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Australia politics live: Chalmers announces support package for businesses hit by fuel crisis including tax relief | Australian politics
Chalmers announces support package for small businesses hit by fuel crisis
The tax office will provide temporary relief for businesses unable to meet their tax obligations, while the government will help small businesses access faster credit, as part of measures to keep small businesses afloat.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is announcing the measures at a press conference in parliament.
The tax office relief will include, “more generous payment plans, remission of interest and penalties, and support in varying PAYG instalments where there has been a downturn in taxable income.”
And the government will extend the Small Business Responsible Lending Obligation exemption for a further 10 years.
Chalmers says these are “common sense steps”:
What we’re announcing today will make our systems more flexible, our supply chains more responsive, and also businesses more supportive as well.
Obviously, there is a threshold for where this kind of concessional treatment will be provided, but the ATO is prepared to provide that kind of support in circumstances which are obviously because of what we’re seeing in the Middle East.
Chalmers says the extension of the responsible lending obligation will ensure business aren’t “slugged with additional regulatory burden and delays when they’re accessing loans”.
Key events
Government out to avoid ‘Covid-style interventions’ over fuel, says Chalmers
While there have been comparisons between the shock of Covid and the fuel crisis, the government has maintained the two are not the same.
The government – under its four-stage plan – says it wants to avoid any mandate situation on fuel or where there would be interventions to make more people work from home.
Jim Chalmers reiterates the message when asked if fuel mandates are “inevitable” at some time after the Easter long weekend.
The treasurer says that a lot of the work, if not all the work the government is doing, is to “try and avoid some of those harsher, heavier handed interventions”.
This is a significant economic shock, a bit like the others, including Covid, but it’s not the same, and we go to great lengths to make sure that people understand that we are doing our best to avoid Covid-style interventions.
States ‘need to get their skates on’ to settle on GST return
Jim Chalmers says he wants to see the states quickly make a deal on returning part of their GST windfall from higher fuel prices – which was agreed to at the national cabinet.
The sticking point, is that the states are trying to figure out how to return that windfall, when they all receive very different amounts of GST revenue from the federal government.
Chalmers says the prime minister did a “good job” in making the states agree to return some of that GST, but now it needs to actually get done.
We don’t want to see this drag out forever. We don’t want to see the states and territories at war over this. We want to see the relief flow to motorists.
Was it a mistake letting the states try and figure it out themselves? Chalmers says he doesn’t believe so, and says he’s “not going to be part of a kind of unseemly brawl about this”, but that an agreement needs to be made “ASAP”.
Maximising economic benefits and minimising risk: Chalmers on AI agreement
Chalmers says he’ll be meeting with Anthropic’s chief executive, Dario Amodei, later today, after the company just signed a memorandum of understanding with the Australian government.
The treasures is asked whether the company has given any assurances around water security, energy and copyright.
Chalmers says the agreements with individual companies on AI are “about maximising the economic benefits of AI and minimising the risks to people and communities”.
Obviously we want to make sure that this massive interest in datacentre investment in our country comes with obligations, including natural resource management, water, obviously energy, a whole range of relevant factors here.
Is the Treasury modelling a recession scenario?
Jim Chalmers is asked whether the Treasury is modelling “negative growth” (which would mean a recession scenario) as a result of the war in the Middle East.
The treasurer says broadly that Treasury is modelling a range of different scenarios.
He doesn’t rule out that recession conditions are being considered, but reiterates that the sooner the war ends, the better for everyone.
The more substantial the oil shock, the longer that the war drags on, the longer it takes for the global economy to get the show back on the road. Obviously, those are the key considerations in that modelling, and the longer the shock drags out, obviously, the harsher the consequences for our economy, whether that’s measured by inflation or by growth or by impacts on the labour market.
Australians didn’t choose this war. They’re paying the price for this war at the petrol bowser and more broadly as well. From an economic point of view, this war can’t end soon enough, but the consequences will linger for longer.
He says again that the two previous scenarios, that forecast inflation in the “high fours or low fives” are now considered to be “conservative”, but he won’t put a new number on it.
Chalmers says the government and Treasury will continue working through various scenarios and forecasts.
Support will ‘shield small businesses from the worst’, says Aly
The small business minister, Anne Aly, says it’s tough at the best of times for small businesses to operate, but these measures will help “shield small businesses from the worst of these global shocks that are due to the war in the Middle East”.
Aly says the government has consulted with small businesses and peak bodies to put together today’s measures.
