Classifieds

An extra $33 billion (US$21 billion) will go towards the pension and other welfare payments in the Australian federal budget, with inflation largely responsible for growing welfare costs.
Labor party Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government needed to find billions in extra funding because welfare payments are pegged to inflation.
“One of the pressures on the budget is making sure we can find room for that indexation so that people who are on pensions and payments get a little bit of help twice a year to try and keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living,” Chalmers told ABC News.
He said about a third of the additional $33 billion would go to the aged pension and another third to JobSeeker payments....