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PoliticsNow: ‘Budget in black, Australia back on track’

Key stakeholders have passed their judgement on Josh Frydenberg’s maiden budget.

Jared Owens and Rosie Lewis
31 min read
7:40AMApril 02, 2019.
Updated 10:06PMApril 02, 2019
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It’s a political budget justified by surplus

Josh Frydenberg has handed down his first budget, as the Coalition pins its re-election hopes to a $302bn tax cut plan and a surplus aimed squarely at John Howard’s battlers. Read how budget day unfolded below.

9.37pm: Tony Abbott reacts

9.00pm: Chris Bowen responds to budget

8.45pm: Stakeholders react to budget

Business Council of Australia chief Jennifer Westacott: “This is a strong and responsible budget.”

Council on the Ageing boss Ian Yates: “There are some good measures in this budget but there are gaping holes — major initiatives missing in action.”

Greens leader Richard Di Natale: “This budget is a cynical attempt to buy votes instead of planning for the nation’s looming challenges.”

Jennifer Westacott. Picture: Aaron Francis
Jennifer Westacott. Picture: Aaron Francis

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief James Pearson: “Both job seekers and business will benefit, including from the extra support directly to apprentices and the businesses that employ them.”

Mission Australia chief James Toomey: “Once again, the government has blatantly neglected the needs of thousands of people who are homeless and those who are experiencing rental stress.”

Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association manager Paul Versteege: “A one-off energy assistance payment is about the only thing that pensioners and carers take away.” Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Cassandra Goldie: “The government confirms its vision for our country is cuts, tax cuts for people who don’t need them, guaranteeing more cuts in future to essential services.”

National Disability and Carers Alliance chair Leah van Poppel: “NDIS funds must be spent on the NDIS — not bolstering the budget bottom line.”

8.38pm: Budget verdict

Our experts have their say on the budget. Michael Roddan says “Josh Frydenberg has responded to two challenges facing the economy”, while Rick Morton claims “aged care was supposed to be the flashbang grenade that took everyone by surprise last year but that budget landed with a whimper.”

Read the budget verdict here.

8.24pm: Does your state win in infrastructure splash?

With a record $100 billion in infrastructure expenditure, see how the funds will flow to your state below.

Tom Crystal 8.19pm: Winners and losers

Taxpayers, small businesses, the bush and the ABC are among the big winners from Budget 2019, while tax avoiders and the NDIS misses out. See the breakdown here.

For a quick breakdown on the budget itself, head to Budget 2019: at a glance.

Federal Budget 2019: Winners and Losers

Dennis Shanahan 8.17pm: Hidden threats amid cash splash

COMMENT

Josh Frydenberg has given a discreet nod to economic management and a great big bow to tax cuts, spending and the election.

The Treasurer’s first budget has the distinction of “being back in the black” for the first time in a decade despite the desperate efforts of the four previous Treasurers.

Being back in the black with a $7.1 billion surplus in 2019-20 gives Frydenberg economic management bragging rights and Scott Morrison an election theme of “trust us” with the economy over Labor.

Read more here

Simon Benson 8.16pm: Pitch to win back middle Australia

Scott Morrison will pin his government’s re-election hopes to a $302 billion tax cut plan aimed at John Howard’s battlers and the promise of a record $100 billion in congestion “busting” infrastructure, increased funding for schools and hospitals and putting money in the hands of small business.

Josh Frydenberg delivers the budget speech. Picture Gary Ramage
Josh Frydenberg delivers the budget speech. Picture Gary Ramage

In a politically charged budget handed down tonight Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has made a direct pitch to win back middle Australia through a doubling of the existing tax cuts while rolling cash out the door for suburban commuters, tradies, family businesses and pensioners.

Read more here

8.15pm: New podcast, The Scrutineers, debuts

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has handed down his first budget, but will it be a vote winner that brings back the base ahead of next month’s election? In the debut episode of The Scrutineers, Alice Workman speaks to Dennis Shanahan, Rick Morton and James Jeffrey about the budget that has kicked off the next federal election.

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Adrian McMurray 8.14pm: Read the full speech

Mr Frydenberg also announces measures of guaranteeing essential services, looking after older Australians, protecting the environment, ensuring safe communities and more. Read a transcript of the Treasurer’s full budget speech here.

Adrian McMurray 7.59pm: Skills, schools given shot in the arm

Mr Frydenberg announces strong support for skills, with a $525 million package to ensure Australians “have the skills they need for the jobs of today and the jobs of tomorrow”.

“We will create 80,000 new apprenticeships in industries with skills shortages.

“We will double incentive payments to employers to $8,000 per placement.

“And these new apprentices — including bakers, bricklayers, carpenters and plumbers — will also receive a $2,000 incentive payment.”

He also offers support for women and girls in STEM, and a $300 billion commitment to schools, “a total increase of 63 per cent”.

“Funding will be available for projects such as upgrades to libraries, classrooms and play equipment,” he says.

