Key Points
- Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down his third federal budget on Tuesday.
- It comes as many Australians continue to battle cost of living pressures.
- Chalmers says it will contain “targeted relief” and the women of Australia will be “big beneficiaries”.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says his third budget will deliver “targeted relief” to Australians struggling financially, as he declared his government “can do better” amid an ongoing inflation and cost of living crisis.
Speaking to SBS News on Sunday, Chalmers said Tuesday’s budget would include “billions of dollars in relief” including .
In a broad interview, the treasurer also confirmed that the net overseas migration figure will be halved while leaving the door open to further government support for domestic violence victim-survivors.
It comes after the prime minister gave the strongest indication yet last month that another package of energy bill relief would be delivered in the upcoming budget, helping families and small businesses.
‘We can do better’
Last week, SBS News spoke to Australians struggling to afford the basics in Chalmers’ home state of Queensland.
As well as charity groups facing increased demand for food relief in the city of Gladstone, some residents spoke about living in their cars after being forced out of housing due to soaring rents.
When SBS News showed the treasurer the video, Chalmers said “too many people” were in such situations because and .
One of the “highest priorities” of the budget was housing investment, he added.
“We would need to always do better and we can do better,” Chalmers said.
“There will be billions of dollars in relief and assistance for people who are under the pump in addition to a tax cut for every taxpayer.”
Tuesday’s budget will include $9.3 billion for a new five-year national agreement on social housing and homelessness.
About $1 billion will be directed towards crisis and transitional accommodation for women and children escaping domestic violence and young people.
Federal funding for homelessness services and social housing will double to $400 million per year and will be matched by the state and territories.
The additional funding has been lauded by the housing sector but was criticised by the Greens and Opposition.
Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather said on Friday there was no new funding for social housing and homelessness than would have been under a Coalition government while claiming the announcement would do “nothing” to tackle the housing crisis.
And the Oppositon’s housing spokesman Michael Sukkar said the announcement contained no new funding and only marked an extension of the existing national housing and homelessness agreement.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says his third budget will deliver “targeted relief” to Australians struggling financially. Source: AAP / aap
‘A budget for mums and middle Australia’
Chalmers said the women of Australia would be the “big beneficiaries” of the budget.
SBS News understands it will contain a wage boost for early childhood educators and aged care workers.
Chalmers said a new policy would cost $1.1 billion.
He also left the door open to further support for domestic violence victim-survivors after the government committed .
“We know that it’s never enough while women are still unsafe in our community,” Chalmers said.
“For as long as women still aren’t safe in our community, we know there’s more work to do.”
Chalmers also said the next year’s net overseas migration figure — the difference between arrivals and departures in Australia — will be half what it was last year.
Though he wouldn’t confirm the figure, he said the decline was partly due to government policies.
“We’ve responded as any responsible government would and should to make the program as robust and responsible as it can be, and you’ll see the fruits of that as the net overseas migration number it gets down to more normal levels,” he said.
