WEBVTT - A budget built to fight an election

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<v Speaker 1>From Schwartzmedia In seven am. I'm Ashlyn McGee. This is

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<v Speaker 1>the cost inside the living crisis. Last night Treasurer Jim

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<v Speaker 1>Chalmers delivered a budget that may decide the fate of

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<v Speaker 1>the Albanesi government. There's billions of dollars in new spending,

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<v Speaker 1>with another round of powerbell rebates for all of us,

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<v Speaker 1>no annual price hike on PBS medicines, and a boost

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<v Speaker 1>to the rent assistance payment. But as so many Australians

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<v Speaker 1>struggle to put food on the table or keep a

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<v Speaker 1>roof over their head, has the government spent enough or

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<v Speaker 1>has it spent too much? And are they're more rate

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<v Speaker 1>hikes now on the cards today? Chief political correspondent for

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<v Speaker 1>the Saturday Paper Karen Barlow and what support the government

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<v Speaker 1>delivered and whether there's devil in the detail. It's Wednesday,

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<v Speaker 1>May fifteen. Karen, First of all, welcome to the show,

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<v Speaker 1>our new chief political correspondent and we're talking on budget night.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello, great to be.

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<v Speaker 3>Here, mister speaker. This is a budget for the here

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<v Speaker 3>and now, and it's a budget for the decades to come.

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<v Speaker 3>It's a response.

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<v Speaker 1>So I want to begin with what Jim Charmers had

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<v Speaker 1>to deliver in this budget, like what choices were the

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<v Speaker 1>Albanesi government grappling with and how significant was it for

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<v Speaker 1>the Treasurer to get it right?

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<v Speaker 2>Hugely important. We're in an election year without a date.

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<v Speaker 2>Households are really crying out for cost of living relief

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<v Speaker 2>and the Treasurer's main job is to not make it worse.

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<v Speaker 3>This uncertainty combines with cost of living pressures and higher

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<v Speaker 3>interest rates to slow our economy, with growth forecast to

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<v Speaker 3>be just one and three quarter percent this financial year

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<v Speaker 3>and two percent next.

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<v Speaker 2>We have Jim Chalmers presenting also relief and reform and

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of talk about promise and potential of a

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<v Speaker 2>more prosperous future. But this budget, Jim Chalmers third is

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<v Speaker 2>an economic and heavily political doctor speaker.

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<v Speaker 3>The number one priority of this government and this budget

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<v Speaker 3>is helping Australians with the cost of living responsible relief

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<v Speaker 3>that eases pressure on people and directly reduces inflation.

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<v Speaker 2>For Jim Chalmers, this is what he's been working on

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<v Speaker 2>all year since the last budget. It has been taking

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<v Speaker 2>his every waking hour. He's been spending a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>time with the Finance Minister Katie Gallaher. But this is

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<v Speaker 2>also while you know there's people screaming out for more

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<v Speaker 2>cost of living relief, but at the same time urging

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<v Speaker 2>that the inflation problem is not made worse by extra spending.

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<v Speaker 3>So, mister speaker, the story of Australia is more than

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<v Speaker 3>a tale of the challenges that we have endured, and

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<v Speaker 3>in our future we need to strive for something more

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<v Speaker 3>than muddling through or making do so.

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<v Speaker 1>The biggest issue for many Australians in this selection will

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<v Speaker 1>probably be that's sawing cost of living. So how big

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<v Speaker 1>did the government go on support for people?

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<v Speaker 2>Look, it was a fair bit, but as I said before,

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<v Speaker 2>it's tempered by not making the whole situation worse. But

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<v Speaker 2>what we have here seven point eight billion dollars in

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<v Speaker 2>new spending. We have the amended Stage three tax cuts

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<v Speaker 2>that's worth twenty billion dollars a year over ten years.

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<v Speaker 2>Remembering this is for all taxpayers and they kick in

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<v Speaker 2>shortly on July one, and there's a benefit about thirty

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<v Speaker 2>six dollars a week. But what's new is three point

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<v Speaker 2>five billion dollars in across the board energy bill relief

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<v Speaker 2>over three years.

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<v Speaker 3>Just as every Australian taxpayer will get a tax cut

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<v Speaker 3>every Australian household will get energy price relief From July one.