“This budget includes a new scholarship program for over 1,000 students a year to study in regional Australia.”

Adrian McMurray 7.53pm: Regions given boost

There’s also a big focus on regional spending, in an effort to make “regions stronger and our country stronger”.

“The Morrison Government is providing $6.3 billion in drought support and $3.3 billion for those affected by flood. Expanding the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund, establishing the Future Drought Fund, extending the Farm Household Allowance and supporting graziers through a new North Queensland Livestock Recovery Agency,” he says.

“Tonight, I can announce that we will establish a new, $3.9 million Emergency Response Fund that will ensure additional resourcing is available to support future natural disaster recovery efforts.

“Our economic plan is about driving all industries forward, not just a few of them.”

Adrian McMurray 7.50pm: Infrastructure spend hits $100 billion

The Treasurer says spending on infrastructure will be lifted to “$100 billion over the decade”, all without an increase in taxes.

“We will deliver new infrastructure projects to ease congestion in our cities, to unlock the potential of our regions, to better manage population growth, and to improve safety on our roads,” he says.

“Tonight I announce that we are increasing the Urban Congestion Fund fourfold from $1 billion to $4 billion. This fund will focus on immediate, practical measures to cut travel times within our cities, removing bottlenecks and improving travel corridors.

“It will include a $500 million commuter car park fund that will improve access to public transport hubs and take thousands of cars off the roads.”

Fast rail also forms a large component of the infrastructure plan.

“We are providing $2 billion in this budget for fast rail between Melbourne and Geelong, slashing travel times in half. Work is under way to develop fast rail corridors in other areas — Sydney to Wollongong, Newcastle, Bathurst, Orange to Parks, Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, Melbourne to Shepparton, Toralgan to Wodonga.

“We have funding in the budget for the Tonkin Highway to Perth. The North-South Corridor in Perth. The Gateway Motorway in Brisbane, the freight rail in Tasmania.”

Adrian McMurray 7.46pm: Small business boost

Small businesses, or the “engine room of our economy”, will receive additional tax relief.

“We want small business to prosper and we are backing them to do so, cutting their taxes to 25 per cent, increasing their access to finance with a new $2 billion fund, ensuring small business is paid on time, both by government and big business, and from tonight the instant asset write-off will be increased and expanded. It will be increased from $25,000 to $30,000,” he says.

Adrian McMurray 7.42pm: Greater tax concessions

Mr Frydenberg announces the tax concessions introduced last year will now go further. They are, according to the Treasurer, the “largest personal income tax cuts since the Howard government”.

“Two significant changes will deliver $158 billion of tax relief for hardworking Australians,” he says.

“The Government is more than doubling the low- and middle-income tax offset from 2018-19. Taxpayers earning up to $126,000 a year, including teachers, tradies and nurses, will receive a tax cut. For a single-income family, this means $1,080 in your pocket per year. And for families on a dual income, this is up to $2,160 per year in your pocket.

“This is money that could go towards the monthly mortgage payment. This is money that could go towards the quarterly energy bill. And this is money that could go towards the yearly car insurance. More than 10 million taxpayers will benefit with 4.5 million receiving the full amount.”

Adrian McMurray 7.37pm: Frydenberg confirms surplus

Mr Frydenberg says the budget focuses on restoring the nation’s finances, creates new jobs with a strong skills and infrastructure agenda, and guarantees schools, hospitals and aged care. He emphasises the Coalitions’ commitment to no tax hikes.

He confirms the surplus of $7.1 billion.

“This requires budget discipline and this much, at least, we owe our children. So, tonight, I am pleased to announce a Budget surplus of $7.1 billion.

“A $55-billion turnaround on the deficit we inherited six years ago. In 2021, a surplus of $11 billion. In 2021-22, a surplus of $17.8 billion. In 2022-23, a surplus of $9.2 billion. A total of $45 billion of surpluses over the next four years.”

Adrian McMurray 7.33pm: ‘Budget in black, Australia back on track’

The Treasurer begins his budget speech, declaring that, for the first time in 12 years, Australia is back “paying its own way”.

“Tonight, I announce that the Budget is back in the black, and Australia is back on track,” Mr Frydenberg says.

“Australia is stronger than when we came to Government six years ago. Growth is higher. Unemployment is lower. There are fewer people on welfare. There are a record number of Australians with a job. School and hospital funding are at record levels.”

Adrian McMurray 6.22pm: Coalition’s drug crackdown

The Coalition will set aside $188 million over five years on a crack down on illicit drugs, Sky News reports.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will hand Home Affairs a $147.2 million funding boost to fight bikies’ drug trade, while rehabilitation and support services will receive and additional $14.8 million.

The wastewater monitoring program will also continue to be backed, with $4.8 million allocated.

Regional and remote support will also be bolstered ($11.5 million), while a drug trial to combat overdoses ($7.2 million) will be funded.

