Susie O’Brien: Fairytale is more rhetoric than reality

LET’S call this the Snow White Budget. We owe, we owe, so it’s off to work we go, writes Susie O’Brien.

LET’S call this the Snow White Budget.

We owe, we owe, so it’s off to work we go.

Workers, don’t get excited. There’s nothing here for you. Don’t give up your day job just yet; the Australian economy is depending on you to keep toiling away for years to come.

Despite the fairytale of fairness being spun by Treasurer Scott Morrison, the average Australian worker, student and parent will be worse off under this Budget. They will get slugged more for uni fees and pay a much higher Medicare levy, and get very little in return.

And there are no income tax cuts or boosts to family payments to relieve the pressure.

This is a Budget from a government that has learnt not to try to do too much. Apart from some big infrastructure spending in NSW, there are few big-ticket capital commitments.

In fact, there is a curiously austere feeling to the Budget rhetoric: there’s talk of ensuring “better days ahead” and making sure the government “lives within its means”. Such caution is justified given that in the past few Budgets more than $13 billion of savings did not pass the parliament.

A 0.5 increase in the Medicare levy means Aussies will end up with $8 billion less in their pockets, although the upside is that the money will be spent on the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The government wants you to know it will increase education funding by $18.6 billion. This is a massive and impressive figure, and yet it is spread across 10 years. Yes, 10 years. This is sneaky accounting by the government, which doesn't even have to account for its spending past the middle of 2021 in these papers. Predictably, the majority of the funding increases appear to kick in after 2021, when the government isn’t even likely to be in power. The $18 billion boost, in other words, is little more than a fairytale.

The fact that the government is getting David Gonksi to help implement the schools funding package is to be welcomed.

While I am all for fairer funding for schools, the package doesn’t strip cash from some of the nation’s wealthiest schools. This, in my mind, makes a total mockery of the needs-based funding mantra.

The fact that the government is getting David Gonksi to help implement the package is to be welcomed. Obviously, it has been working hard to get this man — who was such a godsend to Labor in the past — on board.

There are also big changes under way in higher education, which will result in universities having $3.7 billion stripped from their bottom line.

Overall, students will pay 7.5 per cent more for their courses, and this will have to be paid back earlier through the HELP scheme.

The government says it is delivering a “fairer and more sustainable higher education system”. But if you are a nursing student paying $1250 more a year in fees, it’s not going to feel all that fair, is it?

More make-believe: the government says it is “valuing higher education” but what it really means is it’s making students pay more.

There’s also a big focus on making housing more affordable, but the measures don’t amount to very much. Much of the focus is on unlocking supply, not bringing prices down overall.

There are also a number of measures designed to help people get tax breaks for increased savings, but this is going to help only those conscientious enough to put additional voluntary contributions into super.

There are no changes to negative gearing or foreign ownership rules, which would make a much bigger impact on prices. There is also nothing to reduce pressure on the private rental market and no major additional supply to the public housing stock.

$30 million for a Tullamarine airport Link is a positive outcome of the federal Budget.

On a positive note, the government has committed $1 billion to reintroduce indexation for certain Medicare-funded items. No doubt this Medicare Guarantee Fund is designed to counter the highly successful Mediscare campaign from the last election.

It is also good to finally see a start date for the single, simple means-tested childcare subsidy — July 2, 2018. I also like the fact it is matched with hourly rate caps and more flexible hours. But the drawback is the fact the 15 hours of universal preschool has been funded for only one more year.

So what else is good? $30 million for a Tullamarine airport Link — even though it’s only for a feasibility study.

I also like the idea of tough noncompliance measures for job seekers receiving government benefits. If we have to work, why shouldn't they?

Overall, though, this Budget is more rhetoric than reality. Like many fairytales, it’s little more than a bunch of fancy words designed to make people feel good. It will probably also put you to sleep.

Susie o’Brien is a Herald Sun columnist