Australian government has handed down its first budget since winning power, focusing on austerity and cost of living relief.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday announced the federal budget for the financial year 2022-23, revealing the government’s five-point plan for the cost of living relief.
The budget, the governing Labor Party’s first since winning power in May’s general election, promises to deliver cheaper child care, greater parental leave entitlements, more affordable housing, cheaper medicines and higher wage growth.
“It delivers on the priorities of the Australian people, and it repays their faith in a new government,” Chalmers said in a speech.
The government has previously announced that it would spend 4.7 billion Australian dollars (2.9 billion U.S. dollars) over the next four years to make childcare more affordable, a policy Chalmers said would deliver major economic benefits.
“It will increase the paid hours worked by women with young children by up to 1.4 million hours a week in the first year alone. That’s the equivalent of 37,000 extra full-time workers.’’
The budget includes up to 200 million Australian dollars (126.2 million U.S. dollars) a year for disaster prevention and resilience measures.