6.18pm: ‘The day we’ve worked towards since 2013’

Delivering the first surplus in more than a decade is a demonstration of why people vote for coalition governments, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declared.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will present another round of personal income tax cuts and a forecast surplus when he hands down the federal budget on Tuesday night.

“Today is the day we’ve been working towards since first being elected in 2013. Today we’re bringing the budget back in black,” Mr Morrison told the coalition party room meeting in the morning.

“This is a demonstration of what the Australian people expect us to do, to get the job done compared with Labor’s talk.”

He said many people had contributed to the return to surplus, singling out his predecessors Tony Abbott — who also addressed the party room on the topic — and Malcolm Turnbull.

Mr Morrison’s plan now was to follow in the footsteps of the Howard government and pay off debt over the next decade, he said.

Retiring former deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop, who was elected in 1998, recalled sitting in the party room when Peter Costello announced the Howard government had paid of Labor’s debt.

It had taken them 11 years to do, and it only took Labor another two to put the budget back in the red, she said on Tuesday.

Low and middle-income workers earning up to $90,000-a-year will be given an annual boost of around $1000 in Tuesday night’s budget, on top of tax breaks they received last year.

“The Coalition believes that every Australian should earn more and that every Australian should keep more of what they earn, and that will be reflected in this budget tonight,” Mr Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra. Labor leader Bill Shorten said the government has been playing catch up on the opposition’s “bigger, better, fairer” tax policies six weeks out from an election.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann. Picture: Kym Smith
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann. Picture: Kym Smith

“This is a government who has run out of time. All that is left for them is to play catch up,” he told reporters.

The government wants its tax cuts legislated this week before parliament is dissolved ahead of the federal election next month.

Independent senator Tim Storer is open to supporting the tax breaks but says the two-day timetable will be a stretch.

Mr Shorten said the opposition will look at what the government puts forward, but won’t write them a blank cheque.

The budget comes just days out from Mr Morrison calling a federal election, expected on May 11 or 18.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said there would be much in the budget for MPs to sell during the imminent campaign.

“The only thing bigger than Shorten’s lies are the debt and deficit they left us with,” he told the party room.

“It’s taken six years to fix and we can’t risk them again or it will take 10 years next time.” Labor has already flagged it will deliver its own economic statement later in the year if, as polls suggest, it wins the election — rendering Tuesday’s budget mostly redundant.

The prime minister has rejected suggestions the budget is about buying votes, saying Commonwealth spending would be at its lowest growth rate in 50 years. It is expected the government’s already-legislated income tax cuts will be brought forward, cash payments provided to pensioners to cover power bills, and billions set aside for road and rail projects and subsidising new drugs.

AAP

Adrian McMurray 5.08pm: Countdown to Budget 2019

While our reporters — and almost every political reporter in the country — are still tucked away in the budget lockup, here’s a look at the scenes at Parliament House earlier today.

Budget 2019: — the 'lockup'

Remember, we’ll have rolling updates throughout the night, including extensive news coverage and commentary from 7.30pm AEDT.

Jared Owens 3.15pm: A-G signals Facebook crackdown

In the final question of the day, Attorney-General Christian Porter is asked by Liberal backbencher Andrew Wallace how the government is holding social media companies to account for its actions.

Mr Porter is cataloguing Facebook’s sins including streamed videos including the sexual assault of an American teenager and the infanticide of a Thai baby, each of which continued to be available for hours before they were pulled down.

In Christchurch, he says, Facebook did “precisely nothing” until the New Zealand police contacted the company 63 minutes after the live-streaming of the massacres started, he says.

“The only thing perhaps more concerning is that abject failure by Facebook to control the content of its own platform is the legal fact is that there is not any sufficient recourse

for this Parliament if such a failure occurred in the future in Australia,” Mr Porter says.

“The time to pass a law that says that content servers should suffer the most serious penalties for failing to expeditiously remove abhorrently violent material is this week.”

Jared Owens 3.10pm: O’Dwyer’s parting remarks to Katter

Katter’s Australian Party MP Bob Katter asks a long series of rhetorical questions about Australia’s free-market policies which he says have destroyed industries such as textiles and manufacturing.

“Are the ALP and LNP on the take or just plain stupid?” the MP for Kennedy asks Jobs Minister Kelly O’Dwyer.

Ms O’Dwyer, who is retiring, answers in the negative and adds: “One of the things that I will miss are the questions from the Member for Kennedy, his wonderful way of combining Aussie vernacular with haiku poetry.”

She proceeds to detail how Australia’s foreign trade links are actually opening up new markets for exporters, displeasing Mr Katter.

Jared Owens 3.05pm: ‘Don’t be swindled by Labor’s school mistruths’

Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek asks the Prime Minister about having “cut $14 billion from public schools”.

Mr Morrison insists schools funding has increased 57 per cent by the Coalition and warns voters not to be “swindled” by the opposition.

