Australia news live: Qatar Airways hearing begins; NSW to post $7.8bn deficit before string of surpluses | Australian politics#Australia #news #live #Qatar #Airways #hearing #begins #NSW #post #78bn #deficit #string #surpluses #Australian #politics

NSW to post $7.8bn deficit before string of surpluses

Jonathan Barrett

New South Wales will record a $7.8bn deficit this financial year when it hands down its state budget today before enjoying an anticipated run of surpluses backed by revenue streams that outpace expenses.

While the 2023-24 result will be about $700m worse than forecast at the pre-election budget, the overall position has improved by $3.6bn over the four years to 2026-27.

The NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, has said Labor’s first budget for the state in more than a decade will lay the groundwork for future reform. The new government will need to address a chronic housing crisis in Australia’s most populous state, while being careful not to fuel inflation through overspending.

The government has already announced its intention to see more homes built closer to Sydney’s CBD and along transport routes.

Mookhey will announce on Tuesday that $13bn has been redirected through an expenditure review process as a means to deliver on its budget priorities while managing financial pressures.

Housing affordability and essential services are two of the priority areas.

But the state’s spending will be closely watched, given NSW is on the cusp of a credit rating downgrade, largely due to its escalating debt burden.

There will also be changes to a wealth fund set up by the previous Liberal government, with its usefulness called into question given it is forecast to generate smaller returns than the interest repayments on the rising debt levels.

The expenditure review was announced soon after Labor took office in March.

NSW is forecast to generate a $1.6bn surplus by 2025-26, before recording a $1.5bn surplus the following year.

Any shock to the property market could derail the anticipated return to surplus, given the state’s heavy financial reliance on property transfer taxes (stamp duty).

Emily Wind

Good morning everyone, and happy Tuesday!

I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be with you on the live blog today. Thanks to Martin Farrer for kicking things off.

If you see anything that needs attention on the blog, feel free to send me an email: emily.wind.casual@theguardian.com.

And with that, let’s get into it.

Government to spend $1.5bn on upgrade for maritime. surveillance aircraft

Daniel Hurst

The federal government will spend $1.5bn on expanding and upgrading Australia’s maritime surveillance aircraft.

The government will announce today that it has approved the purchase of a fourth MQ-4C Triton, a remotely piloted aircraft system that has a range of up to 15,000km, despite the US navy recently scaling back its own procurement plans.

The funding also includes upgrades to Australia’s existing fleet of 14 Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and response aircraft (these are crewed). The government says these Poseidon upgrades will deliver “enhancements to anti-submarine warfare, maritime strike and intelligence collection capabilities”.

The defence strategic review had called for Australia to project military power further from its shores, amid concerns about China’s assertion of sovereignty in the contested South China Sea.

Prior to this decision, Australia already had ordered three MQ-4C Triton systems from Northrop Grumman to “provide long-range, persistent surveillance across Australia’s maritime region”. The first of the already ordered aircraft, including ground and support systems, is due to be delivered to Australia next year.

The new approval is for a fourth Triton, which the government expects to receive in the 2027-28 financial year.

It says that the Triton aircraft “will be based at RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory, and operated by the newly re-formed Number 9 squadron, located at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia”.

The Poseidon aircraft upgrades, meanwhile, are planned to run from 2026 to 2030.

The minister for defence industry, Pat Conroy, said:

The purchase of an additional Triton will enhance operations from Australia’s northern bases, a priority under the defence strategic review.

The upgrades to the fleet of Poseidon aircraft strengthens our ability to secure and protect Australia’s maritime interests.

Hearing into government’s decision to reject Qatar Airways routes begins

Sarah Basford Canales

The inquiry into the federal government’s decision-making process to grant or reject additional flights to airlines begins today in Sydney.

To bring you up to speed, the Coalition-majority committee is looking to get answers into why the transport minister, Catherine King, knocked back Qatar’s request to offer an additional 28 flights a week to Australia’s major cities.

So far, we’re heard a few of the “factors” that played into the decision – it wasn’t in the national interest, and the Doha incident – where women were subject to invasive examinations in Qatar’s airport – was a backdrop.

But back to the hearings now. Today’s hearing will focus on alleged “slot hoarding” at Sydney Airport by airlines and the impact it has on prices and competition.

There’s been a bit of a last-minute scramble to get witnesses to front the inquiry, but today we’re expecting to hear from Sydney Airport and Flight Centre.

Marque Lawyers, the legal firm representing the five Australian women who are suing Qatar Airways over the 2020 Doha incident, are also expected to appear.

There will be three more hearings after today wraps – one this Friday in Perth, and two next week in Brisbane and Canberra. It’s expected Qantas, unions and Perth Airport will appear at the hearing this Friday.

Yesterday, it was confirmed the Qatar Airways chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, would not be appearing, as well as former Qantas boss Alan Joyce, who is over in Europe.

Neither has ruled out appearing at one of the other three hearings.

Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer, bringing you some overnight headlines before Emily Wind takes over.

After two weeks of escalating rhetoric and division around the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, the no camp has taken a majority lead in our polling series for the first time. Our latest Essential poll today shows the naysayers with an expected 51% of the vote. But 29% of the electorate are still “persuadable”.

A young woman remains in a critical condition in hospital this morning and another is in a stable condition after being stabbed at the Australian National University campus in Canberra yesterday. A 24-year-old man, who is not thought to be a student at the university, has been arrested.

The inquiry into the federal government’s decision-making process to grant or reject additional flights to airlines begins this morning, with the Coalition looking for answers about why Qatar Airways was denied new routes. Then at midday we get details of Labor’s first state budget in NSW for 10 years when the lockup ends and Daniel Mookhey reveals his secrets.

And Scott Morrison has told a church congregation in Perth that God will “sort out” the world’s problems, as he warned about an “increasingly hostile” world. Speaking at the Encounter City Church yesterday in a service commemorating its 50th anniversary, the former prime minister said that God has “a way of reminding us … who’s in charge and it’s not us – thank God for that”.