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An 18-year-old has been charged after a young man who was the victim of an alleged coward punch on the Gold Coast died in hospital.

Cameron Duce, 22, was left with a serious head injury after allegedly being assaulted on September 22.

Police were called to the intersection of First Avenue and The Esplanade in Burleigh Heads about 2.30am following reports of a disturbance.

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They found Duce with a "severe head injury" and he was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital.

Queensland Police today charged an 18-year-old Robina man with unlawful striking causing death.

He will appear at Southport Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Duce died in hospital a week after the alleged assault, his heartbroken father confirmed on social media.

"Despite all the care and all the best medical interventions Cameron's head injuries were too severe for him to overcome," Duce's father Chris said.

"We were informed yesterday that Cameron had no chance of any recovery and the family has decided to let our beautiful boy Cameron pass peacefully in his own time."

Chris said the family was able to say goodbye to their son before his death.

"Our hearts are broken. Our lives will never be the same," he added.

"The world has lost one of the genuinely good people who brought joy, laughter and love to all of those he met."

He added: "Nothing will ever replace the massive hole left in our lives with the passing of our beautiful son, brother, grandson, uncle, nephew, and one of the best people anyone could have ever called a mate."

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Police are calling on anyone who may have witnessed the alleged assault or captured dashcam or CCTV footage from the area to come forward.

"My understanding is he'd been out for the night, was (allegedly) assaulted while he was walking out of the precinct, has fallen, struck his head and that's caused the fatal injuries at the end of the day," Acting Superintendent Scott Knowles from Queensland Police said today.

He said Duce was believed to have been walking alone in the direction of home when he was allegedly struck.

"Our condolences go out to his family and our investigators will be working hard to actually bring the person to justice who has done this," he said.

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A "cocoa crisis" is likely to push chocolate prices higher around the world, a new report by Rabobank has found.

The food and agribusiness banking specialist found that "significantly higher" chocolate prices would hit shelves over coming months and into 2025.

Cocoa commodity prices have hit their highest levels in nearly 50 years, hitting nearly US$12,000 a ton ($17,347 a ton) in the first half of this year, according to RaboResearch analyst Paul Joules.

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"This dramatic increase, fuelled by a global cocoa shortage, is primarily due to a disappointing harvest in West Africa, the source of 70 per cent of the world's cocoa," Joules said.

"The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) reports a 14.2 per cent drop in global cocoa production for the 2023-24 season, leading to a shortage of approximately 462,000 metric tons and the lowest cocoa stocks in 22 years."

The full impact is yet to make its way to the supermarket shelves, despite retail prices already rising.

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"Due to the lag in the supply chain and existing contracts, the steepest price hikes are anticipated in the second half of 2024 and into 2025," Joules said.

"This would inevitably lead to higher prices for consumers, particularly for dark chocolates with higher cocoa content."

To combat rising costs, Joules said, chocolate manufacturers across the globe were adopting various strategies.

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"These include 'shrinkflation', which is reducing package sizes while maintaining prices, and 'skimpflation', which is altering recipes to use less cocoa and more fillers," he said.

"These tactics, while effective, are often unpopular with consumers."

And shoppers are likely to have to alter their buying habits in response.

"The increased cost of chocolate is expected to lead to a significant drop in consumer demand. This market correction should balance the cocoa supply shortage and stabilise prices," Joules said.

"For the western European market, a decline in chocolate volumes in the mid-to-high-single digits is projected, with this becoming more apparent in 2025."

He said there was already a "structural" shift away from sweets consumption, with a significant decline in volume sales in recent years.

"The current crisis adds to the challenges, making a return to significant growth unlikely in the near future," he said.

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Jim Chalmers has confirmed the first back-to-back federal budget surplus in over 15 years.

The Treasurer today announced a $15.8 billion budget surplus in a final economic update for the previous financial year.

"This is a powerful demonstration of our responsible economic management," Chalmers said in a press conference.

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"These are the first consecutive surpluses in almost two decades."

Chalmers said the huge nominal budget improvement was due to Labor's 'spending restraint'.

"Spending in the last financial year was much lower than anticipated at budget," he said.

He said it was not because Labor taxed more but because it spent less.

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Chalmers said it was another positive announcement for Labor's financial management of the country after inflation decreased from 3.5 per cent in July to 2.7 per cent in August.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher echoed Chalmer's message about Labor's spending being the key to the second surplus.

"It's definitely the opposite of what you've been told this morning by the shadow Minister for Finance," she said.

Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume claimed earlier today Chalmers had achieved the second surplus "on the back of the hard work" of Australians and with "a bit of dumb luck".

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