“Only under the Member for Sydney’s arithmetic would an increase in funding of that order be constituted as a reduction,” he says.

“How does the Member for Sydney parade herself around the country, pretending to be a someone of economic confidence — which is quite a stretch, Mr Speaker, even in the Labor Party — when these most simple issues of arithmetic are beyond her?”

Jared Owens 3.02pm: Labor fires up Transport Minister

Ken O’Dowd, the Nationals MP for the seat of Flynn, asks his leader Michael McCormack about roads funding in regional Queensland, where the Nats are defending three marginal seats.

Mr O’Dowd is taking a long time to get the question out, and Labor is laughing, but that only fires up the Transport Minister.

“I don’t know why they yell out. He’s run more businesses successfully than any of those on the other side they could. They run their businesses into the ground!” Mr McCormack says.

Mr McCormack insists there will be industry-boosting roadworks in the budget and lashes the ALP’s plan to “nationalise” Queensland’s controversial tree-clearing laws.

Jared Owens 2.56pm: Shorten will ‘make Australians pay more for everything’: PM

For Labor’s second question, Bill Shorten asks a budget question that is almost identical to that previously asked by Chris Bowen.

The PM pivots to attacking Labor’s 45 per cent emissions reduction target, branding it “a tax on everything that moves”.

“Under Labor you will always pay more and we learnt this week it won’t be just the $200 billion of higher taxes because their big carbon target, Mr Speaker, you can call it a carbon tax, you can call it a carbon price, all I know is that people are going to be paying more,” he says.

“He’s going to make Australians pay more for absolutely everything.”

Jared Owens 2.54pm: ‘They can’t manage money’

Liberal backbencher Chris Crewther bowls up a Dixer on the budget for the Prime Minister, as the Treasurer is away from parliament preparing for his speech.

Mr Morrison reiterates his promise to deliver guaranteed funding for services and infrastructure without raising taxes.

“When Labor gets into power, we know that they cannot manage money. You vote Labor once, and you pay for it for more than a decade because the Labor Party proposes … higher taxes,” he says.

“Higher taxes on families, higher taxes on retirees, higher taxes on businesses, higher taxes on Australians who just want to work hard and get ahead and provide for their families.”

Jared Owens 2.49pm: Morrison’s Labor surplus throwback

Now the condolences are over, the gloves have come off.

Aspiring treasurer Chris Bowen asks the Prime Minister seriously expects his copycat income tax cuts to cover up for “six years of cuts and chaos”.

Mr Morrison insists the Coalition would “never” borrow economic policy from the ALP and warns of higher taxes under Labor.

“The last time the Labor Party had a surplus was 1989, Mr Speaker. I had long curly hair back then, Mr Speaker. That’s how long that was ago,” he says.

“The last time that the Labor Party had any decent economic policy is beyond anyone’s memory. So I can assure the member for McMahon, I won’t be reading his little book of big, fat taxes he wants to put on the Australian people.”

Jared Owens 2.43pm: ‘Australia has lost a fine son’

Mr Morrison has risen to acknowledge late journalist Les Carlyon, noting especially his work as a Great War historian.

“He had words when words would fail most of us,” he said. “And in those tomes, he never lost sight of the people who were at the centre of them.

“His pen may be down, his voice now be silenced in this world but his words will always stay with us. Australia has lost a fine son.”

Mr Shorten also paid tribute to Carlyon’s “brilliant knack” for finding words and his “visceral loathing” of bad writing.

“Magic in every sentence, a gem in every paragraph. Never spent a sentence in vain. Artistry and craftsmanship and equal measure. Nothing for the sake of it, though. No ornamentation in his writing.”

Jared Owens 2.36pm: Shorten’s tribute to Herron

Mr Shorten paid tribute to Dr Herron’s belief that politics was a public service, and noted his friendships with Labor MPs including Con Sciacca.

“Now, of course, John Herron was a very proud, very loyal and fierce Liberal,” the Opposition Leader said.

“I can’t imagine John Herron would want Labor people seeking to minimise the philosophical differences … But his views were not adopted from convenience or crafted from an audience. They were drawn from a deep well of principle and faith.”

Mr Shorten noted his work as Minister for Indigenous Affairs under John Howard, a notoriously difficult portfolio.

“He didn’t come to public life seeking an easy ride, he came to do difficult things because he knew as we all do that the toughest things are the ones which make the biggest differences,” he said.

Jared Owens 2.33pm: PM leads Herron condolences

Mr Morrison is leading the House of Representatives in condolences for John Herron, a Liberal senator between 1990 and 2002.

“He did not let this place change his very essence. He was always a doctor, always a father, always a Catholic, always a Queenslander, trying to be authentic all the time in his life,” the Prime Minister said.

Mr Morrison paid tribute to his aid work as a doctor in Rwanda in 1994, where he was traumatised having seen “hell itself as best it can be replicated in this world” .

