Staying with the treasurer’s press conference, Chalmers would not rule out changes to negative gearing following reports Treasury was modelling new negative gearing limits ahead of the May budget.
Chalmers did not say whether the government planned to impose new limits on negative gearing and insisted Treasury was methodically canvassing “a range of policies”.
“We’ve got a tax policy. We’ve got a tax agenda which is all about cutting income taxes. And beyond that, we know that there is a sense of intergenerational unfairness in the tax system and in the housing market as well,” he told journalists.
“It’s not unusual for the Treasury to be canvassing a whole range of issues, a whole range of policies to inform discussions and deliberations of the cabinet as we get closer and closer to the government’s fifth budget in May. I’m not prepared to go into the detail of that, no decisions have been taken. We haven’t changed our tax policy.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is in Queensland holding a press conference and is fielding questions about Treasury’s preparation for the May budget.
He said housing was high on the agenda, and that the government was focused on addressing the “pressing and intergenerational issues” plaguing Australia’s housing market.
“It’s about everyone’s kids. It’s about a country which has been playing catch up for too long on this dire shortage of housing that we have. We don’t have enough homes in local communities, not just this one, but right around Australia. I think it’s one of our defining economic challenges.
“And so the steps that we are taking to cut taxes, to boost super to build more homes, to make it easier to save a deposit, that’s all about coming at some of these intergenerational issues, which are, I think, obvious and pressing,” Chalmers told reporters.
The federal budget has improved by more than $5 billion in a month as the government collects extra taxes from the nation’s big businesses.
Figures released by the Finance Department this morning show that to the end of January, the budget was in the red to the tune of $48.6 billion. In his mid-year budget update, Treasurer Jim Chalmers had expected the deficit at this point to be $54 billion.
If maintained, the full-year deficit – forecast to be $36.8 billion – will be far lower.
The improvement is largely due to company tax collections which are $3 billion better than expected.
Superannuation tax collections are $300 million in front of forecasts while both the GST and personal income taxes are $300 million to the good.
Most spending areas are on track with their mid-year forecasts except housing and transport. Both of these sectors often require transfers of cash from the federal government to the states which do not occur until near the end of the financial year.
Taylor has paid tribute to former leader Sussan Ley’s leadership and political career following the news of her formal resignation from politics today.
“Sussan has made a massive contribution to the Liberal Party, to our nation over a long period of time as a member of parliament, as the member for Farrer, and of course, as someone who was a minister in four different governments.
“And she also played an important role taking on the leadership of the party, as she did after the 2025 election, which was a devastating election for the Liberal Party, and her work ethic has been relentless, and we all thank her for the contribution she has made,” he said at a Sydney press conference this morning.
The opposition leader conceded that the Farrer byelection would be one of the first big challenges of his leadership.
“Look, there’s no question that the Farrer byelection is going to be very, very tough … I came into this role with the Liberal Party in the worst circumstances it’s faced since 1944.
“So we’ve got a tough job ahead of us, but what we’re going to be doing every day is seeking to restore Australians and the people of Farrer’s confidence in the Liberal Party,” he said.
Liberal leaders Angus Taylor and Jane Hume are in Sydney today meeting with members of the Assyrian community who fled Islamic State to resettle in Australia.
They have urged Australians to back the Coalition’s legislative proposal aimed at blocking terror-linked individuals from re-entering the country and criminalising anyone assisting such individuals.
“This is a piece of legislation we would like you to support. We think it’s reasonable, and we think this will strengthen the position that we’ve taken … that we should shut the door on people who support ISIS and have rejected our way of life,” Taylor told reporters.
Hume, the party’s deputy leader, said it had been an “honour” meeting with and speaking to members of Sydney’s Assyrian community today, some of whom had escaped IS-run governments themselves and were concerned about IS women and children resettled in their community.
“I think that all Australians owe the Assyrian community here what was promised, which was a safe country, a country where old hatreds are left behind,” said Hume.
Earlier this week, the opposition leader announced the Coalition’s proposal in response to the news that a cohort of 34 IS-linked women and children were seeking to return home to Australia.
The ABC will broadcast all Matildas and knockout matches at the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup live on radio and its audio streaming platform.
The deal, announced this morning, means the ABC will broadcast at least 17 matches in the tournament to be hosted in Australia, starting on Sunday at 7pm.
The ABC said it will have a dedicated Asian Cup 2026 button on its ABC Listen app to help people find its coverage.
