Jim Chalmers won’t have good news in Myefo. Instead, he’ll be trying to sell Labor’s good intentions

The unwelcome return of inflation means Anthony Albanese’s government is desperate not to be seen to be adding to the problem

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A penny-pinching Jim Chalmers will reveal a multi-billion dollar improvement in the federal budget that will still see the deficit nearly quadruple to $36.8bn in this financial year.

The treasurer is the master of expectations management, and this week’s midyear economic and fiscal outlook (Myefo) will be an exercise in selling the Albanese government’s fiscal rectitude: Chalmers and Katy Gallagher gamely battling the rising tide of spending pressures.