THE NEWS WRAP: Abbott accuses government of class warfare

Opposition leader Tony Abbott has accused the federal government of playing the “class war card” and failing to deliver a strategy for growth in this week’s budget.

In a budget response that mainly consisted of a personal attack on prime minister Julia Gillard, Abbott condemned the budget’s “skinny” $1.5 billion surplus, as well as the cost of the National Broadband Network and the carbon tax. 

Unemployment down to 4.9%

Australian unemployment took a surprise dip in April, falling to 4.9%, according to new official figures.

Total employment was up by 15,500 to 11.501 million in the month, with the figures resulting in an immediate leap in the Australian dollar.

Retailers have themselves to blame: Kmart boss

Large retail chains that complain about the challenging conditions they face only have themselves to blame, according to Kmart’s managing director.

Speaking to Business Spectator’s KGB, Russo said that retailers shouldn’t be complaining about price pressures and online retail.

“All these big retailers turn over a couple of billion dollars a year,” he said.

“If you can’t work out how to make money out of that, I think that’s a problem internally not externally.”

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 19.98 points, or 0.16%, to 12,855.04. The Australian dollar was at 100.98 US cents in early trade.