“The AFC Women’s Asia Cup is a significant tournament on the global football calendar and the ABC is pleased to bring it to audiences across Australia as the exclusive audio partner for the event,” ABC managing director Hugh Marks said.
“Our coverage ensures people can follow the competition free and accessible and builds on the ABC’s commitment to deliver major national and international sport.”
The AFC Women’s Asian Cup will be screened on Channel 10 and Paramount+.
Jack Dorsey’s payments giant Block will slash more than 4000 jobs – nearly half its workforce – in what the company describes as a deliberate pivot to becoming an “intelligence-native” business, sending shares surging more than 22 per cent in after-hours trading.
The cuts reduce Block from more than 10,000 employees to just under 6000, making it one of the largest AI-driven workforce reductions to date.
Block, which acquired Melbourne-founded buy now, pay later platform Afterpay for about $39 billion in 2022, has a significant presence in Australia though the precise number of local employees affected remains unclear. The company has been contacted for further comment.
It comes after Australian tech outfit WiseTech Global this week cut 2000 roles – roughly a third of its workforce – citing AI-driven productivity gains, with chief executive Zubin Appoo pointing to advancements in models from Anthropic and OpenAI as a tipping point.
Dorsey told shareholders that repeated rounds of smaller lay-offs would be more damaging than acting decisively.
“A significantly smaller team, using [AI] tools can do more and do it better,” he said in a letter to shareholders. “I don’t think we’re early to this realisation. I think most companies are late.”
The company reported adjusted earnings of 65 cents per share for Q4, with gross profit up 24 per cent year-on-year to $US2.87 billion ($4 billion).
The Commonwealth Bank has reported suspected fraudulent loans to police and the corporate regulator, as the industry deals with growing levels of attempted mortgage fraud, the Australian Financial Review says.
The AFR this morning said CBA had reported itself over fears of fraudulently obtained loans, and an increase in doctored applications.
The masthead reported, citing unnamed sources, there were fears that “about $1 billion” in loans had been obtained fraudulently. The bank did not confirm or deny the sum this morning.
The AFR also said the bank was not out of pocket because the loans were being paid down and they were secured against properties that could be sold.
CBA was quoted as saying there were growing levels of attempted fraud in the banking industry.
“This is an industry-wide challenge, with fraud being attempted through mortgage broking and referral channels,” a bank spokesman told the masthead.
“Like others, we have increased our focus on financial compliance, and we’re continually reviewing our policies and processes and making changes to help protect our customers, the bank, and the community.”
CBA’s investigation comes after The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age last year revealed allegations that NAB had been defrauded of more than $150 million by a financial crime group dubbed the Penthouse Syndicate.
The AFR, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age are owned by Nine.
Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has just emerged after hours of testifying to the US Congress in a private hearing amid probes into the Epstein files.
“I have just finished testifying, I answered every single one of my questions as fully as I could based on what I knew. … I never met Jeffrey Epstein, never had any connection or communication with him. I knew Ghislaine Maxwell casually as an acquaintance, but whatever they asked me, I did my very best to respond,” she told reporters.
Clinton said she was “disappointed” her requests for a public hearing were knocked back.
“It was disappointing that they refused to hold a public hearing so I wouldn’t have to be out here characterising it for you. We had asked for that.”
Clinton also claimed she was asked questions about UFOs, and the Pizzagate conspiracy, which she called “the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the internet that was serving as the basis of a member’s questions to me.”
“They asked literally the same questions over and over again … There were other questions that were totally off subject,” said a frustrated Clinton, before ending the short press conference.
During his appearance on 2GB earlier this morning, Angus Taylor also took aim at Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke for his “close relationship” with Jamal Rifi, the doctor trying to repatriate the cohort of Australian women and children stuck in a detainment camp in Syria.
“Jamal Rifi is a close political ally of Tony Burke, and he has clearly been assisting repatriation of these women, playing a significant role in trying to get them back … there’s serious questions here, not just for Jamal Rifi, but also for Tony Burke.
“Burke is hopelessly conflicted as minister on this issue because of his close personal relationship with Rifi,” Taylor said.
The opposition leader also expressed his concerns about the potential “radicalisation” of the women and children.
Taylor is in western Sydney today for a morning tea with the Assyrian community, who he said were “deeply concerned about the ISIS brides coming back into their communities”.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