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<v Speaker 3>Australians will receive an energy rebate of three hundred dollars

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<v Speaker 3>and one million small businesses will get a little bit more.

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<v Speaker 2>There's some freezing of the maximum costs of medicines.

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<v Speaker 3>And we are freezing the maximum cost of people prescriptions

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<v Speaker 3>for everyone this year and next year. No one will

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<v Speaker 3>pay more than thirty one dollars sixty.

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<v Speaker 2>There's also common Wealth rent assistance that's being increased to

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<v Speaker 2>further help young people and renters.

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<v Speaker 3>It's the first back to back increase to common Wealth

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<v Speaker 3>rent assistance in more than thirty years, and more much

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<v Speaker 3>needed help for young people and for renters of all

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<v Speaker 3>ages doing it tough.

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<v Speaker 2>The budget papers insist that the energy bill relief and

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<v Speaker 2>rent assistance will directly reduce headline inflation by point five

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<v Speaker 2>of a percentage point in the next financial year. Every

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<v Speaker 2>percentage point counts, as we know, but look, if it's possible.

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<v Speaker 2>There's also another centerpiece of the budget in the reform

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<v Speaker 2>of Aspiration. I guess the Future Made in Australia package.

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<v Speaker 1>So yeah, Doad, we more about that Future Made an Australia

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<v Speaker 1>plan because Essentially, it was a bit of a slogan

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<v Speaker 1>at the start and there wasn't much flesh on the bones.

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<v Speaker 1>But have we now got a bit more detail around that,

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<v Speaker 1>like is it a sizeable poly see that's going to

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<v Speaker 1>have some serious impact on the country.

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<v Speaker 3>Our twenty two point seven billion dollar Future Made in

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<v Speaker 3>Australia package will help make us an indispensable part of

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<v Speaker 3>the global net zero economy.

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<v Speaker 2>It's seen as a bit of a slogan, but look,

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<v Speaker 2>the Treasurer says, this is the big reform piece in

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<v Speaker 2>the budget. It's been revealed as a ten year, twenty

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<v Speaker 2>two point seven billion dollar package, but it's largely made

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<v Speaker 2>up of tax incentives to attract and deploy they say, investment,

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<v Speaker 2>and to get the nation of fossil fuels along the way.

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<v Speaker 3>We know that the global energy transformation presents a golden

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<v Speaker 3>opportunity for Australia. The world is changing and the pace

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<v Speaker 3>of that change is accelerating, and our approach to growth

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<v Speaker 3>and investment needs to change as well.

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<v Speaker 2>What we have here are production incentives. There's a seven

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<v Speaker 2>billion dollar critical minerals production tax incentive and there's also

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<v Speaker 2>a six point seven seven billion dollar hydrogen production tax

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<v Speaker 2>incentive and that's going to provide a two dollar incentive

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<v Speaker 2>per kilo of renewable hydrogen.

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<v Speaker 3>If we hang back, the chance for a new generation

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<v Speaker 3>of jobs and prosperity will pass us by, and our

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<v Speaker 3>people will be poorer and our economy will be more

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<v Speaker 3>vulnerable as a consequence.

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<v Speaker 2>And a real focus on batteries, renewable hydrogen, quantum computing,

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<v Speaker 2>low carbon liquid fuels. So a lot to see, but

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<v Speaker 2>there's also concern about like a risk to tax payers

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<v Speaker 2>money and we're talking about a lot here. Chalmers is

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<v Speaker 2>stressed that there will be protections built into the system

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<v Speaker 2>to stop any abuse of the billions.

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<v Speaker 1>So, Karen, it feels like a lot of the detail

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<v Speaker 1>in this budget has really already been spoon fed to

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<v Speaker 1>us over the past week or so. And one of

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<v Speaker 1>the headlines that the government's been really keen to talk

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<v Speaker 1>about is its surplus. So in this economy, how did

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<v Speaker 1>we end up with a surplus? And why is it

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<v Speaker 1>such an important thing for the government.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, there's an incredible political imperative to this. It's the

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<v Speaker 2>mantle of better economic manager. It's a key indicator of

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<v Speaker 2>basic performance, I guess for a government. It's in most

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<v Speaker 2>opinion polls, and it's something that we know is a

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<v Speaker 2>vote winner.

