amounts on offer will vary depending on where a person lives, as the federal government had to negotiate with each state and territory government.
Chalmers told the ABC on Sunday the measure “will take the edge off what is the key drivers of these cost-of-living pressures”.
People will be getting several hundred dollars if they’re on pensions and payments, or a small business, but depending on where you live, depending on what the price pressures are, depending on how much the states and territories are prepared to kick in, because this is a co-investment with them.
Key events
Seems weather is happening out in Canberra right now, though The Guardian Australia’s chief political correspondent Paul Karp reports that it’s not snowing everywhere in the nation’s capital.
Meanwhile, the BOM has warned of worsening weather across the broader state of New South Wales.
And Melbourne has been experiencing its own weather with showers and small hail overnight.
Those who watched the coronation may have been surprised by the presence of singer-songwriter Nick Cave who attended as part of the Australian delegation.
Here’s a few snaps of Nick Cave being … well, Nick Cave.
Reactions to the coronation continue
The Australian Monarchist League has criticised a NSW government decision to cancel plans for the Sydney Opera House sails to be lit up in honour of the coronation, citing the cost involved.
National chairman Philip Benwell said in a statement that the position was informed by premier Chris Minn’s “republican sympathies”.
From now on, should taxpayer funds ever be used to light up buildings, it will prove that this decision was based on his republican sympathies and not on cost.
Meanwhile, the Australian Republican Movement held their own gatherings last night to mark the occasion.
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe also addressed a Sovereign Tea Party in Melbourne on Saturday where she spoke about the “violent colonial occupation” by the British.
Today is a painful day for our people and all colonised people around the world.
The British empire proudly displays the wealth it has stolen from us while our people continue to suffer and die at the hands of a colonial system that was violently imposed on us.
Senator Thorpe made several statements in the lead up to the coronation about the history of colonisation on First Nations peoples.
Today I join representatives from 12 Commonwealth countries (with the King as head of state) in calling on the new king to recognise British acts of genocide, issue a formal apology to all First Nations and Indigenous peoples impacted by British colonisation,
— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) May 4, 2023
– with AAP
Albanese’s pledge of allegiance to King Charles was ‘crucial’: Chalmers
Anthony Albanese’s choice to pledge allegiance to King Charles III was “crucial” according to federal treasurer Jim Chalmers.
Albanese, a “lifelong republican” repeated the oath during the coronation despite the Australian Republican Movement calling for him to remain silent.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers, said it was the right call for the prime minister to join the pledge on behalf of Australians.
This was an important day and it’s obviously crucial that the prime minister attend and pledge allegiance – I think that’s what people expect.
At 3pm on Sunday, a 21-gun salute by Australia’s Federation Guard, will be held on the forecourt of Parliament House in Canberra.
This will be followed by a flypast from the Royal Australian air force to mark the coronation.
– AAP
Budget and data to measure wisdom of RBA interest rate rise decision
The strength of the national economy will take centre stage this week as financial markets turn their attention to the federal budget and a fresh round of confidence and spending data.
Last week, the central bank trimmed its growth projections and now sees gross domestic product bottoming out at 1.25 per cent by the end of this year, down from 1.5 per cent.
Growth is then likely to gradually pick up to two per cent by mid-2025, the Reserve Bank of Australia said in its quarterly statement on monetary policy released on Friday.
This outlook will be measured against the new federal Treasury’s growth forecasts in the budget to be handed down by treasurer Jim Chalmers at 7.30pm on Tuesday.
But earlier on Tuesday, new data on business and consumer confidence and consumer spending will be published.
The National Australia Bank business survey for April will deliver the latest measures on conditions and whether firms are absorbing costs or passing them on.
The May Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer confidence report will also be released, along with Australian Bureau of Statistics retail trade numbers for the March quarter and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s household spending indicators for May.
The Reserve Bank, which has raised interest rates 11 times since May 2022 in a bid to curb inflation, keeps a close watch on retail data for signals on consumer spending and confidence.
– AAP
Rising commodity prices ‘not the biggest part of the contribution’ to budget health
Federal treasurer Jim Chalmers has told the ABC’s Andrew Probyn that “all will be revealed on Tuesday night” when the budget is released.
The treasurer has continued his media blitz on Sunday by hosing down budget speculation. The interview was much of what has been repeated elsewhere – there will be a focus on inflation, cost-of-living pressures remain high, changes to the PRRT and some help across the board.
On the health of the budget itself, Chalmers said “there will be a substantial improvement in the budget in the near term”.
The pressures on the budget after that intensify these. We will make clear on Tuesday night what the budget position is.
Chalmers was quick to hose down speculation about the role commodity prices have played in the changing budget position saying “they are not the biggest part of the contribution”.
