Energy price relief on the way but cash handouts off the table in upcoming budget

Australians hoping for a cash handout in the upcoming budget may be left disappointed as the Treasurer wants to hold back on one thing.

Relief for rising power bills will be a key feature of the upcoming budget but the Treasurer has downplayed expectations further handouts are on the table for struggling Australians.

Announced as part of a deal between the states and Commonwealth last December, the rebadged $1.5bn package will be the “centrepiece” of the budget due to be handed down in four weeks time, Jim Chalmers said.

“We know that is a big part of the cost of living pressure that people are confronting right now,” he told Seven’s Sunrise on Tuesday morning.

“We'll try and take the edge off that where we can, but we’ve got to do it in a responsible way. We’re working through these issues in a really methodical way as well so that the budget strikes all of these balances,” Dr Chalmers said.

A $1.5bn package to help with energy prices will be included in the upcoming budget. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar

The relief will be applied directly to power bills as credits rather than cash handouts to eligible people on income support, pensions, recipients of the family tax benefit and to small businesses.

But Australians hoping for further handouts could be left disappointed as the Treasurer again flagged spending cuts in the upcoming budget

“We have indicated we will be trimming spending further in the May budget but that's so that we can make room to fund the things that we value, whether it’s health care or aged care, the NDIS, protecting our borders and our national security,” he told Nine.

The Treasurer will head to the US this week for a series of meetings with global financial leaders, including US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, to discuss the international outlook.

Jim Chalmers will travel to the US for a series of meetings on the global outlook. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe and Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy will accompany him to Washington DC for the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting.

Speaking ahead of the trip, Dr Chalmers flagged the trip would be crucial to the shaping of the May 9 budget.

“This is a challenging and complex time for the global economy. One of the defining influences on the budget that I hand down in May will be this global economic uncertainty,” he added.

“So this quick brief visit to confer with my counterparts couldn‘t be better timed.”

But the outlook isn’t all grim for Australia, the Treasurer assured, as unemployment remains low and “the beginnings of wages growth”.

“We have a lot coming at us from around the world but we have a lot going for us as well,” he said.

Originally published as Energy price relief on the way but cash handouts off the table in upcoming budget