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<v Speaker 3>Last year, our responsible economic management delivered the first surplus

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<v Speaker 3>in fifteen years. We now expect another surplus of nine

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<v Speaker 3>point three billion dollars this year. These would be the

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<v Speaker 3>first back to back surpluses in almost two decades.

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<v Speaker 2>That's expected, and that comes after twenty two point one

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<v Speaker 2>billion dollars the previous year. Chalmers is warning though, that

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<v Speaker 2>there are pressures on the government that are only going

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<v Speaker 2>to get worse, and while he and Katie Gallagher are

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<v Speaker 2>working to reign it in, there's a sea of red

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<v Speaker 2>about to pour in and the coming deficits are much

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<v Speaker 2>larger than previously forecast.

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<v Speaker 1>After the break the hidden details that hinted what's coming

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<v Speaker 1>in the next election campaign, Karen, So, for a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of yesterday, you're in the lock up pouring over the

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<v Speaker 1>budget of papers. Tell us about some of the more

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<v Speaker 1>interesting things you uncovered in there.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, okay. So, even if the three hundred energy bill

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<v Speaker 2>credit and the increase to comwealth rent assistance is not

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<v Speaker 2>enough of a big election sign, there's a promise of

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<v Speaker 2>more to come. But a promise this column on a

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<v Speaker 2>table in the papers which the government does not want

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<v Speaker 2>to focus on. Is a place where we find what's

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<v Speaker 2>called the decisions taken but not yet announced and not

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<v Speaker 2>for publication. A pretty weighty little set of words there.

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<v Speaker 2>But it's about a figure that comes in at one

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<v Speaker 2>point one two billion dollars. So this is spending closer

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<v Speaker 2>to an election when voters are starting to firm. But

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<v Speaker 2>it is a very interesting number because we don't know

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<v Speaker 2>what it's for. We have to have a guess. It

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<v Speaker 2>is not for us to know just yet.

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<v Speaker 1>In the budget papers. Even though we know so much

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<v Speaker 1>detail before the budget is actually handed down now there

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<v Speaker 1>still can be some surprises. Did you find anything that

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<v Speaker 1>was a.

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<v Speaker 2>Surprise for me? I think the surprise can be found

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<v Speaker 2>in services for veterans. Three billion dollars has been found

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<v Speaker 2>there and part of that is bolstering staffing at the

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<v Speaker 2>Veterans Affairs Department.

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<v Speaker 3>And we've achieved all of this despite much smaller revenue

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<v Speaker 3>upgrades in the budget and still providing an extra three

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<v Speaker 3>billion dollars to ensure Australians, including our veterans, receive better

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<v Speaker 3>essential services.

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<v Speaker 2>This comes after the Veterans Royal Commission and after the

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<v Speaker 2>government has got through a claims backlog for veterans earlier

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<v Speaker 2>this year. That's quite a bit of money that's been

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<v Speaker 2>found related the Australian War Memorial had money more money

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<v Speaker 2>found for it, another eight million dollars. After nearly all,

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<v Speaker 2>just over half a billion dollars has been spent upgrading

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<v Speaker 2>the Canberra based site. And I did find that the

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<v Speaker 2>National Mental Health Commission is being defunded and the money

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<v Speaker 2>is going back into the health budget and they're going

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<v Speaker 2>to delay the decisions on what to do with that

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<v Speaker 2>particular area. But that's part of it across the board

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<v Speaker 2>health spend and reprioritization, So that was particularly interesting. So

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<v Speaker 2>for people.

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<v Speaker 1>Concerned about the cost of living, what do we know

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<v Speaker 1>about whether this kind of spending we're seeing in the

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<v Speaker 1>budget is going to make that better or whether this

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<v Speaker 1>spending could actually make the situation worse. It could lead

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<v Speaker 1>to more interest rate rises well.

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<v Speaker 2>So the budget papers tell us that the spending on

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<v Speaker 2>cost of living relief is de inflationary and will amend

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<v Speaker 2>the situation by point five of a percentage point.

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<v Speaker 3>Annual inflation has more than half from its peak in

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<v Speaker 3>twenty twenty two, and it's now lower than anticipated in

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<v Speaker 3>the media update. But we know that people are still

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<v Speaker 3>under the pump. That's why we designed our cost of

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<v Speaker 3>living policies to ease these pressures and take another three

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<v Speaker 3>quarters of a percentage point off inflation this year and

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<v Speaker 3>half a percentage point next year.

