“More tax from beer drinkers than fossil fuel companies”: North Shore politicians respond to the federal Budget
Was it any good? Depends who you ask.
Melissa Mantle
March 26, 2025
Wondering how to interpret the federal Budget you’ve been hearing about? We’re here to help. The North Shore Lorikeet is compiling comments from our MPs in response to the big fiscal update.
With cost of living, climate change and the housing crisis looming large on the docket and impacting all of us, let’s get stuck into what the numbers might mean for the North Shore.
Jerome Laxale: “a very Labor budget”
Bennelong’s Labor MP Jerome Laxale descrbed the Budget as “responsible” and said it will “deliver for Bennelong”. He praised Labor’s tax cuts, which he claimed would save Bennelong taxpayers an average of $2,589 annually by 2027-28.
The electorate map of Bennelong has been redrawn following the abolition of the seat of North Sydney, which has been carved up between Bennelong, Warringah and Bradfield. This means Bennelong’s demographic shifts eastward and now includes the likes of Hunters Hill, Greenwich and Lane Cove.
Laxale holds Bennelong on a wafer thin margin, with a two party preferred vote of 50.98 percent, but the seat is now notionally Liberal due to the boundary change.
“When you add up all our tax relief … that's about an extra $50 a week in your pocket,” he said. He also pointed to ongoing relief for electricity bills.
Laxale said funding for a new Medicare urgent care clinic in Chatswood would reduce pressure on Royal North Shore Hospital, and that changes to Medicare would mean more subsidised visits for Bennelong residents.
The MP backed the expansion of the Help to Buy shared equity housing scheme, with income caps being raised to $100,000 for singles and $160,000 for couples, and property price caps lifted to $1.3 million.
He described it as “a very Labor Budget”.
Zali Steggall: “I give this budget a C+”
Zali Steggall, Independent MP for Warringah, said this morning the federal Budget “represents cautious fiscal management in challenging geopolitical and economic circumstances - but it lacks the ambition and reform required to address climate risks, close equity gaps and secure a strong, fair economy for future generations.”
She gave the Budget a C+.
Warringah’s new boundary expands on its traditional Northern Beaches home to include the likes of Mosman, Neutral Bay, Cremorne, Cammeray, Crows Nest, Wollstonecraft, Waverton and North Sydney.
“Australia is collecting more tax from beer drinkers than fossil fuel companies,” Steggall said in a statement, pointing to the “slashing” of the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT), which is forecast to reduce tax revenue from $10 billion to $6.3 billion by 2026-27.
“There remains an urgent need for the government to prioritise renewable household energy through rooftop solar and battery programs which offer lasting cost-of-living reductions and emissions cuts. Continued investment in community batteries and social housing electrification are steps in the right direction.”
Overall, Steggall said the Budget “fails to respond adequately to the climate and nature crises” and said there was “no meaningful investment in environmental protection … despite the enormous and growing fiscal impact of natural disasters”.
Steggall praised measures in health and education, particularly for women’s health and affordable childcare; the “modest” increase in foreign aid; and the elimination of non-compete clauses for low and middle income earners.
She welcomed the extension to energy bill relief but said it should be means tested to reduce the overall cost.
As for a $2.5 million increase in funding for women and children escaping domestic violence, Steggall said it was “far below what is needed to address the scale of the crisis”.
Jaimee Rogers, Liberal candidate for Warringah
Jaimee Rogers, Liberal candidate for Warringah, has not commented directly but did share an Instagram post by the Liberal Party to her own Instagram story.
The post was critical of the Budget, saying it would not help households balance their own budgets, or combat inflation.
“You are poorer after three years of Labor.”
