Households will gain $14.6 billion in federal help with expenses ranging from energy subsidies to healthcare as part of a budget agenda that seeks to drive down inflation and prevent rising prices eating into family incomes.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will reveal the spending total on Monday with a promise that the federal outlays will not fuel inflation because the new measures will cut consumer costs, with one element giving 5.5 million households relief on their energy bills.But the Coalition is challenging the government to prove it can reduce inflation from its current level of 7 per cent, turning consumer prices into a key political contest before the budget is announced on Tuesday night.
The government is also preparing to broaden income support for single mothers, increase payment to unemployed people over the age of 55 and could also boost rent assistance, but it is yet to confirm whether it will increase the JobSeeker rate for all recipients regardless of age. The government is also planning to subside childcare fees from July this year under a $4.7 billion package already funded separately in the October budget.
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