Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down his fourth budget on Tuesday night, which is expected to provide more cost-of-living measures as the Prime Minister prepares to call the election, possibly within days.
Anthony Albanese told caucus on Monday the budget would deliver for working Australians.
“We are unashamed to stand for workers receiving their entitlements and cost-of-living relief,” Mr Albanese said.
“This budget will build on strong foundations.
“We are kicking with the wind because we have a coherent set of values that are about that.”
The budget, which has been in the calendar for March 25 for months, was expected to be shelved for Mr Albanese to call an election for April 12.
But he canned that option after Cyclone Alfred threatened millions across southeast Queensland and northern NSW on the weekend he had to call it.
The election needs to be held by May 17, with May 3 and May 10 the only other options.
Already, the government has announced the rebate on power bills will be extended till the end of the year, with an extra $150 to be wiped. The rebates will continue to apply to most small businesses as well.
The government has also committed to reductions to most Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines, with the cost of about 80 per cent to be cut from $31.50 to $25.
Mr Chalmers, who will hand down the budget at 7.30pm, has defended the cost of living measures as responsible but necessary.
“It’s about recognising that even with all this progress on inflation, we’ve got inflation from higher than 6 per cent and rising when we came to office,” he said.
“Now 2.4 per cent. We know that people are still under the pump, and so we’re doing what we responsibly can to help people with the cost of living.”
Meanwhile, Mr Chalmers has also revealed Labor has achieved a $177bn reduction in gross debt in its first term of government, despite rolling deficits forecast for the next decade.
Gross debt in 2024-25 is expected to remain at $940bn, which the government says is a stark $177bn downgrade from the $1.1 trillion figure forecast in the pre-election financial outlook forecast prior to the 2022 election.
Ahead of this budget, the Coalition has claimed a record high income tax revenue is expected, as the population grows and more people creep into the next highest tax bracket.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will deliver his budget-in-reply speech, which is expected to outline a new policy, in parliament on Thursday night.
More to come