Australia to reveal economic plan for deteriorating outlook

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s new government will propose an economic plan to steer the nation through rising inflation and interest rates while reigning in debt. Treasurer Jim Chalmers will deliver his center-left Labor Party’s first annual budget Tuesday for the fiscal year that began in July. It will be the first budget by a Labor government in nine years and must contend with unprecedented levels of pandemic-induced debt. Chalmers said rising inflation was the primary influence on how he drafted his economic blueprint. The government will need to get its budget measures through the Parliament, where compromises may need to be made.