Former treasury secretary John Fraser has called for sweeping cuts across the public service and the $56 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme to return the budget to surplus, even as Labor MPs insist that government spending should not be blamed for runaway inflation.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher are under pressure to use December’s mid-year budget update to rein in spending to help the Reserve Bank of Australia fight inflation. On Friday, a leading economist warned that the weakening economy meant a 50-50 chance of a recession.
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