An estimated $11 billion hole that has appeared in the budget since May, largely driven by higher interest payments, is a key impediment to the government’s attempts to deliver net savings when it hands down the mid-year budget update in December.
With the government under intense pressure to alleviate rampant inflation, every minister has been told to scour their portfolio for savings, and to not bother asking for any new spending, including any new cost-of-living measures.
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