A middle finger to the Liberals looms in Farrer. Can Jim Chalmers outrun grievance politics in his budget?

Saturday’s byelection in the country NSW seat and Tuesday’s budget look set to shift the political landscape and could test Labor’s supremacy in the parliament

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About an hour before the sun came up in Canberra on Friday morning, Jim Chalmers was out for a run.

In single-digit temperatures, photographers were on hand to capture shots of the treasurer, days out from what he says will be Labor’s most ambitious federal budget yet.