Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the budget improvement is driven by ‘the savings we’ve found and the spending restraint we’ve shown’. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Morning everyone. Tonight’s budget will promise a $45bn improvement in the bottom line over three years, but will Jim Chalmers be able to boast of an era-defining change like his hero, Paul Keating? We have analysis and comment on what’s coming up later. Elsewhere a Muslim group has complained of dirty election tricks, and Donald Trump says the Iran ceasefire is “on life support” as he contemplates more military action.
Plus: are claims about supermarket food sustainability true? And do your teeth and gums hold the key to good health?
Food labels | Foods in supermarkets boasting environmental terms such as “natural” or “sustainable” are mostly just using marketing speak, rather than verified claims, Australian researchers have found.
Budget reveal | Today’s budget will reveal a $45bn improvement in the commonwealth’s bottom line over this and the next three financial years, as Jim Chalmers promises “spending restraint” at a time of high and rising inflation. Changes to tax breaks will be aimed at remaking housing as a need rather than a financial instrument amid warnings about rent increases.
Victoria | Muslim Votes Matter has complained to the Victorian Electoral Commission over an anonymous bid to register a political party under the same name before the state election, accusing it of deliberately misleading voters. Australia’s peak Islamic body has meanwhile condemned growing “anti-Muslim sentiment” after a man allegedly threatened worshippers at a Brisbane mosque on Sunday, falsely claiming to have a gun.
Exclusive | “Unlimited dark money” will keep flooding into Victorian politics after Labor failed to reach agreement with the Liberals or the Greens about donation reforms the Allan government vowed to fast-track through parliament.
Body found | A body found in a “decomposed state” next to an abandoned ute 50km north-west of Lake Cargelligo is believed to be that of Julian Ingram, who is suspected of killing his pregnant former partner in remote New South Wales.
World
‘Life support’ | Trump warned the ceasefire with Iran was on life support as he said he was considering restarting US navy military escorts across the strait of Hormuz in a bid to end the blockade. Oil prices have climbed after Trump condemned Iran’s response to US proposals to end the war as “totally unacceptable”.
Australians evacuated | Australian passengers on board the hantavirus-hit MV Hondius were evacuated on a Dutch flight to the Netherlands overnight after it was decided a plane dispatched from Australia would not arrive in time. As the complex repatriation process continued, a French woman and an American national evacuated from the ship tested positive for the virus.
Make or break | UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s grip on power appears to be slipping away as more than 70 Labour MPs publicly urged him to set out a timetable for his departure, despite his pledging to fight any challenge. One cabinet source suggested that if the flood of MPs calling for him to go continued, two or three cabinet ministers could take the prime minister aside to advise him to consider the political reality. They stressed that they would not try to force him to quit.
Exclusive | State actors are involved in disappearances in Mexico at an “alarming” rate, according to a human rights study that claims more than 130,000 people have gone missing, mostly in the last 20 years since the government declared its war on drug cartels.
Duterte doubt | The Philippine vice-president, Sara Duterte, has been impeached over allegations she misused public funds, amassed unexplained wealth and threatened the lives of the president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and his wife, in a case that could complicate her presidential ambitions.
Full Story
Bullying or entertainment? Inside the Kyle and Jackie O courtroom
Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson may have left the airwaves but the former radio duo have now taken the show’s drama into the courtroom as they do battle in separate cases over the terminations of their $100m contracts.
Media correspondent Amanda Meade tells Reged Ahmad what it’s like inside the courtroom and whether this case could herald the end of the big-name radio star’s career.
In-depth
It has been a hugely consequential few days in politics and Sisonke Msimang reflects on what One Nation’s Farrer victory says about the apparent willingness of voters to scapegoat minorities. The byelection felt like a tectonic shift in Australia – and we may be seeing another tonight, as Jim Chalmers hands down a budget that promises to end the Howard era.
Not the news
Scientists are discovering more and more associations between poor oral health and everything from heart disease to dementia. But can flossing and brushing properly guarantee a longer life?
Sport
AFL | A bookmaker has continued to work for the Gold Coast Suns despite being subject to an AFL integrity unit investigation, as the competition’s chief executive flagged the apparent conflict of interest will be addressed.
La Liga | Hansi Flick has turned Barcelona into a family – and the team into champions.
Football | Spurs take on Leeds this morning as they try to edge further away from the Premier League drop zone.
Media roundup
Reforms to capital gains tax and negative gearing expected in today’s budget will hit house prices, economists tell the Financial Review, while the Australian claims your budget handout will only give back about half of what’s lost in bracket creep. Promised new trains for NSW’s longer distance routes are running five years late, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. And four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson tells the Herald Sun he is “absolutely horrified” by a decision to reject the insurance-company concussion claims of three retired AFL players.
What’s happening today
Perth | A judgment in the Yindjibarndi compensation case over the Fortescue Solomon mine hub is expected at the federal court in Perth.
Sydney | Australian fashion week continues.
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