The government works to sell its budget saying it's made the tough decisions, Preparations underway for Donald Trump's visit to China, Ivan Cleary drops a bombshell, announcing he'll leave the Penrith Panthers at the end of next season.
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Transcript
- The government works to sell its budget saying it's made the tough decisions
- Preparations underway for Donald Trump's visit to China
- Ivan Cleary drops a bombshell, announcing he'll leave the Penrith Panthers at the end of next season
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has begun the effort to sell his federal budget, saying this budget is about trying to level the playing field for young people, and taking on difficult economic challenges.
The government is facing criticism for phasing out negative gearing, with existing investors to retain the tax benefit.
Speaking at the traditional Treasurer's day-after-the-budget address at the National Press Club in Canberra, he says this budget has included the tough decisions that need to be made now.
"We have come to a different view on some very contentious policies, for the right reasons, and I'd rather defend a shift in policy then leave a broken status quo in place to do more damage to marginalise more people over time. It would have been easier to see what's happening around the world as an excuse to leave some of the most difficult challenges in our economy for someone else to fix later. We made a different, more difficult choice in this budget to accelerate reform and not just absorb the shock."
The federal opposition says it will fight the government's budget measures tooth and nail.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says the budget is awful in a range of areas, and the coalition won't support the reforms passage through the through the parliament.
"It's a budget of broken promises, higher taxes, less housing, and a lower standard of living, and that is a disaster for hard-working Australians. It's an assault on aspiration. And we are going to fight it every day- when the legislation comes to the parliament, and beyond."
The Federal Minister for Small Business says the 2026 budget goes a long way to support skilled migrants to have existing qualifications recognised.
The budget includes an allocation of $85.2 million to deliver faster skills assessments for migrant trades workers, and to accelerate occupational licensing.
The government says these changes could cut the time taken to enter the workforce by up to six months, and facilitate up to an additional 4,000 skilled trades workers into the workforce per year.
Minster Anne Aly has told SBS Hindi the changes will allow more migrants to set up businesses that utilise their qualifications.
"There is a whole raft in there about skilled migration, and this is something that I'm really proud of because this is something I've pushed for for a long time, coming from a family where our skills, my father's skills were not recognised and you know he didn't start a business, he took a job as a bus driver, even though he was an engineer. And I'm hearing from alot of migrants that this continues to be the migrant story, you know I think migrants setting up businesses is a huge win for Australia."
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is in South Korea for trade talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng ahead of a meeting with the country's two leaders this week.
Talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing are scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
The war in Iran, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and arms sales to Taiwan are expected to be discussed across the two days.
The Board of SBS has appointed acting Managing Director Jane Palfreyman [[PAUL-free-men]] to the role permanently.
She'll serve a five-year-term as Managing Director, which follows 14 years with the organisation and 25 years in the media industry.
Ms Palfreyman has been acting in the role since August when previous Managing Director James Taylor stepped down.
The Board says the search process was rigorous and competitive.
In the National Rugby League, Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has stunned the competition with the announcement he will step down at the end of next season.
The western Sydney side has reached unprecedented heights under Cleary's coaching - winning four premierships in a row between 2021 and 2024, and leading the competition again this season.
But 55-year-old Cleary says that remarkable success is not the reason he's chosen to walk away.
"I still feel driven for achievement, so it is not really that. It might have been easier though, if I hadn't had that sort of success- it might have been different... I might not have been in a job though, either! It's more just to pivot, and do something a little different."
Cleary says he has no desire to coach another NRL team but he would be open to coaching at State of Origin or international level.
Former Panthers halfback Peter Wallace, currently an assistant coach at the club, will take over from Cleary as Panthers coach in 2028.
