has blown a $1.2 billion hole in the upcoming federal budget, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers.The government has announced an extension to the disaster recovery allowance and payments to include Brisbane, Ipswich, Moreton Bay, Toowoomba and Somerset in Queensland and Clarence Valley, Richmond, Bellingen and Kyogle in NSW.Those eligible can receive a once-off payment of $1000 per adult and $400 per child.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers at a press conference today. (Nine)Chalmers said the government's disaster response and payments will leave a billion-dollar mark on the budget, which will be handed down on Tuesday next week."Treasury expects there will be about a $1.2 billion hit to economic output, just as a consequence of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred. That's about a quarter of a percentage point in GDP," he told reporters at a press conference today.The $1.2 billion will be allocated towards funding to rebuild affected communities and will come under the total $13.5 billion for disaster response and recovery.Thousands of NSW fish deaths expected due to cyclone 'blackwater'View GalleryChalmers said he also anticipated an impact on fruit and vegetable costs after farms were inundated and an upward pressure on building costs as residents begin to rebuild."As a consequence, there will also be costs to the budget, and those costs will be substantial," he said.The past two budgets have delivered a surplus, totalling a $200 billion improvement.Chalmers said he will be "printing a deficit for this year", but it will be "much, much smaller than what we inherited from our political opponents".
Dangerous winds brought down trees across affected communities. (Brooke Hanson/Supplied)
A car drives through a flooded road in Carina in Brisbane. (Getty)At the peak of the weather system, about five million people and two million homes in south-east Queensland and northern NSW were in the firing line for the once-in-a-generation event. The category 2 storm was downgraded to category 1 after making landfall on the islands off south-east Queensland on March 8 and weakened further to a tropical low by the time it crossed the mainland coast.More than 450,000 homes were without power, and the government estimates about 12 million work hours were lost as businesses closed down and residents were told to remain indoors.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was expected to call the federal election on March 9 for April 12, which would have impacted the federal budget initially scheduled to be delivered on March 25.The announcement was jeopardised when Alfred slowed and delayed its landfall to that same weekend.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses the media on Cyclone Alfred early March. (Alex Ellinghausen)On the eve of the cyclone's forecasted landfall, Albanese confirmed he would not call the election that weekend or the following Monday."I have no intention of doing anything that distracts from what we need to do and what we need to do is to look after each other at this difficult time. This is not a time for looking at politics," he told ABC's 7.30.It meant that, because of the legally required 33-day campaign length, an April 12 election could not be held.Chalmers will hand down the federal budget as planned next week, with the federal election now expected to be held sometime in May.
Cost of living 'front and centre'
While the Coalition wants all public servants in the office, the cost of living continues to lead concerns of voters heading into the budget."Of course, cost of living will be front and centre, making sure we are supporting households where we can," Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said.Today a survey from Woolworths reaffirmed the cost of living including groceries as the number one concern of voters.The Greens say a four-day work week will help."We know the four day working week can work for workers and for employees," Senator, Barbara Pocock said.The Coalition says further tax cuts will help."If we can afford tax cuts we can – but it will depend on how much money is in the budget ," Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said.The Coalition now says they won't promise tax cuts until they see the nation's books, and they won't see the nations books until they are back in power, asking Australians for a vote of faith with their finances.