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What you really need to know about what’s in the Budget and why

BURIED amid all the Budget’s jargon is a bunch of stuff you might have missed. Joe Hildebrand reveals what the Government’s really up to.

Relax guys, it’s all good news. So says Scott Morrison.                        <a capiid="d9dd8a781438657c69ad96573b6c2ee6" class="capi-video">What do you need to know about the 2017 Budget?</a>
Relax guys, it’s all good news. So says Scott Morrison. What do you need to know about the 2017 Budget?

HERE are nine little nuggets on what you really want to know from tonight’s Budget.

THE SURPLUS

An Australian Budget surplus is like the end of a rainbow. You keep moving towards it yet it remains always out of reach.

Yet again we have a modest $7.4 billion surplus just in sight at the end of the estimates period but whether we ever reach the pot of gold is anybody’s guess.

The government also boasts it is reducing the rate at which debt is growing, which is what I call the nude jogger defence: “Your honour, he doesn’t do it as much as he used to.”

INFRASTRUCTURE

The Government has gone gangbusters on building because suddenly it’s ALL good (debt, that is). The big ticket items are $5.3 billion for the Western Sydney Airport, which will service the seats Malcolm Turnbull must retain and gain if he is to have a hope of remaining in power, and the $8.4 billion Brisbane to Melbourne inland rail link which will run through the regional seats under threat from One Nation.

There is also a $10 billion slush fund for any other vulnerable seats – sorry, vital projects.

Surplus is coming, let’s celebrate.
Surplus is coming, let’s celebrate.

HEALTH

Remember when Malcolm Turnbull was the touchy-feely friendly Liberal that all the lefties loved? No? Well neither does the electorate.

That’s why he’s rolling out $55.7 billion to fully fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme paid for by a 0.5 per cent increase in the Medicare “IT’S NOT A TAX” levy. No one likes a tax hike but who could object to one for such a noble cause. And besides, IT’S NOT A TAX, it’s a levy.

EDUCATION

Every good Catholic knows that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, and if they didn’t before they certainly know it now.

The Government is giving an extra $18.6 billion to schools but the one true church reckons it’s getting nailed to the cross on this one.

And while the Government is giving to high schools, it’s taking away from universities, whose students will be asked to pay “a bit more”. Even an arts graduate knows that’s not good.

Not all good news for Catholic schools.
Not all good news for Catholic schools.

PENSIONERS

The government is restoring the pensioner concession card to anyone who lost it under the previous asset test changes. This is a very good idea. Not so long ago a NSW premier nearly lost his job after he tried to take away student bus passes. Why? Well governments are quietly skimming money from us all the time but when a government takes away a tangible object that you keep in your wallet it literally has its hand in your back pocket. And that always ends with a slap in the face.

BANKS

If the Budget was handed down by the Incredible Hulk it would simply say “Banks, SMASH”. And let’s face it, nobody ever lost a vote bashing the banks in Australia.

The Government is desperate to neutralise Labor and One Nation’s crusade for a banking royal commission and so has come up with tough new penalties for misconduct and a $6.2 billion bank “IT’S NOT A TAX” levy. The banks might even cop this relatively sweet because they know a kick in the nuts is better than a bullet in the head.

Infrastructure: spend, spend spend!
Infrastructure: spend, spend spend!

HOUSING

Labor is smashing the Coalition on negative gearing because house prices in Sydney and Melbourne are ridiculous but more voters own houses than are trying to buy one. So what does a Government do?

This is the cute part: The Budget is axing travel expenses and some depreciation deductions for negatively geared properties RIGHT FROM THIS VERY DAY. It will probably have one-fifth of three-eighths of f***-all of an impact on house prices but it will allow the government to say it’s cracking down on negative gearing.

WELFARE

Sometimes the most surprising part of something disappearing is that it ever existed in the first place. Take this declaration for example: “We will no longer accept, as an excuse from repeat offenders, that the reason they could not meet their mutual obligation requirements was because they were drunk or drug-affected.”

Frankly, I have to admit I was not aware that this was ever an option. It’s fair to say that arts students have not done well out of this year’s Budget.

COMPANIES

Did you know that corporations are evil? Well neither did the Government until Donald Trump got elected. Still copping a belting over its planned corporate tax cuts, the Coalition has doubled down on its efforts to chase stray tax dollars from foreign multinationals.

This is obviously a political no-brainer – picture an approval rating that looks like Don Bradman’s batting average.

And yes, this time, IT IS A TAX.

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