Opposition Leader Peter Dutton (main picture) says the Albanese Government’s first federal budget shows the Labor Party has failed to manage the nation’s economy and finances and should be thrown out of office.

Mr Dutton this morning called a pre-dawn news conference at the doors of Parliament House in Canberra to lambast the budget.

“Treasurer Jim Chalmers has failed, the budget has failed, and Labor has failed – all just as I predicted after the May 2022 election when the voters of Australia got it so very wrong,” he said.

Reporters then asked Mr Dutton why he was attacking the budget when it would not be released publicly until tonight when the Treasurer delivered his budget speech in federal parliament.

“I’m just trying to save the media and myself some time,” he explained. “You can use my comments as soon as the budget is delivered tonight.

“You can also keep them on file to be used right after the 2023 federal budget and the 2024 budget too.”

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The Chinese Government has finally offered an explanation for what appeared to be the removal of former president Hu Jintao from the stage of the Communist Party’s congress last week.

A government spokesperson rejected rumours that President Xi Jinping had ordered the former leader’s removal as part of an internal purge of the Communist Party and to strengthen his already tight grip on the nation.

“It is true that President Xi ordered officials to escort Mr Hu from the stage,” the spokesperson said of the rumour. “But it has nothing to do with any sort of purge.

“The truth is that as President Xi was sitting next to the former president he realised that Mr Hu was celebrating a birthday this year so he quickly arranged a celebration for him off stage.

“Anyone present in the Great Hall of the People that day would know that is the truth because they would have seen Mr Hu being led away and they would have soon heard the special three-gun salute President Xi had arranged for him.”