Media releases

Today’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows that inflation remains low, with the All Groups CPI increasing by 0.9 per cent in the March quarter 2004 and yearly inflation declining to 2.0percent.

At the IMF/World Bank Ministerial meetings in Washington, DC, the Treasurer highlighted that a successful conclusion of the Doha Round of multilateral trade liberalisation was the largest single po

The Australian Government has asked the Productivity Commission to inquire into the impact of competition policy reforms undertaken by Australian governments to date, and to identify areas of oppor

The IMF in the April 2004 World Economic Outlook expects that Australia’s strong economic performance will continue.

The Treasurer will attend the Spring Meetings of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, and associated meetings that will be held in Washington DC fro

The Treasurer, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Trade are pleased to announce that the Australian Government has forgiven Nicaragua’s bilateral debt to Australia of $5.4

The Treasurer will deliver the 2004-2005 Budget at 7.30 pm AEST on Tuesday 11 May 2004.

A costing of Labor’s Baby Care package announced yesterday has revealed that the package faces a $347 million shortfall.

Today I am releasing a discussion paper on the income tax self assessment system. The discussion paper represents the latest stage of the Government’s Review of Income Tax Self Assessment.

All the States and Territories will abolish Bank Account Debits tax by 1 July 2005 as a result of an agreement between the Australian Government and the State Governments today.

All registered clubs in New South Wales will be guaranteed to receive the gaming rebate which was earlier denied by the NSW government.

Opposition Leader Mark Latham has again demonstrated his policy weakness by making an $8 billion error in his pensions policy.

Today’s National Accounts — with gross domestic product(GDP) increasing by 1.4percent— show the strongest quarterly growth in fouryears.

The Treasurer released today a discussion paper – Australia’s Demographic Challenges – to encourage community debate about our future and the need to prepare for the impact of Australia’s ag

The Treasurer released today a policy paper outlining several measures to improve the accessibility, flexibility and integrity of the retirement income system and reduce red tape.

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Keith James to the Board of Taxation for a term of two years commencing from 1 March 2004 and the re-appointment of Mr Anthony D’Aloisio as member of

The Treasurer has announced the Australian Government’s final response to the Productivity Commission's Report on the Review of the National Access Regime (‘the Regime’).

A new regulation is to be made to provide relief from the Financial Services Reform Act 2001 (FSRA) for accountants who provide advice to their clients on the decision to acquire or dispose of an i

Under the Government’s foreign investment policy, all direct (ie, non-portfolio) investments by foreign interests in the media sector, irrespective of size, require prior approval.

An agreement to progress cooperation on banking and competition regulation and the establishment of a Trans-Tasman Accounting Standards Advisory Group were among the many issues discussed to