“He would go on to become a fierce advocate for the establishment of the national criminal court, but he also suffered what he then called the nervous breakdown crying at night, weeping for no reason,” he said.

“His dedication to serving others, his love for his family and country, his enduring compassion for people everywhere serve as an inspiration to us all.”

Jared Owens 2.27pm: ‘We are not alone in our sense of loss’

Speaker Tony Smith has read aloud a letter received from his New Zealand counterpart, Trevor Mallard, acknowledging Australian MPs’ shock at the massacres.

“As a country we were all deeply shocked and heartbroken by the horrific act of terrorism and hate carried out on our soil on Friday 15 March,” Mr Mallard wrote in response to a note of solidarity from Mr Smith and Senate president Scott Ryan.

“The outpouring of love and generosity displayed over the past few weeks has shown that no matter one’s religion, ethnicity or country of birth, New Zealanders will not tolerate violence or extremism of any kind.

“On behalf of the New Zealand parliament, I want to thank you, your parliamentary colleagues and Australians generally for your support and solidarity. It is certainly a comfort to know we are not alone in our sense of loss.”

Jared Owens 2.23pm: Shorten’s hate speech warning

Mr Shorten warned MPs to watch out for hate speech, saying that “words can incite people to pick up a weapon”.

“If you create swamp of extremism and prejudicism and legitimise it, you cannot disown what crawls out of it,” he said.

Jared Owens 2.16pm: ‘We are family, we are one’

In his speech, Bill Shorten urged a “bridge of understanding, respect, compassion and community”.

“Today all of us in our Parliament send the same message to the people of New Zealand — we are here to help you carry the burden of grief to shoulder and share the weight of

sadness because our two nations are not just friends, we are family, we are one,” the Opposition Leader said.

Jared Owens 2.12pm: ‘We denounce it absolutely’

Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten have united in parliament to condemn the massacre of innocents by an Australian terrorist in Christchurch last month.

The Prime Minister said New Zealanders were “family” to Australia and reaffirmed the governments commitment to peace and understanding.

'We are shamed he came from among us': PM condemns mosque massacres

“We are stunned and shamed that he came from among us and grew up among us. He may have been Australian by birth and by law, but his actions and beliefs betray all that is and forever will be Australian,” Mr Morrison told parliament.

“We denounce it absolutely. Our thoughts and our prayers, our love and support are only with those he attacked.”

Mr Morrison said New Zealanders were “family” to Australia and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to a peaceful, tolerant and loving society.

“Religious freedom … starts with the right to worship and to meet safely without fear. It means not looking over your shoulder or hiding who you are as you sit down to pray. To live without ridicule, to live without mocking for your beliefs and to live without violence or discrimination,” he said.

Richard Ferguson 1.50pm: Howard’s spectre looms large

Scott Morrison has raised the spectre of the 2007 election, when John Howard lost power, in what could be the last time Coalition MPs meet before a federal election.

Liberal sources say he told the joint coalition party room today that the government learn from Mr Howard’s “Go for Growth” campaign, which he said lacked the detail to convince voters not to vote for Labor and Kevin Rudd.

“That campaign lacked the question, why?” he told the joint party room.

Mr Morrison said he was determined to explain the benefits of economic growth, as well as the government’s economic record, to avoid losing government again to Labor.

But sources say he was upbeat about the Coalition’s electoral prospects and that the poll is “ours to win, not ours to lose.”

“People don’t want Shorten … everyone saw in a short time they were government just how much damage Labor could do,” he said.

“This election is ours to win, not ours to lose, it’s ours to win.”

Jared Owens 12.40pm: Three senators admitted

Parliament has admitted three new senators — Wendy Askew, Raff Ciccone and Duncan Spender — all of whom will sit for only a few days before their terms end.

Senator Askew takes the seat of Tasmanian Liberal senator David Bushby, who is her brother. She is the first Liberal woman to represent Tasmania in more than 20 years.

Senator Ciccone, a former shopworkers’ union official and vice president of the Victorian Labor Party, succeeds retired Victorian ALP senator Jacinta Collins. He previously worked in Ms Collins’s office between 2008 and 2013.

Senator Spender replaces Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm, who stood down to contest the NSW state election. He was the previous senator’s chief of staff.

Mr Bushby, Mr Leyonhjelm and Ms Collins all won three-year terms at the 2016 double-dissolution, meaning their successors’ terms will expire on June 30.

Chris Kenny 12.20pm: Bill’s boost for Balranald

Bill Shorten charging an electric car. Picture Kym Smith.
Bill Shorten charging an electric car. Picture Kym Smith.

Every Christmas my family and I drive from Sydney to Adelaide for our summer holiday. We enjoy the long drive as a chance to decompress from a busy, city life. We often break it up with a night in Mildura on the way there or Wagga Wagga on the way back.

Imagine the prospect of the same trip in an electric car. With the airconditioner on full bore in the December heat perhaps we’ll be able to cover 250 or 300 kilometres at a time. With a succession of three-hour stops for recharging and extra stopovers in Narrandera and Balranald we might make it across in four days.

