Australia news LIVE: Treasurer’s $3.5b energy subsidy to fight inflation revealed in federal budget; Defence whistleblower sentenced to almost six years jail

Returning to Australia, where people will be given $3.5 billion in subsidies to soften the blow from soaring energy bills in a federal budget that pours cash into household and business measures while promising to cut inflation before the next election.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the $300 energy bill subsidy would go to every household over the year from July 1 and a $325 subsidy would go to 1 million small businesses over the same period, on top of a mammoth outlay on “made in Australia” industry schemes.

But economists warned that Labor could not “subsidise its way to lower inflation” because the budget spending would flow through to demand and put pressure on the Reserve Bank to keep interest rates higher for longer.

The Labor spending decisions cost $24.4 billion in total over five years across all measures, weakening the budget bottom line when the government expects this year’s $9.3 billion surplus to be followed by deficits amounting to $112.8 billion over the subsequent four years.

Catch up on the full story here.

Overseas, the US Secretary of State made an announced visit to the Ukrainian capital to rally the spirits of Ukrainians facing a fierce new Russian offensive and promising American military aid would make a “real difference”.

Antony Blinken arrived on Tuesday, and told Ukrainian leaders that despite a months long delay in US assistance, more weaponry is coming and some had already arrived.

He made the case even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to him personally for more air defence systems to protect civilians under intense Russian fire in the northeast.

Blinken also lambasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for underestimating Ukraine’s determination to fight back.

“We meet at a critical moment,” he told students at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.

“The coming weeks and months will demand a great deal of Ukrainians, who have already sacrificed so much. I’ve come to Ukraine with a message: You are not alone.”

“We sometimes hear that time is on Putin’s side,” Blinken said.

“That Russia’s bigger population, Putin’s willingness to throw more Russians into the meat grinder of his making, and sink more of Russia’s resources into trying to subjugate Ukraine means that Russia can’t lose.”

“In fact, Russia’s been losing the battle to control Ukraine’s destiny for 20 years. And Putin has it wrong – time is on Ukraine’s side,” he said. “As the war goes on, Russia is going back in time. Ukraine is moving forward.”

And yet, in increasingly intense attacks along the northeastern border in recent days, Moscow’s troops have captured around 100 to 125 square kilometres (40 to 50 square miles) in the northeast Kharkiv region that includes at least seven villages, according to open-source monitoring analysts.

AP

Good morning, and thanks for your company.

It’s Wednesday, May 15. I’m Caroline Schelle, and I’ll be steering our live coverage for the first half of the day.

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