We can’t control the war in the Middle East. We can’t stop the war in the Middle East, but what a responsible government can do is to do everything that it can to shield its citizens and to shield small businesses.
Business Council of Australia chief executive, Bran Black, is also at the press conference and endorses the collaboration between government and industry.
He says, “we need a genuine Team Australia response that’s not empty rhetoric.”
Claude.ai signs onto Australia’s national AI plan
Sarah Basford Canales
The makers of Claude.ai will become the first company to sign on to Australia’s national AI plan after a meeting with Anthony Albanese this morning.
Anthropic, one of the world’s largest AI companies, will meet with the prime minister, science minister, Tim Ayres, and assistant science minister, Andrew Charlton, to sign a memorandum of understanding.
The memorandum, which is not legally binding, sets out an agreement to track AI progress and “promote safety, support supply chain security and power Australia’s research, development and innovation sector”.
Ayres said:
The Australian government and Anthropic are working together to harness AI responsibly – securing investment into Australia’s energy grid, driving economic resilience and safety for all Australians.
Chalmers announces support package for small businesses hit by fuel crisis
The tax office will provide temporary relief for businesses unable to meet their tax obligations, while the government will help small businesses access faster credit, as part of measures to keep small businesses afloat.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is announcing the measures at a press conference in parliament.
The tax office relief will include, “more generous payment plans, remission of interest and penalties, and support in varying PAYG instalments where there has been a downturn in taxable income.”
And the government will extend the Small Business Responsible Lending Obligation exemption for a further 10 years.
Chalmers says these are “common sense steps”:
What we’re announcing today will make our systems more flexible, our supply chains more responsive, and also businesses more supportive as well.
Obviously, there is a threshold for where this kind of concessional treatment will be provided, but the ATO is prepared to provide that kind of support in circumstances which are obviously because of what we’re seeing in the Middle East.
Chalmers says the extension of the responsible lending obligation will ensure business aren’t “slugged with additional regulatory burden and delays when they’re accessing loans”.
Support for vulnerable Australians at risk due to fuel crisis: Acoss
The Australian Council of Social Services (Acoss) says frontline services are struggling to operate, and are concerned they will lose volunteers as the fuel crisis worsens.
The body says challenges are increasing for services that provide in-home support for Australians – including aged care, mental health and disability services.
It says recent survey data shows that more than 75% of community transport organisations will become financially unviable when diesel prices reach $3.50 per litre.
The government’s cut to the fuel excise, which will reduce prices by 26.3 cents per litre, came into effect today.
Acoss says First Nations Australians in remote communities are also particularly impacted by the crisis.
Cassandra Goldie, Acoss chief executive, said:
Our members are reporting staff who can’t get to clients, volunteers not showing up, and food supply chains breaking down. This is happening while multiple states and territories are simultaneously dealing with extreme weather events.
Butler tells states to ‘get back around the table’ on fuel GST windfall return to motorists
After failing to reach an agreement yesterday, Mark Butler hopes the states will come back to the table and to discuss returning some of the GST windfall from higher fuel prices.
At the national cabinet, states agreed to give back some of the GST accrued during the fuel crisis. As GST is a percentage of price, when the price goes up, it also increases.
Butler told the Today show this morning, that the federal government is keen for the states to agree on an arrangement.
They did agree at the national cabinet on Monday to pass this windfall gain back to motorists. We wanted that to happen through an arrangement between the commonwealth and the states whereby we’d be able to deliver an additional cut to the fuel excise, which would flow in the same way through to bowsers. But they haven’t yet been able to agree that amongst themselves. We want them to do that. We want them to get back around the table over the course of the next day or so.
Butler is on a panel with Matt Canavan, who says the PM “promised” the GST windfall return and has “broken that promise within days.”
‘Nothing particularly out of the ordinary’: Labor minister dismisses Trump’s European tirade
While other politicians have dodged commenting on Donald Trump’s latest social media attack on European allies, Clare O’Neil has dismissed the whole thing as “nothing particularly out of the ordinary” from the US president.
Speaking to Sunrise this morning on a panel with shadow frontbencher Michaelia Cash, O’Neil said the commentary from the US president is “absolutely inconsistent” with the longstanding partnership and friendship between Australia and the US.
I think in the scale of late night missives from Donald Trump, this is nothing particularly out of the ordinary. When it comes to the conflict in Iran, we have a pretty simple view … we want to see de-escalation of this conflict, not escalation. And we want to see a clear timeframe for how this conflict will be brought to an end.