Bill Shorten’s big push for electric cars might drain the pockets of taxpayers and motorists but it will line the pockets of electric car retailers and motel owners in Balranald and other plug-in points around the nation. Either that or it will boost airline profits as we abandon the roads.

Read Kenny’s comment in full here

Rosie Lewis 12.00pm: ABC offered funding reprieve

The ABC has been offered a funding reprieve weeks out from the May federal election, with today’s budget set to announce $43.7 million for the broadcaster’s enhanced newsgathering services.

The money, which has been targeted at rural and regional reporting, was due to run out next financial year but the Morrison government has agreed to renew it as part of the ABC’s triennial funding agreement.

The Community and Public Sector Union warned yesterday the $41m dedicated to newsgathering agreed to in the 2016 budget was at risk.

“A good government would be not just guaranteeing but increasing that funding. It is regional Australians who will be most disadvantaged if this money is cut, showing why the National Party needs to be putting the needs of the country ahead of those of the Liberal Party,” CPSU ABC section secretary Sinddy Ealy said.

The Coalition cut the newsgathering funding — a Labor initiative introduced by the Rudd government — by $20m in 2016.

The $43.7m will be rolled out over three years.

The government last year decided to pause indexation of the ABC’s operational funding from 2019-20 for three years to ensure the public broadcaster found “back-office efficiencies”.

Base operational funding for the ABC, which is exempt from the government-wide efficiency dividend, will remain at $3.16bn.

The ABC has regularly been an election issue for the Coalition, with former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull pursued by voters during the Longman campaign after the Liberal Party federal council passed a motion to privatise the broadcaster.

The Australian understands there will be some extra funding for SBS.

Rosie Lewis 11.45am: PM flags poll dates

Scott Morrison has flagged May 11, 18 and 25 as possible federal election dates in a Coalition party room meeting, telling his MPs he had not made up his mind.

Liberal and Nationals MPs are nervous about potentially living through Senate estimates next week if the election is not called this weekend, warning it could create havoc for the government so close to polling day.

To read the story in full click here

Rachel Baxendale 11.40am: ‘Give us a fair share’

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says that while any additional funding for Victorian infrastructure is welcome in this evening’s budget, “last-minute election giveaways” don’t make up for six years of prioritising Sydney over Melbourne.

“That’s what’s happened over the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison years,” Mr Andrews said this morning.

“We’ve seen Sydney first, second and third, and the fastest-growing and best-performing economy in the country, the Melbourne and Victorian experience, we’ve not received a fair share.

“That’s all we’ve ever asked for. We don’t want any more than we’re entitled to, simply a fair share.

“We’ll wait and see what’s in the budget tonight and we won’t be critical of additional funding, but I do think people are right to be sceptical.”

Mr Andrews said he saw his Canberra Labor counterpart Bill Shorten as a partner with whom he could “get things done”, slamming the Coalition government’s decision to keep $3bn in funding for the state oppositions proposed East-West Link in a “locked box”.

“My approach has always been to get on and build the projects that Victorians voted for, not to be squirrelling away money as if it were your own money on projects the Victorian public have voted against not once, but twice,” he said.

“Let’s wait and see the cash flows in terms of how that money comes to Victoria, and then of course we’ll have a budget in just a few weeks’ time and a budget each year over the next four years, so we put forward a very strong agenda to keep on building, and that’s exactly what we’ll do.

“If we’ve got a partner in Canberra, and I think Bill Shorten is that partner, to get on and get things done, not to play games, none of this locked box nonsense, actually building things, creating jobs, setting us up for the future, that’s what we need and the only person who’s got that on offer I think in a consistent way and a meaningful way is in fact Bill Shorten.”

Jared Owens 10.55am: Trad warns over ‘tricky accounting’

Queensland Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad. Picture: AAP.
Queensland Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad. Picture: AAP.

Queensland Treasurer Jackie Trad has cautioned the federal government against using “fine print” and “tricky accounting” to exaggerate the economic benefits for her state in tonight’s budget.

“In last year’s budget the federal government trumpeted that they were spending $75 billion on infrastructure over 10 years but … only about $5.2bn … was being spent on dedicated major projects in Queensland,” Ms Trad told state parliament in Brisbane.

“Some of those projects, despite having funding attached to them, are still waiting to see the bulk of federal dollars actually hit the ground.”

Ms Trad framed the budget as “a test” for new Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

“We want commitments without strings attached, without fine print, and without tricky accounting that means the money won’t actually be spent for years,” she said.

“If we don’t see real commitments on these things tonight then it will confirm that under this federal government, Queensland will never get its fair share.”

The Coalition is defending a slew of battleground seats in Queensland at the forthcoming election, including eight that would fall on swings of 4 per cent.

