Federal Budget 2017-18: Nasty surprises are unlikely, writes James Campbell

THE first Budget after a government is re-elected is traditionally the time to do the unpopular stuff, but that is unlikely to happen this time, writes James Campbell.

A man prepares a stack of the 2017-18 Budget papers in Canberra. Picture: AAP

THE first Budget after a government is re-elected is traditionally the time to do the unpopular stuff in the hope the punters will have forgotten and forgiven by the time we vote again.

Don’t expect that to be the case this time, however.

The Coalition’s fourth Budget and the first since it was returned last July is unlikely to contain too many nasty surprises.

There are many reasons: the government is travelling badly in the polls, the next election is probably 18 months away and — most of all — because it is still suffering from the political consequences of Joe Hockey’s disastrous 2014 Budget.

Treasurer Scott Morrison and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Picture Gary Ramage

If Scott Morrison can finally lay the ghost of that shocker to rest, he will have done his job.

Binning the $10 billion of ghost savings from that Budget that have been adrift on the balance sheet like the Mary Celeste with no chance of ever becoming law will play a big part in that.

More importantly, Mr Morrison needs to fulfil Tony Abbott’s 2013 promise to provide Australians with “no-surprises, no-excuses government, because you are sick of nasty surprises and lame excuses from people that you have trusted with your future”.

Yesterday Mr Morrison backed in hard Simon Birmingham’s changes to Commonwealth school funding.

The message talking to ministers is that while they acknowledge the changes could have been handled better, they believe that they are doing the right thing with these reforms and they are not going to be bullied into backing down.

Originally published as Federal Budget 2017-18: Nasty surprises are unlikely, writes James Campbell