Cash says the message for Australia is that “we must be stronger, more focused and more prepared when it comes to our own fuel security here at home”.
She points out that the US has singled out Australia twice, and there’s been mixed messaging between the PM and the deputy PM over whether the US has made any requests to Australia for support.
Richard Marles told the ABC’s 730 on 10 March that “A number of other countries, including the US have made requests which are centred on helping to provide for the defence of the Gulf countries.” While the prime minister has said, “there is no request being made to Australia that has not been agreed to.”
Butler also avoids ‘daily commentary’ on Trump
The government has reaffirmed it will not send troops to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
The health minister, Mark Butler, spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning, and said Australia only remains involved in a small defensive capacity, providing a military aircraft to support the United Arab Emirates.
We don’t have any plans to do that. I think that’s been made clear by a number of ministers, we are involved in some defensive operations to protect those innocent neighbours, particularly the UAE, where there are many thousands of Australians as expats. We don’t have any plans to participate in military activities in the strait.
Butler also avoids making running commentary on Donald Trump, and says despite the escalation in the Middle East, he believes the alliance and Aukus agreement with the US is rock solid.
We’re very confident about the future of Aukus, the US, president, the administration, more broadly, the Congress, has made clear its commitment to that important security partnership …
This is why we don’t provide a daily commentary on the remarks made by the US president. We’re focused on the substance of our relationship.
In a similar vein, Labor frontbencher Catherine King told RN Breakfast this morning: “We’ve said right at the start of all of this, we wouldn’t be running a running commentary on everything that President Trump has saying.”
‘I’d be a very busy boy’: O’Brien avoids judgment on Trump’s comments
Asked what he made of Donald Trump’s comments, telling European allies to “get your own oil”, Ted O’Brien says he wouldn’t comment.
Trump on his Truth Social website overnight, told European governments worried about fuel prices to “go get your own oil” by force from the Gulf, comments that sent oil prices even higher.
On AM, O’Brien said either way the strait of Hormuz is still blocked, and should be unblocked.
I’ve deliberately avoided making a running commentary on the comments from the president, I’d be a very busy boy if I did otherwise.
I think though, if you look through the language and the tone of the president to the key issue here, we have the strait of Hormuz still effectively blocked. It is in the globe’s interest, indeed, it is in Australia’s national interest for it to be opened.
Australia contributing to offensive action in strait of Hormuz ‘in national interest’, says shadow foreign minister
The opposition says we should be “open” to sending assets and personnel to open up the strait of Hormuz, but questioned Australia’s capability.
Speaking to ABC’s AM program this morning, shadow foreign minister Ted O’Brien said supporting action to open up the strait would be in Australia’s national interest.
The key question is, is it in our national interest? And my view is yes, it is. The second question is, what can we contribute in a material sense, that part of the equation we are yet to understand? And I think they’re the two questions that need to be answered … but I believe we should be open to making contribution.
But he clarified that would not mean sending “boots on the ground” into Iran or participating directly in the war.
O’Brien said supporting efforts to clear the strait are “not unlike previous conversations” where the government deployed the E7-A wedge tail aircraft and personnel with bipartisan support.
Hike in health insurance premiums comes into effect today
Natasha May
The largest increase in private health insurance premiums in almost 10 years comes into effect today.
After multiple requests asking insurers to resubmit their premiums, the government in February approved an average premium increase of 4.41% from 1 April 2026.
The health minister, Mark Butler, said the ultimate increase reflected the rising costs of providing care and ensuring the viability of private hospitals.
However, with premiums rising faster than inflation, many consumers are questioning the value proposition. You can read more about why some are losing confidence here:
Krishani Dhanji
Welcome
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you for the final sitting day of the fortnight.
After a couple of technical glitches we are here with you and ready to go!
Australians will face the biggest rise in insurance premiums in almost 10 years, after the government approved an average premium increase of 4.41% that will come into effect today.
The government’s fuel excise has just come into effect – but Labor says don’t expect the savings to show up today. Meanwhile both sides of politics are avoiding responding to Donald Trump’s latest criticism of European nations, telling them to “get your own oil”, after he criticised them for not supporting the US’s offensive efforts in the Middle East.
And Labor’s draft national platform has been released, removing the party’s longstanding opposition to mandatory jail terms, and includes more assertive language on China. You can read the full story here.
There’s plenty happening so let’s get stuck in.
