Australia's budget deficit to widen by A$10bn

Australia's government has said it expects the nation's deficit to grow to $40.4bn Australian dollars ($33.2bn; £21.2bn) in the 12 months to June.

Earlier in the year, the deficit for the period had been forecast to come in at A$29.8bn.

The country's treasurer, Joe Hockey, said falling prices for key export commodities had hurt the economy.

The nation's mid-year economic outlook was delayed on Monday due to asiege situation in Sydney.

Mr Hockey predicted the shortfall for the 2015-16 financial year would be A$31.2bn, up from a previous forecast of A$17.1bn.

The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) updates Australia's economic outlook from the previous budget.

More work to do

The report said the nation's tax receipts had been revised down by $A31.6bn due to a more than 30% fall in iron ore prices, together with weaker-than-expected wage growth.

"Government payments have also been affected," the MYEFO report said.

"Delays in passing legislation and negotiations with the Senate have cost the budget more than $A10.6bn over the forward estimates, keeping debt and interest payments higher for longer."