Australia Delays Budget Until October, Tightens Gathering Rules

(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a five-month delay in handing down the federal budget as his government grapples to limit the economic impact of the coronavirus.

The budget will be moved to Oct. 6 from May 12, Morrison told reporters Friday after meeting with the national Cabinet. He also announced tighter rules around public gatherings, saying people in cafes, restaurants and other indoor venues must be separated by four square meters.

The government also announced A$444.6 million ($260 million) in funding to support the aged-care industry, urged Australians to reconsider the need to travel and again emphasized that keeping schools open remained in the national interest.

Morrison’s government has abandoned its long-held goal of returning the budget to surplus as the economy looks set to slip into its first recession in almost 30 years. It has already announced A$17.6 billion in fiscal stimulus to safeguard jobs and help small businesses. An additional stimulus package is expected to be announced at the weekend.

“Forecasting for budgets is difficult at the best of times,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said, adding state governments were also planning delays.

In a dramatic escalation of the government’s response to the crisis on Thursday, Morrison said Australia would close its borders to non-residents. He announced restrictions on Friday to travel to Indigenous communities in remote areas of Australia to mitigate the impact of the virus on some of the nation’s most vulnerable people.

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