Every year, Budget Weeks comes around, and it’s both slightly enjoyable and slightly annoying. Enjoyable because our politicians tend to have a serious week with minimal mudslinging, and annoying because the Budget can be a little hard to understand for those of us less mathematically and economically inclined, let alone find a relevant tidbit of information for younger Australians (like me).
The theme for the 2018 Budget is: “living within our means”. The government’s budget aims to show that the country is living within its means, while keeping spending and debt down. Spoiler alert, this is what is known as an election budget – the last budget prior to the next federal election. One would have expected next year’s to be the election budget, but word on the street is that the election will be taking place in the next twelve months, so the sweeteners are in this one.
There will be a reduction in income tax for low and middle-income earners, some of which will start next financial year. Over the next 7 years, there’ll be further cuts (basically it’s aspirational and a promise, in the hope that the people will keep the Liberals in). However, there are concerns that the government is not taking the best route in these tax cuts, as they intend to remove an entire tax bracket. This means that people earning between $45,000 and $200,000 are paying 32.5 cents in the dollar, which some experts argue isn’t entirely fair. The big winner in all of this are those earning around $90,000 – as the Liberals will need their vote to stay in government.
The government has forecast a surplus for the 2019-20 Financial Year (that is if they stay in power, and financially on track in the next few budgets).
There will be PBS subsidisation of an important Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) drug. With subsidisation, the cost of the drug plummets from a whopping $100,000 per dose, to just $40. The Government has also announced in tandem with this, free genetic screening for SMA, and where parents test positive as carriers, they will be eligible for subsidised IVF, so they can have a healthy baby – as SMA is fatal and most kids with the disorder don’t live for very long.
There will be a large infrastructure spend, but most money is mostly going to other States and Territories, which means the NSW editions of Budget coverage didn’t really cover those projects. In NSW the money will go to plans for the Badgerys Creek Airport rail link and a Botany transport link duplication to reduce congestion.
The ABC does some pretty comprehensive summaries including a Winners & Losers graphic explainer, so go check it out. It explains things better than me….
Labor’s Budget reply was interesting – they feel the Liberals are all for helping the big end of town (a bit true), so they’ve promised to reduce tax rebates further. The maximum lump sum you can get back on your tax with the Liberals is about $530, whereas Labor is promising to return a lump sum of around $928 to those same taxpayers. Whether or not people go for it is yet to be seen, but there will be by-elections soon.
Why, you ask?
If you remember a couple of months ago, Australia was gripped by the Section 44 saga – I lost count at 10 MPs and Senators caught out, but this week saw another four MPs and Senators caught up (SBS tells me I’m not far off, they’ve counted 15 as of this week). This time all but one are Labor Party people – Senator Katy Gallagher, Braddon MP Justine Keay, Longman MP Susan Lamb, Fremantle MP Josh Wilson and Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie (who was elected as NXT, but will be on the Centre Alliance Party ticket because Nick Xenophon changed the party name). Add to this the resignation of Perth MP Tim Hammond, who is resigning for family reasons, and it appears there will be one big Super Saturday election day for all five of these by-elections.
There is also a small amount of annoyance at the High Court from both sides of politics, as the Court has not only stolen the government’s Budget thunder, but their ruling has left four electorates without MPs, and when these seats are finally filled, the MPs in them may not be there for long – the next federal election is due in the next six to twelve months.
Finally this week, Bob Hawke was in hospital for a bit; Australia’s contemporary Parliament House turned 30; and there are calls for there to be a legislated staff:patient ratio at residential care homes (like there are at childcare centres) in order to improve patient care and outcomes.
Tweet of the Week
SBSViceland’s The Feed presenter Mark Humphries ended up in Budget Lockup.
Thing’s I’ve Been Looking at Online
Annabel Crabb’s take on the Budget – ABC Online
Kara L 