WEBVTT - The election budget: What's in it for you? 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:03.239 So, Paul, you've just come out of the budget lockup. 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:04.360 What was it like in there? 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:04.920 Oh? 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:08.960 Well, it's quite a new experience really. The lockups these 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:12.799 days are actually done in the press gallery and in 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:16.120 the bureau. So we were, as it were, locked in 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:20.200 the Saturday Paper bureau with a treasury official who took 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:22.960 our phones office and made sure that we could not 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:25.360 communicate with the outside world. 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:28.760 Paul bon Jorno is a columnist for the Saturday Paper 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:31.600 and this is not his first rodeo. 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:35.080 It's very different from the first lockup I attended. I 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:38.800 can tell you thirty seven years ago, Ruby, probably before 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:40.559 you were born, but I won't say anything. 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:43.160 Tell me about that. What was it like thirty seven 0:00:43.240 --> 0:00:43.680 years ago? 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:47.280 Well, in nineteen eighty eight, Paul Keating was the treasurer. 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:50.160 On the morning that he delivered the budget, he got 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:54.920 into the mood by listening to Richard Wagner's four Last 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:58.600 Songs from one of Wagner's operas, and I think the 0:00:58.720 --> 0:00:59.840 version was sung by J. 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:00.680 Norman. 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:03.120 I went out and bought the CD, and I must 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.480 say it's very moving music. I was just trying to 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:08.040 work out how many budgets I've actually covered in those 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:11.199 thirty seven years and it's thirty five. I've missed two, 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:14.120 so that's not a bad you show up rate. 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:19.000 Thirty five budgets. Okay, So how does this budget then, 0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:22.800 as someone who's been around for three and a half decades, 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:23.880 how does this compare? 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:27.280 Well, this is a pre election budget. Even though the 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:30.840 treasurers tried to convince us all that it was economics 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:34.399 first and politics second. I know a lot of the 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:37.080 gurus at the other end of the corridor and the 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:40.840 financial press aren't all that impressed. They just look at 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:43.640 the budget bottom line and all they see is read 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:47.119 and they say, Aha, that proves it's all about politics 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:49.520 rather than good economic management. 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:55.040 As the government makes its pitch for reelection, gross public 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:58.120 debt is forecast to hit one trillion dollars next year 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:02.160 and a decade of deaficie it's loom, But Treasurer Jim 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:04.760 Chalmers used his budget night pitch to argue that if 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.600 it wasn't for labor, the picture would be worse. It's 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:10.840 a tough sell at a time when cost of living 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:14.280 is biting, but with a record investment in Medicare, energy 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:17.280 bill relief and a surprise tax cut for everyone, the 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:25.840 government is hoping to secure a second term from Schwartz Media. 0:02:26.200 --> 0:02:31.000 I'm Ruby Jones. This is seven AM today. Budget veteran 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:34.200 Paul bon Jorno on whether Labour's election budget will pay 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:42.200 off and what's in it for you. It's Wednesday, March 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:50.560 twenty six. Paul, let's begin by talking about the budget 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:54.160 bottom line. The total gross debt is expected to peak 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:57.720 at thirty seven percent of GDP in coming years and 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:01.840 we're now expecting death it's for the next decade. So 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:05.840 why is that, Paul, Given that we've had surfaces for 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:07.240 the past two budgets. 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:10.320 What has changed, Well, a few things have changed, But 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:13.640 I think we should make this point that Australia, with 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:16.920 thirty seven percent of the total economic output that's what 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:22.000 GDP means, is amongst the lowest in the world. The 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:25.320 United States is one hundred percent of its GDP, as 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:29.120 is the United Kingdom. So the Australian economy, even on 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:32.840 that measure, is in much better shape than other major 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:38.320 democratic economies. But the explanation is that commodity prices have 0:03:38.440 --> 0:03:42.400 come off, energy prices have risen as a result of 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:48.080 the continuing war in Ukraine and also the war in 0:03:48.120 --> 0:03:52.480 the Middle East, which is disrupting energy supply chains. So 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:56.000 all of that is an explanation. The other explanation is 0:03:56.040 --> 0:04:01.360 that the revenue that our commodity produces we're getting in 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:05.560 recent years meant that they were paying a lot more tax. Well, 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:09.320 this year, the government's not getting the revenue bonanza it 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:13.640 was and it has gone into deficit. And a big 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:16.440 reason for that is because it knows, and the Treasurer 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:18.719 made a big point of this in his budget speech 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.360 and throughout the budget papers, that people are hurting and 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:24.280 they do want relief. 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:26.719 We've made a lot of progress together, but we know 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:30.160 that many people are still doing it tough. Our plan 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:33.279 to rebuild living standards starts with cost of living help 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:38.679 and wages growth. It includes more hip pocket help for households. 