Federal Budget 2018

Five ways the budget papers could save confusion and get straight to the point.

Australia’s chief scientist Alan Finkel explains why we want rules that allow us to trust artificial intelligence and the role that Australia can play in setting global standards.

‘Innovation’ is back. So is ‘digital’ and ‘data’. The budget papers give us a revealing insight into how the terminology of government changes over time, says VERONA BURGESS.

As a result of the mismatch of supply and demand, the government’s policy may need to change further. This will depend in large part on the evolving needs and wishes of our elderly citizens.

Tax cuts, health care, education and infrastructure were the dominant topics for news media articles, while on social media only one topic captured Australians’ attention — and they weren’t happy about it.

The federal government plans to spend about $600 million on a suite of diverse initiatives labelled as “delivering Australia’s digital future” in this year’s budget,

Tight spending controls and windfall of tax revenue has enabled the federal government to fund modest medium-term tax cuts, while continuing to invest heavily in infrastructure, health, and research.

The transformation of the public sector continues in Finance Minister Mathias Cormann’s 5th year in charge of agency resourcing with a focus on a smarter, more productive government workforce.

As we move closer to Treasurer Scott Morrison’s third budget, what we do know is this – Australia has a revenue problem.