Jared Owens 10.30am: Anning ‘jingoistic moron’

New Zealand deputy prime minister Winston Peters has branded Fraser Anning a “jingoistic moron” ahead of a Senate vote to censure the nationalist politician later today.

Queensland senator Fraser Anning has stood by his divisive response to the Christchurch terrorist attack, in which an Australian man with far-right extremist views allegedly shot dead 50 people at two mosques, on Muslim immigration to the country.

Ahead of the censure vote in parliament today, Mr Peters, the leader of the populist New Zealand First party, told Sky News: “I could call him a four-flushing, jingoistic moron, but you already know that in Australia.”

“He is a national, absolute, democratic aberration. We all know why he’s there. He’s there by pure accident. It means you have to clean up your political system to avoid that sort of person making it into politics.”

Senator Anning won only 19 personal votes at the 2016 election but was elected after his One Nation running mate Malcolm Roberts was disqualified from office over his dual nationality.

The censure motion will easily pass the Senate with the support of both major parties and sends a strong message of condemnation against Senator Anning but has no practical effect.

The Greens will try to convince the Senate to suspend Senator Anning from federal parliament, although many senators are reluctant to establish a precedent that could be abused by future parliaments.

Senator Anning last night criticised the censure motion as an attack on free speech.

Jared Owens 10.10am: Shorten’s media whinge

Bill Shorten speaks to the media at Parliament House. Picture: Getty Images.
Bill Shorten speaks to the media at Parliament House. Picture: Getty Images.

Bill Shorten has lashed out at journalists’ coverage of Labor’s controversial push to cut carbon pollution by 45 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030.

After Scott Morrison yesterday signalled that he would turn Labor’s plan into a frontline election issue, Mr Shorten criticised the media for publishing such “unsubstantiated” critiques.

“Don’t we all owe it to lift the level of journalism in this country and not simply repeat unsubstantiated government attacks?” the Opposition Leader said.

“(Economist Warwick) McKibbin’s modelling shows that a 45 per cent emissions reduction will have the same impact as 26 per cent because we will include international credits.”

The Prime Minister yesterday claimed Labor’s plan to allow businesses to offset their emissions using of international credits could result in $35 billion being sent offshore by 2030 to foreign carbon traders. “Carbon credits for Kazakhstan — that’s what this is for,’’ Mr Morrison said.

Stephen Conroy, a former Labor leader in the Senate, praised Bill Shorten’s “genius” in launching his controversial climate change policy in budget week to distract from the Coalition’s economic message.

“A genius stroke by Bill Shorten and Mark Butler. They’ve got the government talking about their policy agenda, not selling their own budget,” Mr Conroy told Sky News.

“Every day the government talks climate change policy is a bad day for the government.”

Jared Owens 9.55am: Budget ‘a political leaflet’

Bill Shorten has ridiculed tonight’s budget as “more a political leaflet than an economic plan” as he attacked the government for matching Labor’s planned income tax cuts.

“This is a government that has run out of time. All they can do is play catch-up,” the Opposition Leader said in Canberra.

“What is it that they say they can do in the next six weeks that in the previous six years they didn’t do?”

Mr Shorten said Labor would “study” the Coalition’s proposed tax cuts, but noted the opposition had more room for income tax relief and spending on services because it was raising revenue elsewhere.

“Last year the government said they could only find $500 for a working person on perhaps $90,000 a year, but because of our economic reforms we said we would increase the refund available to $928,” he said.

“The government’s now realised that they have a problem that Labor has bigger, better, fairer tax cuts for nearly 10 million working people. We will study what they offer tonight.”

Jared Owens 9.05am: ‘Don’t change direction now’

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has cautioned voters against “changing direction” now that Australia’s economy has turned a corner.

The Coalition has framed tonight’s budget, touted as the first surplus in more than a decade, as the culmination of tough decisions taken under Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and now Scott Morrison.

Senator Cormann, the co-author of each of the Coalition’s six budgets, said Australia was “now heading in the right direction”.

“Stronger growth, more jobs, and a budget where funding for all the essential services Australians rely on is guaranteed. It is not the time to change direction,” he told journalists during a photo opportunity with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

Asked if it was an election winning budget, Senator Cormann answered: “It’s a budget for Australia”. A government adviser then ushered media out of the room.

Jared Owens 8.45am: Budget ‘election con’

Josh Frydenberg’s promise to deliver budget surpluses while cutting income taxes and boosting spending is an “election con”, Labor finance spokesman Jim Chalmers says.

“No amount of tax cuts in a budget six weeks from the election will make people forgive or forget six years of division and dysfunction,” Dr Chalmers told The Australian.

“The economy’s not delivering for ordinary working people, we’ve got slowing growth, record debt and everything going up instead of wages.

“Australians aren’t stupid, they know this budget is about Morrison looking after his interests and not theirs.”

Dr Chalmers accused the government of blatantly “copying” Labor’s policy by promising tax relief for low and middle-income earners.

