Key events
Queensland treasurer to hand down his second budget today
Andrew Messenger
Queensland treasurer David Janetzki will hand down his second budget today, tipped to be a cautious rather than reformist plan for the state’s future.
There have been few major announcements in the lead-up to the budget, though the premier David Crisafulli and Janetzki promised at the weekend to introduce “no new or increased taxes” and vowed to continue funding the state’s 50c public transport fare scheme introduced under Labor premier Steven Miles.
The premier hasn’t repeated his 2025 vow of “no austerity” but it’s not expected to feature the sort of massive, unpopular cuts that cruelled the last non-Labor Queensland government, of premier Campbell Newman, in a single term.
But the opposition has spent the last days predicting cuts to the public service nonetheless.
Labor leader Miles claimed on Monday that infrastructure projects will be deferred or downgraded, such as the Coomera Connector highway project, a new road tunnel under Gympie Road in northern Brisbane, and rail projects in the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
“These are all projects that he promised would be funded and delivered in time for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, and he has broken that promise,” Miles said.
NSW toll cap to lower to $50 under budget measures handed down today
Penry Buckley
The New South Wales government will lower the weekly road toll cap from $60 to $50 for one year as part of cost of living measures handed down today in the 2026-27 state budget.
In advance of today’s budget, the Minns government has announced that the threshold for the cap, under which drivers can claim back from the government after they spend $60 per vehicle, will be lowered to $50 for the 12 months from July 6, a saving of $10 a week for motorists who already claim toll relief. Tolls on multiple roads managed by private operator Transurban will rise on July 1, leaving them on average more than 4% higher since July 2025.
The NSW transport minister, John Graham, says:
“Almost 950,000 toll account holders have sought and received cash back under the … $60 toll cap and by reducing the cap to $50 there will be 200,000 more joining them.”
In addition, the government has confirmed the scrapping of tolling administration fees – issued by post to people without a tolling account when they drive on a toll road – will take place in July after the policy was announced in December last year, following a commitment before the March 2023 election.
The state’s treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, has told Guardian Australia this year’s budget will include public transport fare relief. The state did not follow Victoria in making fares free amid the fallout from the US and Israel’s war in Iran, despite pressure from the NSW opposition, who have also repeatedly called on the government to fund new metro rail projects.
Mookhey says this year’s budget will be about about “relief, reform and discipline”, after the state’s growth forecast for 2026-27 dropped from 2.5% to 1% amid rising inflation and the global oil shock. We have reporters inside the budget lockup this morning, and will bring you the rest of the key announcements when the treasurer gives his speech at 12.30pm.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
It’s a busy day for political types. Canberra is hurtling towards its winter break as Labor scrambles to do deals to get its major tax and NDIS reforms through the Senate.
And it’s budget day in two big states: Queensland and New South Wales. We’ll bring you all the news once the lockups end but, in the meantime, as usual, there are pre-announcements and promises to pore over: a little toll relief in Sydney, sometimes dubbed the world’s most tolled city, and a hint to expect a lot of hard hats in Queensland with an infrastructure-focused plan.