Budget 2017: how the day and my coverage will unfold

Today I want to take you behind the budget game scene which I and many other journalists play each year.

Journalists at work in a previous budget lockup at Parliament House in Canberra.

Today is budget day. I think the 2017-18 budget documents will be more important than those in the recent past because the Turnbull government is discovering how you deal with the cross bench so a greater proportion of the measures will get through the Parliament.

• Budget 2017 Live Coverage

In addition they have embraced, in a modified form, some of the ALP policies. Today I want to take you behind the budget game scene which I and many other journalists play each year. I will fly to Canberra this morning to join the so-called ‘lock up’ in Parliament House which starts at 1.30pm. As we move into the ‘lock up’ we hand our mobile phone, iPad and other internet connected devices to officials who place them in a plastic bag. There must be no communication with the outside world during the lock up. In the early days of mobile phones I took my mobile phone into the lock up not realising there was a new rule banning them, not just switching them off. It was about 7.27pm, just before the Treasurer rose to speak. I switched on my mobile to talk to the office. There was loud shouting and I felt like a terrorist. I was reprimanded but, as a result, today’s bagging service was introduced.

I like to get to the ‘lock up’ early because 500 or so journalists muster to get in and there can be a long waiting time. In years gone by lockups were conducted in the state capitals which saved the media organisations large sums but the Treasury and the Treasurer want their views to be known so everyone must trek to Canberra. These days the Treasurer and the various ministers leak much of what has been decided so that each policy is not swamped in the budget material. In addition the journalist who gets the scoop is usually kind to the minister leaking the material.

Like his predecessors, Scott Morrison will walk into the ‘lock up’ rooms of the major media groups and those in the room can ask questions. Treasury officials are available for detailed questioning.

As you walk into the ‘lock up’ you are handed a budget document pack and then walk past the various ministerial statements that concentrate on measures that affect the different departments. Because recent governments have been riddled with waste the number of ministerial statements grows each year.

Each of the major media organisations has their own space plus food and non-alcoholic beverage. But there is also a myriad of smaller groups — before we sold business spectator to News we were among the smaller groups. Because there is a massive amount of budget material, journalists can look at the budget from different points of view. Journalists’ work including print, voice and video is prepared in the lock up.

You leave the lock up at 7.30pm when the Treasurer starts talking. You then pick up your mobile phone and iPad. The Australian has a magnificent team and I will make a small print contribution but I believe that this budget contains an important set of strategies for my readers so I will be writing a much longer commentary for our digital sites.

Once I leave the lockup, I am driven from Canberra to Sydney looking to arrive at about 11pm. During that car ride, in the back seat, I will finalise my digital commentary, which I will file when I arrive in Sydney. (I also write for Eureka Report so I will also file for them on arriving in Sydney) But the main purpose of the car trip is to prepare the power point required for my speech in the morning. The Australian’s Eric George will have a copy of all the budgetary graphs and we will discuss what is needed in power point to support the Wednesday breakfast speech. .

Next morning at 6.30 I make sure all is well for the breakfast speech, which is sponsored by NAB. I expect about 750 for breakfast.

Then it’s lunch in Sydney, a small breakfast in Melbourne on Thursday followed by a budget breakfast on Friday when I will talk for about 50 minutes.

After the Friday breakfast I have an interview and then will go home and sleep. As I see it my audiences, whether they be digital, print or in person via speeches, are looking for guidance on what it all means and what to expect in the year ahead.

I have done this for the last 42 or 43 years and I will keep performing that service as long as my health holds and people want to read, view and/or listen to my conclusions. My regulars know I don’t always get it right but they keep coming. This might be a good time to thank everyone for their support over such a long period.