Wayne Swan calls Campbell Newman ’callous’

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has renewed his attack on Queensland premier Campbell Newman, calling him ‘‘cold-hearted and callous’’ for refusing to fund a trial of the National Disability Insurance...

Clive Palmer to stand against Wayne Swan

Clive Palmer says he wants to stand against Treasurer Wayne Swan at the next federal election.

Wayne Swan's speech to ALP conference

This is the text of the prepared speech Treasurer Wayne Swan gave at the ALP conference.

Wayne Swan savaged by Hadley

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan clashes with Sydney broadcaster Ray Hadley over the government's botched insulation scheme.

Wayne Swan's Budget speech in full

Watch Wayne Swan deliver the 2010 Budget in a speech to MPs in Canberra.

Coalition abandons baby bonus

Jonathan Swan, Judith Ireland An Abbott government would dump the baby bonus entirely - even the reduced, means-tested payments proposed by Labor, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has said.

Hazel Hawke dies after battle with dementia

Carolyn Webb and Catherine Chisholm Hazel Hawke has died peacefully after succumbing to complications of dementia, her family announced on Thursday.

Rates hit record low

Peter Martin Deep concern about the high Australian dollar has driven the Reserve Bank to cut its cash rate to the lowest level on record, a cut quickly passed on by all but one of the big banks.

Stubbornly high dollar prompts historic rate cut

Peter Martin Deep concern about the high Australian dollar drove the Reserve Bank to cut its cash rate to the lowest level on record on Tuesday, a cut quickly passed on by all but one of the big banks.

Drop puts concessions on hold

Tim Colebatch The budget has taken back the small tax cut promised for 2015 to compensate us for the shift to an emissions trading scheme saying carbon prices will be so low it will not be needed.

Treasurer resists urge to wield axe

Peter Martin In the face of enormous pressure to return the budget to surplus quickly, Wayne Swan has run the other way.

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Treasurer has resisted the temptation to buy votes

Wayne Swan has delivered a face-saving, legacy-building budget that makes hard decisions to fund Labor's visions and goes a long way towards improving government finances over the medium term.

$74m put aside to pay for 'blatant' campaigns

Daniel Hurst An extra $74 million will be channelled into federal government advertising campaigns despite the budget's bleak finances.

Business fears poor revenue outlook will hit tax breaks

Tim Colebatch A sharp slump in revenue has left the federal budget looking at a potential shortfall of $17.5 billion, raising fears in business circles that the Gillard government will shut down a range of...

Boston bomber's sheik link played down

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has played down any potential link between a Sydney sheik and the Boston Marathon bombing suspect killed in a shootout.

A decade of deficits forecast

Peter Martin Australia faces a decade of budget deficits with the annual total set to pass $60 billion in 2023 unless governments take tough action to "share the pain", an expert panel has warned.

Inflation fall rings Treasury alarm

Peter Martin Australia's inflation rate has fallen so low the Reserve Bank is rethinking economic outlook.

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New federal loans will help farmers: NFF

Concessional government loans worth $420 million will help farmers who are being "smashed" by the high Australian dollar and rising production prices, the National Farmers' Federation says.

Loss blows $12b hole in budget

Mark Kenny Collapsing revenue from lower company profits has blown a $12 billion hole in the federal budget this financial year, Prime Minister Julia Gillard will reveal on Monday.

For PM, the suffering begins with the sell

Michael Gordon Julia Gillard's ''prepare for pain'' warning underscores the reality that selling this pre-election budget will be an even harder task than framing it.