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<v Speaker 2>If you talk to the opposition, they've got other views

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<v Speaker 2>and they expect that this is going to be inflationary,

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<v Speaker 2>and they say that the government has been causing inflation

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<v Speaker 2>to rise over the entire term. I think the jury

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<v Speaker 2>is out at this stage. The RBA will be particularly

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<v Speaker 2>looking at the outcome of this particular budget and it

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<v Speaker 2>will be factoring it into its next decisions. But there

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<v Speaker 2>are some elements of spending that are what they call

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<v Speaker 2>off the books, and so therefore there is that question

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<v Speaker 2>mark about whether the new spending will add to the

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<v Speaker 2>possibility of making inflation worse.

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<v Speaker 1>So finally, Karen, as you've said, this could be a

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<v Speaker 1>really consequential budget for who wins the next selection. So

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<v Speaker 1>coming out of tonight there's some pretty clear battle lines

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<v Speaker 1>you can see that have been drawn with a coalition.

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<v Speaker 2>So Peter Dutton will officially have his say on Thursday

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<v Speaker 2>night with his traditional budget, replies Opposition leader. But as

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<v Speaker 2>you would expect he's not cheering charmers on Before seeing

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<v Speaker 2>the entire budget, he addressed the Liberal and National colleagues

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<v Speaker 2>saying this was a magic putting exercise by the Treasurer

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<v Speaker 2>and he's not delivering hope rather broken promises. And the

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<v Speaker 2>surplus has been denigrated by the Coalition as a windfall

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<v Speaker 2>surplus and what they are seeking is a structural surplus,

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<v Speaker 2>one by design. And you do point out here that

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<v Speaker 2>this is a coalition that did not deliver a surplus

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<v Speaker 2>when it was in office over nine years. There's a

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<v Speaker 2>blame game going on over inflation and that will continue.

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<v Speaker 2>Dutton with his economic team of Angus Taylor and Jane Hume,

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<v Speaker 2>saying this inflation is now home grown and it's the

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<v Speaker 2>government's decisions of the past two years that have really

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<v Speaker 2>driven it up. The government, of course nis this and

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<v Speaker 2>it's budget measures are in fact deinflationary and it has

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<v Speaker 2>the budget papers to prove that. Dutton is hinting at

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<v Speaker 2>alternative policies. Budget Day and the day after is not

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<v Speaker 2>the day for that reveal, so we'll get to see

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<v Speaker 2>what the Coalition is yet to provide. But traditionally oppositions

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<v Speaker 2>don't give out too many things this far out from

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<v Speaker 2>the election, but essentially what we've got here with this

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<v Speaker 2>budget is game on and.

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<v Speaker 3>That's why I commend this bill, mister Speaker, and this

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<v Speaker 3>budget to the House.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Karen, thanks so much of your time today, Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>very much.

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<v Speaker 4>Ash.

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<v Speaker 1>In other news, former military lawyer David McBride has been

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<v Speaker 1>sentenced to nearly six years in jail for stealing and

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<v Speaker 1>sharing classified documents with journalists. The files alleged Australian soldiers

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<v Speaker 1>had illegally killed civilians in Afghanistan earlier this month. McBride

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<v Speaker 1>spoke to us here at seven am and said he

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<v Speaker 1>had no regrets about his actions, and the sentencing judge

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<v Speaker 1>yesterday agreed he'd shown no remorse. Act Supreme Court Justice

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<v Speaker 1>David Mossip said McBride had decided he knew best and

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<v Speaker 1>didn't want to follow the rules of the army. McBride

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<v Speaker 1>will have to serve two years and three months before

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<v Speaker 1>he is eligible for parole. And in another court, former

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<v Speaker 1>Jetstar pilot Gregory Lean is on trial for the murder

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<v Speaker 1>of campus Russell Hill and Carol Clay at an ice

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<v Speaker 1>later Victorian Campsite in twenty twenty. Prosecutors Allegedlyn dumped the

0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:08.120
<v Speaker 1>couple's bodies and burned the evidence, but Linde's defense teams

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<v Speaker 1>say the deaths were a tragic accident in a dispute

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<v Speaker 1>over hunting in the high Country. The trial continues in

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<v Speaker 1>the Victorian Supreme Court. That's all from us for today.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for your company. We'll see you again tomorrow