The Federal Budget 2022 drops today (Tuesday, March 29) but in the meantime, details of it have slowly been leaking. While we earlier reported on a one-off cash bonus of $250 of $400 being handed out to Australians making under $120,000 a year to help with the rising cost of living, the latest budget leak is that petrol prices will temporarily be slashed, also for immediate cost-of-living relief.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will slash fuel excise by “between 10c and 20c for six months”, reports The Australian. The significant cut is in response to soaring petrol and global oil prices and is argued against by some senior Coalition ministers and industry groups.
“That’s a result of the international tensions,” said Mr Frydenberg. “The barrel of oil is up by 50% since the start of the year — that’s flowing through to the bowser here at home. We recognise that pressure.”
On March 14, New Zealand did a similar move, reducing their fuel charges by 25c a litre for three months. While this expected price cut isn’t as high, it will go on for longer.
“We do understand that the No.1 topic around the kitchen tables of Australian families is the cost of living, and one of the highest costs is fuel prices,” Mr Frydenberg had said. “What we will do on Tuesday is provide relief for those families, recognising that fuel costs are very high right now.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison echoed Mr Frydenberg, also confirming the government’s focus in the budget would be to respond to “immediate cost-of-living pressures.”
“We’ve done the homework and spent the time to get the right design on the packages to support Australians right now,” Morrison said.
Also in the budget, Mr Frydenberg is expected to lock in $17.9bn for nation-building projects and to expand the home guarantee scheme from 20,000 places a year to 50,000 and to make it permanent. The scheme allows first-home buyers to enter the market with only a 5% deposit without having to pay mortgage insurance.
While the annual Australian Federal Budget is normally held in May, this year’s has been pulled forward to March 29 to make way for the upcoming Federal Election which we expect to happen May 21.
What Time Is the Budget Announcement?
The budget will be announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg tonight at 7:30pm AEST time. That’s 7:30pm for QLD, NSW, ACT, TAS, and VIC; 7pm for the NT and SA; and 5.00pm for WA.
The budget will be televised live on ABC and most major news channels. You can also watch the budget speech live on the parliament website.
The Latch will be covering all the exciting developments on March 29 so check back here for updates on the night. Read all of our budget coverage, here.
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