“The difference is we prioritise workers and pensioners all the time and not just on the eve of an election,” he said.

With the budget set to reveal the elimination of government net debt within a decade, Dr Chalmers said the Coalition had doubled the debt over their six years of government.

“They’ve added more debt in favourable global conditions than Labor did and we had a GFC to deal with,” he said.

“Scott Morrison has added $100m in debt since he’s been Prime Minister.”

Jared Owens 8.15am: ‘More money in your pocket’

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has outlined his budget pitch, promising average families have “more money in their hip pocket” while delivering a stronger economy and without raising taxes.

“Tonight’s surplus is no accident. It’s the product of responsible decisions and an economic plan that is working. There is more to do, but the Australian people can trust us to do it,” Mr Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra.

“Discipline when it comes to budget management is absolutely important, because if we can get debt under control, we can ensure more spending on the essential services that people need and deserve.”

Mathias Cormann and Josh Frydenberg at Parliament House. Picture: Kym Smith.
Mathias Cormann and Josh Frydenberg at Parliament House. Picture: Kym Smith.

Mr Frydenberg said the budget would ease the cost of living for average families.

“There will be more money in their pocket, congestion-busting infrastructure that will allow them to get to work earlier and to get home sooner, and guaranteed essential services of hospitals, schools, aged care, disability support — they’re the things that are important to the Australian people,” he said.

“The Coalition believes that every Australian should earn more, and that every Australian should keep more of what they earn, and that will be reflected in this budget tonight.”

Richard Ferguson 8.12am: Frydenberg arrives

Josh Frydenberg has just arrived at Parliament House to deliver the “first surplus in more than a decade.”

“It’s the product of responsible decisions — difficult but necessary decisions. Discipline when it comes to budget management is absolutely important,” he said.

“Because if we can get debt under control, we can ensure more spending on the essential services that people need and deserve.

“Average families can expect out of this Budget that their cost-of-living pressures will be eased, that there will be more money in their pocket, congestion-busting infrastructure that will allow them to get to work earlier and to get home sooner.

“And guaranteed essential services of hospitals, schools, aged care, disability support — they’re the things that are important to the Australian people, and they’re the things that will be in tonight’s Budget.”

Jared Owens 8.00am: PM, Shorten’s sorrow for Christopher

Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten have expressed their sorrow over the death of an apprentice construction worker just days after celebrating his 18th birthday.

Christopher Cassaniti, who was last night remembered as a “ball of energy” who was “always smiling”, died and a 39-year-old colleague was critically injured when nine storeys of scaffolding fell on them at the apartment development in Sydney yesterday.

Jared Owens 7.55am: Storer backs tax relief

Senator Tim Storer in the Senate Chamber. Picture Kym Smith.
Senator Tim Storer in the Senate Chamber. Picture Kym Smith.

Independent senator Tim Storer says he is minded to back the Coalition’s plan to expand income tax relief for wage earners before parliament is dissolved for the federal election.

Mr Frydenberg is expected tonight to announce the doubling of the government’s offering last year of a $530 tax break to 4.4 million workers earning between $48,000 and $90,000. Workers earning as little as $37,000 and as much as $126,000 will also benefit from some tax ­relief.

Senator Storer, when asked about the policy, today told ABC Radio: “I am of a mind to provide tax relief to low and middle income earners.”

The South Australian senator said he would be concerned about any changes that would favour higher earners.

Senator Storer said he was “not going to wave anything through” and assess it “on its merits”.

What’s making news

• Josh Frydenberg will today ­declare an end to the debt and deficit disaster the Coalition inherited from Labor six years ago, with the budget revealing that government net debt will be eliminated within a decade.

• Scott Morrison has branded Labor’s climate change policy economically reckless, and declared it would impose a “massive tax” on a swathe of Australian companies, including Coca-Cola Amatil, Telstra, Boral and Arnott’s Biscuits.

• The quickening march of Baby Boomers into old age will cost the budget $36 billion by the end of the decade with a $9bn increase in the age pension alone that will not be offset by higher tax concessions in superannuation, a new report says.

• The government will disappoint ­financial counsellors by opting not to ­respond in the federal budget to a funding review of the industry launched on the recommendation of royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne.

• Julia Gillard has lavished praise on Bill Shorten — who pulled key support for her prime ministership before Kevin Rudd swooped in June 2013 — as the Opposition Leader attempts to turn around his lowly standing with female voters.

• Child psychologist Fiona Martin is set to replace Craig Laundy as the Liberal candidate for the Sydney seat of Reid, with her preselection expected to be endorsed by the party’s NSW state executive as early as tomorrow.

• Google has hit back at the government’s plan to punish social media executives who fail to rapidly ­remove abhorrent violent ­material from their platforms, warning there is no “feasible way” for humans to review every piece of uploaded content.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/politicsnow-politicians-head-into-budget-lockup/news-story/ffa8dfd270928bab4dde996346a75951