21 April 2026

Parliamentary Budget Office analysis reveals Australia’s debt trajectory will defy Treasury predictions and continue rising into the next decade, contradicting the government’s fiscal strategy.

The $15bn National Reconstruction Fund can be unleashed to ­invest in Australia’s petrol and ­diesel capacity after the Albanese government amended its investment mandate, as Jim Chalmers prepares to unveil fuel security measures in next month’s budget.

West Australian Premier Roger Cook says he has directly warned Prime Minister Anthony Albanese against imposing a new tax on gas exports, as energy giant Woodside warned a future 25 per cent levy would kill its $30 billion Browse project.

The Albanese government’s new chief lawyer says boards of Australian oil and gas companies could face a wave of legal action because of an offshore ruling on climate change, adding to the heavy burden of environmental compliance risks already facing directors.

The Queensland and Albanese federal governments are at loggerheads over who should make the next move to fast-track exploration of oil reserves west of Brisbane that proponents say could protect Australia from fuel shocks like the one caused by the war in Iran.