Welcome back to day three of state budget estimates for 2026, with plenty of intrigue already laid bare by the first two days of hearings (which you can catch up on here and here).

This included Tuesday’s cabinet confidentiality claim by Under Treasurer Paul Williams amid questioning on how the government could claim it had met its pre-election $6.8 billion savings plan.

Finance Minister Ros Bates.Matt Dennien

Initial talk of caps on consultant and contractor spending have gone out the window, despite such spending continuing to rise after this masthead first revealed the matter in January.

Follow along here for everything you need to know out of today’s session, set to feature Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training Ros Bates and her officials this morning.

Then, from 1pm, things will move on to Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie, who also serves as minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning and minister for Industrial Relations.