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:43.000 And labor which spoke about delivering relief at its budget 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:45.760 last year but didn't see any reward in the opinion 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:48.440 polls for it knows that it has to have another 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:52.080 big go this year because within six weeks we'll be 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:54.680 going to an election and I think that's one of 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:57.279 the reasons why we've seen the sort of budget that 0:04:57.320 --> 0:04:57.680 we have. 0:04:58.800 --> 0:05:01.080 Can you talk to me a little more about that, 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:03.120 Poul I mean, there's no doubt that this is an 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:07.640 election budget, but what does it say to you about 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:11.760 how labor is positioning itself to voters. What is the 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:14.119 overarching message here. 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:18.800 Well, the overarching message is to quote the Prime Minister, 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:21.359 though there have been some critics of him for saying 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:25.239 that Labour's got your backs. This is what they're trying 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:28.040 to say. There's a lot of measures that we've already 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:32.560 heard about, more bolt billing, more help with electricity bills, 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:38.039 cheaper medicines, less student debt, and a big investment into 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:42.400 manufacturing in Australia as well as more homes. The Treasurer 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:44.719 really hit the fact that a lot of money will 0:05:44.760 --> 0:05:48.919 be directed in the area of providing more housing, and 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:52.120 there'll be more investment in skills and education. 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:56.920 This is a responsible budget with five main priorities. Helping 0:05:56.960 --> 0:06:01.400 with the cost of living, strengthening medicare, building more homes, 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:06.479 investing in every stage of education, and making our economy stronger, 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:08.919 more productive and more resilient. 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:14.159 But what we did see really as the surprise centerpiece 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:18.080 of the budget tonight was Jim Charmers pulled a scrawny 0:06:18.160 --> 0:06:19.600 rabbit out of the hat. 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:22.680 These additional tax cuts are modest, but they will make 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:25.720 a difference. The average earner will have an extra five 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:28.880 hundred and thirty six dollars in their pocket each year 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:32.680 when they're fully implemented. Combined with our first round of 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:35.920 tax cuts, this is two thousand, one hundred and ninety dollars, 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:39.480 and the average total tax cut will be two thousand, 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:42.960 five hundred and forty eight dollars, or about fifty dollars 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:43.520 a week. 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:46.800 So that's adding the five dollars to the tax cuts 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:49.599 you got in July, which is a very clever political 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:53.119 way in my view, of upgrading and updating the tax 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:54.880 cuts as something new. 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:59.960 Okay, so we have this small tax cut. Let's talk 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:03.960 spends though. A big focus of that is healthcare. We're 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:08.040 seeing eight point five billion dollars for bulk billing incentives. 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:11.720 There's also this plan to reduce the cost of scripts 0:07:11.800 --> 0:07:15.920 under the PBS. There's a women's healthcare package as well. 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:18.640 So tell me more about the details of the health 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:20.880 spending and why you think it is that labor is 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:22.040 focusing on this. 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:26.480 Well, labor is focusing on that there for various reasons, 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:31.040 namely that health is an issue that voters have identified 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:35.240 as something that's impacting on their well being in a 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:36.200 very big way. 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:40.360 Tonight, we are proud to make the single biggest commitment 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:44.760 to Medicare since its creation, a record eight and a 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:47.880 half billion dollars to lift bulk billing rates and build 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:51.960 our health workforce. Because of this investment, nine out of 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:55.280 ten GP visits should be fully bold built by the 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:56.160 end of the decade. 0:07:56.280 --> 0:08:01.000 The calculation politically, the hard edged calculation, is that Peter Dutton, 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:04.880 when he was Tony Abbot's Health Minister, launched a full 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:08.400 frontal attack on bulk billing by wanting to have a 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:13.200 co payment. Now, when the Senate at the time refused 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:16.960 to play ball with that, what the Abbot government followed 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:20.960 by then the Turnbull and Morrison governments did they froze 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:25.239 the Medicare rebate paid to doctors. And what we've seen 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:29.440 over those intervening years, instead of a co payment imposed 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:33.600 by the government, they've forced the doctors to charge when 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:36.280 you visit them. In other words, it was still the 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:42.320 co payment by stealth. Now, the eight billion dollars that's 0:08:42.360 --> 0:08:46.520 going back into raising the rebate for doctors plus the 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:50.560 incentive for them to bulk bill is hoping to readdress that, 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:53.840 but it also gives a line of political attack of 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:57.679 the government on Peter Dutton because of his record in 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.480 this area. 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:04.440 Coming up after the break, is this budget enough to 0:09:04.480 --> 0:09:05.760 get Labor re elected? 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:12.480 Hi, I'm Daniel James. Seven Am tells stories that need 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:15.400 to be told. Our journalism is founded on trust and 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:20.439 independence and now we're increasing our coverage. Every Saturday until 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:23.160 the election will bring you an extra episode to break 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:25.880 down the biggest political moments of the week. If you 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:28.280 enjoy seven Am, the best way you can support us 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:31.960 is by making a contribution at seven am podcast dot 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:39.240 com dou slash support. Thanks for listening and supporting our work, Paul. 