Chalmers signals inflation focus in budget – as it happened

That is all for today folks. Thank you for joining us on the blog. Here is a wrap up:

• Five state education ministers have urged the federal government to properly fund public schools ahead of the budget on Tuesday;

• Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has condemned a vote by the Australian government at the United Nations in support of giving a Palestinian delegation more rights;

• Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has promised a “balanced” federal budget that will combat inflation while offering Australians some cost-of-living relief;

• Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor says the government should follow financial rules laid down by Peter Costello when putting together its budgets;

• Warragamba Dam is spilling after continuous rain across the Sydney metropolitan area and reports of thunderstorms across northern New South Wales and south- east Queensland;

• The Greens have called for the government to commit to making childcare free;

• A tornado has hit Bunbury, about 175km south of Perth, causing millions of dollars in damage and scattering asbestos through the local community.

We will be back tomorrow morning with all the latest.

Ahead of Tuesday’s federal budget, Victorian Greens Senator Steph Hodgins-May has called for free childcare.

The senator says making childcare free would provide women with economic security and provide a “lifeline” to those seeking to escape violent partners by ensuring their children are safe while they try to find work. She cited research by the Australia Institute that found free childcare would combat inflation by boosting the participation of women in the workforce.

View image in fullscreen

In this cost-of-living crisis, early childhood education and care is too expensive and too hard to access. As a result, women are missing out on paid work, they’re being left behind because they can’t afford childcare.

For women trying to flee violent partners, free childcare means women aren’t forced to choose between violence and poverty.

If we can spend $368bn on submarines, we can spend money on making childcare free for all parents across Australia. Labor must prioritise women’s safety.

Childcare is an essential public service, and for children the early years are the most important in their development. It removes barriers that limit choices for women, boosts women’s capacity to engage in paid work and relieves financial pressures in a cost-of-living crisis.

Hodgins-May replaced Greens Senator Janet Rice at the start of May after Rice retired.

Sydney’s Warragamba Dam is spilling over after reaching capacity following heavy downpours across New South Wales.

WaterNSW has confirmed the dam began spilling at 7.30am on Sunday following widespread rain across Sydney catchments.

View image in fullscreen

The water reservoir last spilled after heavy rain on 6 April, causing catastrophic damage to some homes near the catchment area.

The SES has issued minor flood warnings for the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond and the Colo River but does not expect any significant impact to properties in the area.

There will possibly be low-lying flooding over roads but we’re not expecting major impacts like there was [during] the last spill.

Over the past 24 hours to 9am on Sunday, Sydney had recorded rainfall totals in excess of 30mm at Campbelltown (35.4mm) and Observatory Hill (31.2mm).

Heavy rain and significant runoff led to a 10-metre wide sink hole opening in a residential street at Dover Heights in Sydney’s east on Saturday night.

NSW SES Waverley-Woollahra Deputy Unit Commander Anthia Kollaras says:

We were on scene until 1 o’clock this morning, using sandbags and a retaining wall to divert water away from properties. The hole was quite big, and part of the road had washed away.

It was one of 273 incidents SES volunteers attended across the state in the 24 hours to 8am on Sunday.

– AAP

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has kicked off Sunday morning with a media blitz, giving an extended interview to the ABC and appearing on channels Nine and Sky.

Speaking to ABC earlier this morning, Chalmers promised a “responsible” budget that would respond to persistent inflation pressures while offering modest cost-of-living relief.

Chalmers is trying to present the budget as a good news story saying “it is a good opportunity to remind people that we have made pretty substantial progress in this inflation fight” as inflation is “less than half of what its peak was in 2022”.

There is a really sharp near-term focus on the inflation fight in this budget. It’s the most important thing we can focus on in the near term but we need to remember that we have a growth challenge as well and we will invest in the future.

Challenged on the decision to tweak broad-ranging tax cuts instead of winding back or scrapping them, Chalmers said the government’s approaches “are bang on for the circumstances that we are confronting”.

