Australian news and politics recap: Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivers fourth Federal Budget

The ‘sunshine state’ is set to become home to Australia’s powerhouse swimming program after the announcement of a new state-of-the-art facility to be built for the 2032 Olympic Games.

“Olympic and Paralympic swimming holds a special place in the heart of Queenslanders and stirs the passion of emotion amongst our state in the way that few other sports can,” Premier David Crisafulli said.

“There have been incredible options put forward from a concert arena with a drop-in pool to even a drop-in pool at Suncorp Stadium.

“The problems with these is that legacy for swimming disappears after the Games.

“The consequence is no sporting legacy is delivered and that means nothing for our swimmers for tomorrow. No return for our investment for one of the iconic sports of our state.

“Instead, we are excited to announce we will build a new national aquatic centre with a Games capacity of 25,000 people.

“The centre will see a number of Olympic and Paralympic sports move their headquarters up to Brisbane permanently, a real world-class legacy, which will serve these sports for decades to come.

“It will be constructed at Centenary Pool, and that has the backing of diving, artistic swimming, waterpolo and Swimming Australia.”

QLD Premier David Crisafulli says the choice was clear and the bottom line was even clearer when deciding to build a new stadium for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.

“It came down to a choice - a choice between the embarrassment of hosting the Games at QSAC or a new stadium at Victoria Park,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“It became a choice between spending billions on temporary facilities and temporary stands that delivered no legacy, or securing the future of AFL and cricket at a new home.

“It became a choice between delivering a Games with an eye to the future or rewinding the clock four decades.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has announced that the government and Brisbane Olympic Committee will build a new indoor stadium for the 2032 Games.

“The Games must be held at a new stadium at Victoria Park,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“Any other choice would have meant placing the Government’s interests ahead of the interests of Queenslanders.

“We’ve had enough of that in the last few years. And I wasn’t prepared to do that.”

Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie has accused the government of carrying out an “environmental gerrymander”.

The federal government will introduce an amendment to Australia’s main environmental act on Tuesday - during the last sitting week before an election and hours before it delivers a budget.

“This prime minister is putting harvesting a few votes in the Braddon electorate ahead of the very survival of one of the oldest species on the planet,” he said.

The bill is expected to protect the salmon industry in Macquarie Harbour, part of the Braddon electorate which is held by retiring Liberal MP Gavin Pearce on an eight per cent margin.

But intensive salmon farming has caused oxygen levels to plummet and threatened the Maugean skate, an ancient species of fish that is only found on Tasmania’s west coast.

“It is just such a cynical, political fix,” Mr Wilke said.

An eight-metre tall barrel of pretend nuclear waste has materialised on the lawn of Parliament House in Canberra as the politicians inside concentrate on the Budget delivery and reply.

The symbolic protest against the Coalition’s proposed nuclear powered sites if they win the 2025 election was erected on Tuesday, hours ahead of Jim Chalmers taking the floor for his Federal Budget speech.

“The Coalition’s nuclear push risks Australia’s economy, energy system and environment,” said Friends of the Earth national nuclear campaigner Dr Jim Green.

“It is a threat to public health and a waste of public funds”.

Anthony Albanese and the Labor government officals made plenty of room for social media influencers as the media went into Budget lockdown on Tuesday.

The media lockdown in Canberra is a right of passage for hard-hitting political journos and becomes a melting pot for news, views and opinion as the day leads into the Treasurer’s Budget speech.

One interesting admission this year is left-wing social media influencer Hannah Ferguson, who runs Cheek Media.

Ms Ferguson posted to her 158,000 Instagram followers on Tuesday that “lots of content creators have been invited to attend this budget and receive a briefing” and she would be in the Budget lockdown.

“I need to be in Parliament by 2.30pm to go through security and get ready for the Federal Budget lock up,” she wrote.

Ms Ferguson’s company sells partisan merchandise that reads “good morning to everyone except Peter Dutton”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Treasurer Jim Chalmers (left) and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher welcomed the media at Parliament House in Canberra earlier as they prepare to deliver the Federal Budget.

Mr Chalmers will announce the Budget will return to deficit after two years of surplus and cost-of-living relief measures for millions of Australians this evening.

In a week where Mr Albanese is expected to announce a date for the federal election, the Labor heavyweights looked relaxed as they discussed strategies for the post Budget onslaught of questioning.

An afternoon at the pub is rapidly becoming a luxury with alcohol prices in licenced venues skyrocketing.

The announcement in this evening’s Federal Budget that alcohol sales will have a two-year excise hike freeze imposed may sound exciting for pub-goers, but the move will likely only save drinkers around 10c a beer.

Draught beer attracts an excise rate of $10.57 to $43.49 for every litre of alcohol after the latest increase of 2 to 3 per cent in February.

A pint of full-strength draught beer – with alcohol content of 5 per cent – attracts excise of about $1.

The government expects to collect $2.7 billion in excise this financial year from beer alone.

NSW Premier Chris Minns and his Labor government have had a court victory and now the clock is ticking to find a resolution ahead of more potential worker strikes.

The federal court has dismissed an application from the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) to suspend orders forcing them to delay industrial action.

The Minns government now have until July 1 to negotiate an agreement with the union or risk more train strikes across the broader Sydney basin.

The Teal incumbent MP for Kooyong, Monique Ryan, is in for another day of scrutiny after her supporters have were spied using public property as a display for her campaign advertising.

On the day after Ms Ryan’s teal-clothed husband had to apologise for removing a large campaign poster of Liberal challenger Amelia Hamer in a suburban Melbourne street, commuters have qestioned the delivery of an advertising campaign in Melbourne.

“I unreservedly apologise for removing the sign,” Peter Jordan said in a statement after the video circulated online on Monday morning showing him being confronted by a Coalition supporter near Burke St, Hawthorn.

“I believed the sign was illegally placed but I should have reported my concerns to council.”

But on Tuesday morning Ms Ryan’s team were out using public property to display her signs at a suburban train station.

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