Media Releases

12 May 2026

The federal budget has sought to balance cost-of-living relief with spending restraint and structural reform, as Australians continue to grapple with rising living costs and global instability. On the defining challenge of our time, however, this budget is a failure.

The Albanese government has fallen badly short on one of the key themes of its budget: resilience. Its continued failure to invest meaningfully in climate adaptation and disaster preparedness will leave Australia dangerously exposed and far worse off in the long term.

The government continues to take a narrow and outdated view of national security, pouring billions into defence while leaving climate resilience severely underfunded. It is troubling that just $117 million has been allocated to climate adaptation and disaster resilience, compared with $863.8 million over four years for the nuclear-powered submarine program.

This budget exposes a clear and deliberate choice by the Albanese government: protect multinational fossil fuel interests or secure a fair return for Australians. It chose the former. The refusal to remove fossil fuel subsidies or introduce a 25% gas export tax is a major failure of leadership and a lost opportunity to deliver fairness in the national interest.

The government will spend just $3.4 million over four years on measures aimed at putting downward pressure on property insurance premiums. This tokenistic funding is wholly inadequate in the face of escalating climate risk and rising insurance costs. The government is failing to invest meaningfully in climate adaptation and resilience, while doing little to ensure people can actually keep their homes insurable.

I welcome an overhaul of property tax concessions, which may assist more Australians into the housing market. I also welcome targeted cost-of-living and tax relief measures that will provide some short-term relief to struggling households.

However, the government’s claim of strong budget management is undermined by poorly targeted measures such as halving the fuel excise for all motorists, and a universal $250 tax cut, which risk adding to inflationary pressures at a time when restraint is needed.

I have fought hard to secure several important measures in this budget, including almost $183 million to address financial abuse and non-compliance in the Child Support Scheme, and more than $500 million in disbursements for medical research. I also strongly welcome the permanent instant asset write-off for small businesses investing in new equipment.

The productivity measures in this budget are a step forward in reducing red tape and encouraging investment, and I support stronger incentives for research and development to keep Australia competitive. However, more ambition is needed to ensure Australia’s 2.6 million small businesses can not only survive, but thrive.

It is also deeply concerning that there is no increase to JobSeeker or broader social supports. At a time of persistent cost-of-living pressure, this is a significant omission.

Finally, the budget contains little meaningful funding for anti-racism initiatives, at a time when such investment is urgently needed to address rising social division fuelled by One Nation.