The Squiz 

Coalition leader Peter Dutton will give his Budget reply speech at 7.30pm AEST tonight, but he’s already dropped some hints on what’s on his mind. Yesterday, he criticised the government for having the “wrong priorities”.

So he’s not a fan? 

Dutton’s labelled the Budget a “Band-Aid on a bullet wound” and has flagged there are initiatives the Coalition won’t support… That includes the Future Made in Australia (FMIA) plan’s $13.7 billion of production credits for green hydrogen and critical minerals. Dutton says those projects should be supported, “but not with taxpayers’ money.” He’s also criticised a lack of measures addressing the “housing emergency” which he says is down to Team Albanese allowing “almost a million people” into Oz over the last couple of years. The Coalition isn’t opposed to everything – it will back the Stage 3 tax cuts, increased Commonwealth Rent Assistance, cheaper medicines, and changes to student debt arrangements. They’ll also support the $300 energy bill rebate, even though others say giving it to wealthy households is “ridiculous”. 

What else has come out of Tuesday night?

The Budget papers point to plans to ‘mothball’ the Australian Government’s refugee processing centre on Nauru within 12 months, saving taxpayers $264 million a year. That doesn’t mean the facility will be shut down – the idea is it will go from an “active state” to a “standby state” meaning it would be maintained and could be reactivated within 2 days if necessary. That plan has raised some questions though… The Coalition’s Home Affairs spokesman James Paterson says it would be “heroic, to say the least” given there are currently 64 people housed there, and more people are arriving by boat, including in the last week. ​​Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil’s people defended the move saying the plan is “standard practice”. And Albanese could face questions over one of his tenants closer to home, after this report today…