Cost of Living

An expert said that the new Perth-Adelaide and Melbourne-Perth routes promise better regional connectivity and will lower fares.

The New South Wales government will spend $4.1 million, along with $8 million in private investment, on new electric vehicle charging stations.

Home values across regional Australia climbed 2.1 percent in the three months to April 2024, the highest quarterly increase in nearly two years.

Rex said that consumers are expected to benefit from increased competition with Qantas and Virgin Australia.

The government says it has made a fairer system for renters, but a Queensland real estate body says there are several disappointing details in the new laws.

Total state government debt is set to reach $188 billion by 2027-28.

Despite being required by law to have processes to assist customer who are in debt, banks have made the process so complex that a third of people give up.

Ms. Hunter said that supply chain disruptions during the pandemic limited the construction industry’s ability to respond aptly to the increasing demand.

His job in a budget-in-reply speech is to hold the government to account, not to govern himself. The time for detailed plans is much closer to the next election

The New Vehicle Efficiency Standards will add thousands of dollars to the cost of buying SUVs, utes and four-wheel drives, according to the Coalition.

The Institute of Public Accountants also said that the budget lacks genuine tax reform and targeted red tape reduction.

Sydney Councillor Steve Christou has said Peter Dutton’s plan to go lower than Labor on migration isn’t enough.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton played to the Coalition’s strengths in his reply to Tuesday’s Budget, emphasising issues such as crime and immigration.

A senior economist says the 2024 budget will do little, if anything, to address housing issues in Australia.

Queensland’s net interstate migration is forecasted to soar by 110,000 by 2027-28 at the expense of NSW and other states.

The opposition, however, argues the budget ‘does nothing to help Australians get ahead and to restore their standard of living.’

This year’s Budget paves the way for an earlier election, should its assumptions prove accurate.

The Labor government is set to spend $215 billion more than it earns over the next five years.

About $6.2 billion will go into the initiative.

While the figure is well below the $22.1 billion surplus in 2022-23, it marks the first back-to-back surplus in nearly two decades.