Budget

The ABC has heard of a five-year-old's distress at being unable to speak with her father in a Tasmanian prison. Workers say that lockdowns due to staff shortages are to blame.

As federal parliament draws to a close for the year, the focus is shifting to the government's mid-year budget update, and signs of new fiscal pressures to manage.

Here's Political Editor Jacob Greber.

After it campaigned against a Coalition pledge to cut 41,000 public servants, Labor is ramping up its own efficiency drive in a move expected to cost jobs.

A report found Victoria recorded an operating loss of $2.6 billion in 2024-25, adding to accumulated losses of $50.6 billion over the last 6 years.

There were hats, jackets and a shop front, but when it came to budget day, there was no money set aside for the creation of TasInsure, which the Tasmanian Liberals promised would save households up to $250 a year during the election.

For all the talk about avoiding slashing and burning, the Tasmanian Liberals will not want to take too slow a path back to financial stability, writes Adam Langenberg.

Unions and community organisations have reacted to Eric Abetz's interim state budget 

Economist Saul Eslake shares his view on Tasmania's interim state budget.

Independent economist Saul Eslake and Deloitte's Cedric Hodges warn there is no easy way out of Tasmania's dire budget situation, after the treasurer delivered an "interim" budget with little in the way of concrete solutions for fixing the state's debt.

The opposition parties respond to Eric Abetz's first state budget.

Tasmanian Treasurer Eric Abetz has vowed to take "decisive action" to rein in the ballooning debt, but the "interim" state budget contains few major initiatives.

New York City's newly elected mayor Zohran Mamdani is promising to make people's lives cheaper, but even some of his supporters are sceptical about whether he can deliver.

A peak health body is worried Tasmania's public health system won't receive enough support in Thursday's state budget to address ballooning demand.

Western Australia again secures the top gong as Australia's best performing economy according to a new report by the Commonwealth Bank, despite the state recording some of the country's weakest economic growth.

Eric Abetz's first budget for Tasmania is coming — and community organisations fear they'll bear the brunt of funding cuts to "repair" the budget.

The treasurer has never been afraid to venture beyond his prime minister with his tax reform ambitions, but on superannuation, he has been pulled into line. 

Every prominent criticism of the tax has been addressed, with the result that it will apply to fewer people and raise less money.

Anthony Albanese says his request for Treasury to examine a controversial proposal to lift taxes on some superannuation balances is "nothing unusual", rejecting claims he is planning to rewrite it.

Advocates say an outdated funding model and cost shifting has left Queensland councils in a risky financial position, with nowhere left to turn for cash except ratepayers.

State and territory leaders say the Commonwealth's offer for the next five years of hospital funding would leave them billions out of pocket, claiming the federal government is walking back a promise to pay 42.5 per cent of the share of expenses.