PS WAGES BILL LEAPS; TAS. BUDGET HIT

Total public sector wages bill nears $250 billion

Australia’s total public sector salary and wages bill rose by 7.6 per cent over the 2024-25 year, for more than 2.5 million public sector employees around the nation. Estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal a total salary and wages bill of almost $250 billion at June 2025, with the number of public sector employee jobs rising 3.3 per cent over the year. Almost two million employees worked in state or territory governments, with almost 386,000 employees in the Commonwealth government (including defence force personnel). ABS figures show that public administration and safety accounted for more than 880,000 total public sector employees, followed by education and training, and health care and social assistance.

Falling exports hit Tasmania's budget outcome

Tasmania is on track to record a $1.2 billion budget deficit for 2024-25, as the state recovers from a period of lower economic growth. Budget papers delivered by new Treasurer Eric Abetz noted that Tasmania’s international exports had declined during the past financial year. The state’s 2024-25 budget deficit was originally forecast to be almost $793 million; in 2025-26 the budget is forecast, on the latest projections, to ease to a deficit of around $1 billion, and is forecast to record a surplus by 2028-29. Net debt is forecast to more than double from $5 billion in 2025-26 to almost $10.4 billion in 2028-29. The budget papers reveal that Tasmania recorded zero growth in real gross state product in 2024-25, with GSP forecast to rise by one per cent in the current year.

Marles spruiks increased Defence investment

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says the Defence Force has spent more on procurement than ever in the last two financial years, with a major focus on building a more capable, lethal and long-range Navy. Addressing the Indo-Pacific Exposition, the Defence Minister said the Albanese Government had increased Defence spending by more than $70 billion over the decade. He cited the acquisition of general-purpose frigates, a $1.7 billion upgrade of long-range underwater autonomous capability, and a $12.5 billion investment in the Henderson Defence precinct in Perth. Mr Marles said the government would release the National Defence Strategy 2026 before next year’s May Budget, with a continued emphasis on Defence’s ability to engage in impactful projection. That included the objectives of a more amphibious Army, longer-range missiles, and a more capable set of northern bases to bolster Air Force projection.

ASIO head warns on AI access to radicalisation

Rapid advances in technology are accelerating political violence, foreign interference and espionage, according to Australia’s Director-General of Security, Mike Burgess. The Head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation told a Lowy Institute lecture that in terms of social cohesion, the internet was the greatest incubator of grievance narratives and conspiracy theories. Mr Burgess said he was deeply concerned about the potential of artificial intelligence to take online radicalisation and disinformation to entirely new levels. The ASIO head said the result of these compounding dynamics was a domestic security environment with an unprecedented number of challenges and an unprecedented cumulative level of potential harm.

Clare moves to boost university domestic places

Education Minister Jason Clare has announced an extra 9,500 domestic places at universities next year, as the Federal Government targets 80 per cent of the workforce being tertiary-qualified by 2050. Mr Clare said the additional allocation by the Australian Tertiary Education Commission amounted to a 4.1 per cent increase on 2025 levels. He said around 60 per cent of the present workforce held a tertiary qualification. To lift the rate of qualification, the Federal Government was spending $70 million to enable students from regional areas and the outer suburbs to study at so-called University Study Hubs. Mr Clare said 50 per cent of people across Australia in their 20s and 30s were tertiary-qualified, double the rate for those of the same age group in outer suburbs and regions.

Minerals, gold drive trade rebound in goods

Australia’s trade balance in goods rebounded in September, aided by stronger international demand for non-monetary gold, minerals and coal. ABS figures show a jump in the goods trade balance from $1.1 billion in August to almost $4 billion seasonally adjusted the following month. Goods exports rose by almost eight per cent, and imports by 1.1 per cent – mostly due to capital goods. Australia’s trade balance in goods has been steadily trending down, since peaking at $19 billion in June 2022.