It's federal budget day in Canberra, and that means we've got a team of some of our best reporters locked away deep within Parliament House.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
They are analysing the papers and crunching the numbers to be able to bring you all the news as soon as the Treasurer Scott Morrison steps up to the despatch box in Parliament to deliver the 2017 federal budget at 7.30pm.
Come to The Canberra Times Facebook page at 8pm to ask these experts about what the budget means for Canberrans and for the public service during our budget Facebook Live. While you're there, don't forget to like the page and turn on notifications to see the latest.
But first, meet the team bringing you all the news you need to know.
Markus Mannheim has covered Canberra and the Australian Public Service for more than a decade. He's the editor of Public Sector Informant and coordinating our coverage in the lock up. He'll be providing analysis about what the budget means for the APS in particular.
Noel Towell is our Chief Public Service Reporter. He's been on this round for about five years now, after spending two years leading our ACT Legislative Assembly team. He will be providing a broad overview of the key budget measures and what they mean for you.
Kirsten Lawson is on her second stint as Chief Legislative Assembly reporter, leading the territory's coverage of ACT political news. She'll be letting everyone know what's in the budget for the ACT and its impact on territory finances.
Tom McIlroy is a recent addition to our public service team, after spending the past year as part of the Fairfax press gallery bureau. He's another former Legislative Assembly reporter. He'll be looking at the impact on pensioners and retirees in particular.
Doug Dingwall is another recent addition to the team, joining us from Fairfax in Tasmania where he won the Tasmanian Human Rights media award. He'll be focusing on property.
While you're waiting for the clock to hit 7.30pm, here are a few handy background pieces that are worth reading before the budget is delivered.
- Fairfax economics editor and budget veteran Peter Martin gives you a step-by-step guide to reading the budget papers, with links to examples of previous years' documents. It's from last year, but just as relevant today.
- Let's see how well you know the nation's finances, take our quiz and find out.
- A few years ago it was "lifters and leaners" and while this year looked to be all about "good debt and bad debt", the budget "slogan" has now become apparent.