Quirky stuff we learnt from the 2017 Federal Budget
FROM our weather data to the space race and MPs’ coveted Gold Pass perks, we look at extra funds set aside for programs and further Budget cuts.
THE Devil is in the detail, according to the old cliche, and so it is with the Federal Budget.
While the topline items of any Treasurer’s Budget Speech outline the government’s broad narrative, buried deep in the appendices are the line items that can reveal much about the government’s real priorities.
MORE: The Budget 5-minute guide
SUPER PLAN: New help Australians trying to buy a house
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Here are the little things we learnt from a read of this year’s Budget papers.
WE FOUND OUT HOW MUCH THE GOLD PASS COST US
THE gravy train is well and truly over for retired MPs. It’s now been revealed the Life Gold Pass, which gave ex-parliamentarians virtually unrestricted travel entitlements, cost taxpayers more than $500,000 each year. While former Prime Ministers are the exception to the rule, everyone else will have to travel in cattle class.
AUSTRALIA WILL DOMINATE THE COMM GAMES (PROBABLY)
THE disappointments of the Rio Olympics will be but a bitter memory when Australia completely dominates next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast on the back of $15.5 million provided to the Australian Sports Commission to support athletes in the lead-up to the quadrennial showpiece. Money, money, money, oi, oi, oi.
THE CENSUS DEBACLE HAS NOT BEEN FORGOTTEN
PUBLIC service staffing levels are staying about the same — but the Australian Bureau of Statistics is taking a hit. The agency — which infamously ran the contentious and error-prone 2016 Census — is losing about 14 per cent of its workforce, or just over 400 full time employees.
THE HRC IS MORE WELL-LIKED THAN WE THOUGHT
THE Federal Government has clashed with the Australian Human Rights Commission many times over the past few years, with its former chair Gillian Triggs coming in for especially heavy criticism. But it seems the Feds don’t hate the agency quite as much as we thought. Far from abolishing the HRC, the Budget actually boosts its staff numbers slightly — from 111 in this financial year to 116 in next financial year. It’s worth noting that the ABC hasn’t been gutted either — although they will lose 49 full-time staff members in the next financial year.
IT’S TIME FOR ROLL-YOUR-OWN SMOKERS TO PAY UP
THE government thinks roll your own tobacco users have had it too good for some time. So it’s adjusting the tax on the item as well as other products such as cigars so that it’s comparable to manufactured cigarettes. So no matter how you like to smoke your tobacco, you’re gonna get hit.
TETRIS IS NOT JUST A COMPUTER GAME
OPERATION Tetris may sound like what the government IT Helpdesk gets up to when incoming call volumes are low, but in fact it’s a serious government program with big savings at stake. By requiring departments to fill vacant office space in its buildings, the government believe it can save as much as $300 million over 10 years.
OVERSEAS PERKS ARE GETTING LESS PERKY
THIRTY-SEVEN million dollars. Now that’s what you call a saving. That’s how much the
government will make over four years by standardising allowances for public servants on overseas postings. Expect to see more public service junkets to budget destinations as a result.
TRAVEL PERKS FOR PROPERTY INVESTORS ARE BEING CUT
Say goodbye to your travel deductions if you own a residential investment property. The government is saying no more. You can blame taxpayers that have been claiming the deduction without correctly apportioning costs, or have claimed travel costs that were for private purposes.
EVEN DEFENCE ISN’T SAFE FROM DEVELOPERS
So dire is the need for more housing the government is freeing up Commonwealth land. In Melbourne, that includes 127 hectares of Defence land in the suburb of Maribyrnong to allow for 6000 new houses.
ANIMAL TESTING IS ON ITS WAY OUT
THE government will spend $2.1 million over two years to keep its 2016 election promise to ban cosmetic testing on animals in Australia. It’s going to ban the use of new data on cosmetic ingredients which come from animal tests from July 1, 2018; ban the testing of products on animals in Australia from the end of 2018; and develop a voluntary industry code of practice to standardise claims on labels.
KORFBALL: COMING TO A TV NEAR YOU (MAYBE)
OBSCURE sports lovers and those who think that too much sport can never be enough have $30 million reasons to celebrate. For the next four years that amount will be spent to ensure the broadcast of under-represented sports on pay TV, including niche and women’s sports.
WEATHER FORECASTERS MIGHT FINALLY GET IT RIGHT
PLAN ahead for that forecast sunny day because weather reports will become more accurate thanks to a $400,000 injection to the Bureau of Meteorology. It will improve the reliability of BOM’s forecasts for not only weather but also climate, water and ocean information.
SOLAR THERMAL IS GETTING A BOOST
WIND energy is so passe. Solar thermal is the newest energy alternative. And to prove it the Federal Government has made $110 million available for investment in such a project in power-troubled South Australia.
REAL LIFE KRAMER VS KRAMER TYPES ARE GETTING HELP
A NEW forum for self represented parties in family law disputes has been created on the back of $12.7 million over the next four years. Parental Management Hearings will aim to be quick, informal, and non-adversarial resolution settings.
SPACE IS EXPENSIVE
THE race to explore space is on. The Government says it will commit $26.1 million over four years to give Australia the edge in optical astronomy and space research. The truth is out there and Australia is determined to be a competitive player in space exploration.
TACKLING THE HACKERS
RUSSIAN hackers will now have to work extra hard to infiltrate the Australian Government, which has committed to investing $10.7 million over four years to establish a Cyber Security Advisory Office to manage “digital vulnerabilities” — Aka a cyber-attack that could be ordered by Vladimir Putin at our next Federal Election.
NO MORE COUP D’ETAT
THE Government is ramping up its police presence in the Solomon Islands, saying it will commit $79 million over four years to deliver a police development program to our security-challenged neighbour. The funding comes after the conclusion of the Regional Assistance Mission, which ends on June 30.
Originally published as Quirky stuff we learnt from the 2017 Federal Budget
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