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Friday, May 12, 2023
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2003 GRAND FINAL ANNIVERSARY – SPECIAL EDITION OF EXTRA TIME INSIDE
PENRITH SPIRIT SHINES $60,000 has been raised for local charity The Haven at the Penrith Mayoral Charity Ball, held at Panthers last Friday night. Read all about it on Page 13
The Haven Co-Chair Natalie Falvey, Chair Sharon Levy,and Penrith Mayor Tricia Hitchen.
BREAKDOWN: HOW THE FEDERAL BUDGET WILL IMPACT PENRITH FAMILIES
BUDGET BACK IN BLACK TROY DODDS
L
abor will return the Federal Budget to surplus, albeit temporarily, and has addressed a range of cost-of-living issues as Treasurer Jim Chalmers aims to set up the country for a mixed economic road ahead. A $40 per fortnight increase to Job Seeker,
extra rent assistance, an incentive for doctors to bulk bill, and an electricity rebate were among the cornerstone announcements from the Treasurer. Delivering his Budget speech in Canberra on Tuesday, Chalmers confirmed a forecasted surplus of $4.2 billion for 2022-23, before deficits in the years that follow – but much smaller than the Coalition had predicted when in government.
In a Budget where cost-of-living was a central focus, Chalmers said the next two years would be difficult. “Outside of the pandemic and the Global Financial Crisis, the next two years are expected to be the weakest for global growth in over two decades,” he said. “This will affect us here in Australia. Our economic growth is expected to slow from three and a quarter per cent in 2022–23 to
one and a half per cent the year after, before recovering to two and a quarter per cent in the next. “In this environment, inflation remains our primary economic challenge – it drives rate rises; it erodes real wages, which is why this Budget is carefully calibrated to alleviate inflationary pressures, not add to them.” Story contines on » p. 3
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