Commodities are an important part of the story, they are not the biggest part of the story, only about one thing of the improvement is from higher commodity prices. The biggest part of it, the 40% contribution is from improvements in the Labor market, low unemployment and higher wages growth. That makes the biggest contribution 40%. 20% is commodity prices as they are the contributors beyond that. So commodity prices are important, but they are not the biggest part of the contribution.
The treasurer flagged his government was committed to “spending restraint” in the face of “upward revisions to revenue, combined with savings”.
There will be substantial savings in the budget on Tuesday. As well as modest but meaningful tax changes, which make the budget more sustainable as well. So that was a combination of that in October.
Coronation a chance to ‘celebrate change’: Dutton
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has released a statement on the coronation through his Facebook page.
Most of us have only ever lived under one monarch, such was the extraordinary seventy-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
But today, our new Sovereign – King Charles III – and the Queen at his side – Camilla – will be crowned.
This is truly a momentous occasion for the British people, for Australians and for all citizens of the Commonwealth. It’s a moment when an age-old tradition brings with it both a sense of reconnection to history and regeneration in our times. It’s a moment of celebration which will resonate around the world.
Charles was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He was the boy who waited. The prince of patience. The king seven decades in the making. No other royal has journeyed longer to sit on the British throne. No other royal has been better prepared to wear the crown.
Dutton said the coronation doubled as a chance to “celebrate change”.
Today, as our new Sovereign and his Queen are crowned, we celebrate change. But we also celebrate our historical connections with Britain and our British inheritance. We remind ourselves of those institutions and values which our forebears drew upon to forge a modern nation. May we never take this British inheritance for granted. And may we always be proud of our British origins along with our Indigenous heritage and migration and multicultural success – the three strands of our national story.
The prime minister may not be the world’s biggest fan of the monarchy but his Twitter suggests he took advantage of the moment to run some diplomacy on the sidelines, shaking hands with his Canadian counterpart and discussing Australia-EU trade deal.
Very positive meeting yesterday on the sidelines of the Coronation – look forward to getting Australia-EU trade deal done for our mutual benefit 🇦🇺🇪🇺 https://t.co/9aGVVWNQ17
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 6, 2023
Here are a few photos from the coronation of King Charles III overnight where prime minister Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon were in attendance.
Australia’s oil and gas producers welcome changes to PRRT
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) has backed the Albanese government’s proposed changes to the PRRT saying it will “see more revenue collected earlier to address budget pressures”.
In a statement on Sunday, APPEA chief executive Samantha McCulloch said the changes “aim to get the balance right between the undeniable need for a strong gas sector” and “more sustainable national budget”.
The announcement today will provide greater certainty for our industry to consider the future investment required to maintain both domestic and regional gas supply security for our customers.
Our investments support tens of thousands of Australian workers and deliver substantial economic benefits to communities across Australia.
PRRT revenues are already at their highest level ever, forecast to deliver revenue of more than $11bn over the forward estimates. The PRRT changes are forecast to deliver an additional $2.4bn over the forward estimates at current forecast commodity prices.
McCulloch called for a “bipartisan approach” to “provide certainty for future investment” and for the government to work “constructively and cooperatively” with the opposition.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has previously said limiting global heating to 1.5C as set out in the Paris agreement meant there can be no new oil, gas or coal investment beyond 2021.
Paul Karp
Chalmers on relief for ‘more than one age cohort’ amid reports of broader jobseeker changes
Sky’s Andrew Clennell and the ABC’s Patricia Karvelas are reporting that the base rate of jobseeker may be lifted across the board, not just for the over-55s.
On Monday Channel Seven and Guardian Australia reported that the jobseeker increase was likely to be limited to over-55s – reports which treasurer Jim Chalmers cautioned may not be the full story, but did not contradict.
Asked on Sky if the jobseeker increase will be across the board, Chalmers said:
Well, this will be a responsible budget for Australians who are doing it tough and central to that … will be a cost-of-living package which is broader than what has been speculated on, which prioritises the most vulnerable people … and which applies to more than one age cohort.
We’ve already announced cheaper medicines, cheaper early childhood education, help with energy bills, and there will be the other elements to it as well.
This answer is consistent with a jobseeker base rate increase for all, or something else for all (like one-off payments). The treasurer has not contradicted but has not confirmed the report of a base rate rise for all.
For more, read The Guardian’s previous reporting on the speculation ahead of the budget:
Government repositioning on jobseeker
The ABC’s Patricia Karvelas says she has independently confirmed “from a few different sources” that there will be an “across the board increase to jobseeker”.
Karvelas made the comments during an appearance as a panellist on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday morning while discussing an unofficial leak of material that suggested the government was would raise social security payments to over-55s.
The truth is that the over-55s will get a higher boost, but I understand and had it verified from a few different sources that there will be an across the board increase in jobseeker. That wasn’t part of the deal the other day.
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