We found other ways to provide cost-of-living help to those who may be not in the tax system, for example, or people who are under pressure in particular.

The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor says the government should be cautious about its spending or risk “another flop” in its 2024 budget.

Taylor says the government should “re-establish the fiscal rules that Peter Costello put in place back in the 1990s to have a structural budget balance.

View image in fullscreen

The shadow treasurer accused the government of $209bn in additional spending since it came to power.

“That’s over $20,000 for every Australian household. I bet there’s not many Australian households out there listening to this who feel as though they’ve got that benefit. That’s what they’ve done.”

Challenging on this figure, Taylor says “it’s in the budget papers”.

Part of this figure includes automatic increases in Jobseeker and rent assistance, which the Coalition has supported.

2d ago18.57 EDT

States urge fair funding for public schools in federal budget

Josh Taylor

The education ministers of five states have urged the Albanese government to fairly fund public schools in Tuesday’s federal budget.

The ministers for South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland joined the Australian Education Union and principals’ associations to call for the federal government to bring the School Resourcing Standard up to 100%.

The Gonski 2.0 education reforms require states to fund 75% of the standard for public schools, with the federal government funding 20%, leaving a funding gap. The education ministers say fair funding would lead to billions more flowing to schools that need it. Only in the ACT are public schools funded to the full standard.

The NSW minister Prue Car said:

State governments are facing unprecedented pressure as our public schools do the heavy lifting when it comes to educating growing populations, and supporting students with increasingly complex needs.

The Victorian minister Ben Carroll said:

Federal Labor changed the course of education funding with the Gonski Review, the biggest reforms in 40 years. Today, we have a collective opportunity to change course after the inequities delivered by the federal Coalition to the school system.

We stand ready to work with the commonwealth government to deliver fair and full funding to government schools.

The Australian Government Primary Principals Association President Pat Murphy said:

When it comes to education there is no bigger elephant in the room than why government school students are not funded at 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard.

Since 2012 when the Gonski report identified the minimum funding a student should receive, we see only 3% of public school students in Australia receiving this minimum standard.

The federal education minister, Jason Clare, has struck deals with the NT and Western Australia – who did not sign onto the call on Sunday – and has said as part of negotiations with the other states that he wants the extra funding tied to reporting obligations on the states.

Scott Morrison has described Australia’s vote in support of a United Nations motion to give additional rights to Palestine as the “most hostile act of an Australian government to the state of Israel in our history”.

The former prime minister said Palestine was “currently governed by terrorists” and that any recognition “must only occur where there is an agreement and when Palestine can be a functional state”.

Labor backbencher Josh Burns, who supports a two-state solution, said on Instagram that Australia should have abstained from the vote while Hamas remained in power in the Gaza Strip.

An abstention would have signalled we’re open to further recognition, but that we acknowledge the short-term hurdles that need to be overcome in order to achieve lasting piece.

Anti-Semitism is on the rise in Australia and this decision will make Jewish Australians feel even more isolated as they remain gravely concerned for hostages in Gaza.

The foreign minister Penny Wong has defended the move, saying Australia’s vote is “the opposite of what Hamas wants”.

Australia was among 143 UN general assembly members to pass the resolution calling on the security council to reconsider granting full membership to Palestine. The resolution was significantly watered down in last-minute negotiations.

For more on this story, read the full report below:

And welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.

Education ministers from five Australian states have urged the Albanese government to fairly fund public schools ahead of Tuesday’s federal budget. Ministers from South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland joined with the Australian Education Union and principals’ associations asking federal Labor to fully fund public schools.

The Labor MP Josh Burns and the former prime minister Scorr Morrison have been two of the more vocal critics after Australia voted in support of a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership. The foreign minister Penny Wong said supporting the draft resolution was not about recognising Palestine as a state.

I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.

With that, let’s get started ...