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:43.520 This is Jim Chalmer's fourth budget and depending partly on 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:46.440 how this lands, it could be his last. And I 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:49.720 think over the years it's fair to say there have 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:53.199 been a lot of small changes, a lot of little 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.680 mechanisms that might make things cheaper for households, but there's 0:09:56.720 --> 0:10:02.559 never been a big centerpiece policies, something like making childcare universal, 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:07.240 for example, or putting dental into medicare. So when you 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:11.560 look at the last few budgets, what does it tell 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:14.440 you about the sort of treasurer that you think Jim 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:17.120 Chalmers is showing himself to be Yeah. 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:20.680 Well, I think that he would take great exception to 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:23.120 what you've just said. And by the way, what you've 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:26.079 just said is not unusual. 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:26.880 There are many. 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:28.920 Critics, both from the left of the right that make 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:30.160 similar comments. 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:33.000 It just seems like there's lots of long lists of 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:36.199 small things rather than tent pole policies. 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:40.160 Well, and for example, on childcare, the government is now 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:44.640 moving to three day free childcare for everybody you know, 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:48.200 so sure, that's not five days a week, and a 0:10:48.200 --> 0:10:51.680 lot of working parents point out that that still leaves 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:54.000 them with a terrible gap, but it's a hell of 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.480 a lot more than what was on offer before. The 0:10:57.520 --> 0:10:59.600 other point to be made too, like, for example, the 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:04.400 government is spending billions now on raising the salaries and 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:07.959 the wages of care workers. Now that in a real sense, 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:11.440 will be a signature policy as well. I also myself 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:15.280 don't have a lot of sympathy for the criticism in 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:19.600 the sense that Medicare is a major, big ticket item 0:11:20.000 --> 0:11:23.360 and eight billion dollars more that's on top of what's 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:27.720 already been spent, has been put into what is in 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:32.840 a legacy sense, an historic labor policy. But when you 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:37.199 come to medicare dental, how much would dental medicare cost? Now, 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:39.959 there are a lot of arguments to say, whatever it costs, 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.440 it's going to save your billions more because of the 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:47.240 relationship between dental and overall health. And I guess all 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:50.040 budgets come down to choices, and this is a choice 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:53.240 that the current government and treasure at this stage aren't 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:54.120 prepared to make. 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:54.640 So. 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:59.839 Look, Charmers, I think has established a reputation already a 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:03.720 competent treasurer. Should we be demanding more of him as 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:07.000 a competent treasure Well, he would say, as he in 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:10.400 fact did today at the news conference inside the lockup, 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:14.240 that we've laid the foundations. Elect us again, and we'll 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:19.680 do even more. So whether voters by that, we won't 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:21.800 have to wait very long to find out. 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.400 And so, as we've said, Paul, this is ultimately an 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:30.360 election budget. So is it enough to get Labor re elected? 0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:34.840 Look, Ruby, I think any pre election pitch does depend 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:37.840 not only on what one side offers, in this case 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:41.679 the Labor government, but what the alternative side will offer 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.320 to entice voters to go for it. 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:46.800 Now, as I. 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:49.360 Moved around the lock up this afternoon after doing my 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:53.840 homework so I could talk to you. Talking to other 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:59.320 journos and lobbyists, they were saying that Peter Dutton, they think, 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:01.319 might have left it a bit too late. What does 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:04.760 he put out there as a real alternative to what 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:07.199 the government is doing. All he's been left to say, 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:09.960 and I'm sure he'll say this on Thursday night is 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:12.800 me too, me too on this? And it's as if 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:17.520 Dutton was convinced that Albernizi and his government were completely 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.760 on the slide and he didn't have to do much 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:26.439 but stand to the side and cheer as they self destructed. Well, 0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:29.679 what we've seen, especially since the beginning of this year, 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:33.720 far from self destructing. The Labor government is fighting back. 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:38.480 Paul, Thank you so much for your time. 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:49.840 Thank you Ruby bye. 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:56.800 Also in the news today, the Coalition will not support 0:13:56.800 --> 0:13:59.720 the tax cuts announced in last night's budget, the Shadow 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:03.520 t Dura Angus Taylor has revealed. Taylor called the cuts 0:14:03.600 --> 0:14:06.760 an election bribe by a week prime minister and a 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.920 cruel hoax will do little to improve the standard of living. 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:13.520 The Opposition has previously claimed that taxes would be lower 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:16.240 under a Peter Dutton led government, but has not yet 0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:20.400 revealed its tax policy. Peter Dutton's Budget in Reply speech 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:25.280 will be delivered on Thursday night, and Brisbane is set 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:27.720 to get a new sixty three thousand seat stadium for 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:31.120 the twenty to thirty two Olympic and Paralympic Games. The 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:34.320 stadium will be built at Victoria Park, a popular inner 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:38.160 city public park. The Queensland Premier David chris A fully 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:42.160 unveiled the plans for the venue yesterday, despite promising multiple 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:44.680 times during the election campaign that he would not be 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:48.680 building a new stadium for the Games. I'm Ruby Jones. 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:50.680 This is seven am. Thanks for listening.