Budget 2023 live updates: government ‘got the balance right’, PM says when pushed on inflation and $40 jobseeker rise – latest news | Australian budget 2023

If the RBA decides to make another interest rate rise, does that mean the budget has ‘failed’ Anthony Albanese is asked on Sky News and says:

Well, what this Budget does is hand down a responsible series of measures. The first projected Budget surplus that we’ve had in 15 years, we’ve made $40 billion of savings over the two budgets, last October and then last evening.

We have put 87 % of the revenue gains straight to that bottom line, to reduce debt, to reduce the interest payments on that debt, to take pressure off inflation.

This is a responsible budget which at the same time has found space in order to provide support through measures like the Energy Price Relief Plan, together with our price caps on gas and coal we introduced in December last year, are estimated by Treasury to take three quarters of a per cent off inflation.

So, we could have done what some suggested, which is to hand cash out to provide that support. Instead, we designed a mechanism to reduce people’s power bills, that provides that support to families, whilst at the same time it therefore is deflationary as a measure. So, this is a well thought-out budget.

We’ve been working hour after hour, day after day, week after week to put together a responsible budget that provides that support where it’s most needed whilst not adding to inflationary pressure.

Independent ACT senator David Pocock is not a fan of the budget. Here is some of his thoughts:

Almost a year into their term and despite a windfall in both political and budget capital, we’ve seen yet another budget that’s a step in the right direction but lacking in ambition.

This is against the backdrop of an acute cost-of-living crisis where more and more Australians are struggling to afford the cost of essentials and make ends meet.

Australians are also seeing the effects of climate change and demanding more leadership and action to protect the people and places we love. This challenge can only be turned into an opportunity if we make smart investments now.

Now is the time to take bold action. This budget contains nothing of the scale needed for a substantial step in the right direction. Tonight the government had a budget chance to adopt expert advice and embark on the reforms needed to build the kind of future we want.
This is a budget of missed opportunity, on both the revenue and spending side of the equation.

For those who are not aware, the morning after the budget is delivered, the TV networks set up their breakfast TV hosts on the lawns of parliament (or in front of the budget tree) and the main crew selling the budget, or selling the budget response wander from marquee to marquee in what is essentially a news production line.

There are a lot of comments about how chilly it is and the MPs usually say something like ‘welcome to Canberra’ and then they are off.

Coalition to announce welfare spending priorities tomorrow, Dutton says

Will the Coalition support the $40 a fortnight increase to jobseeker, Austudy and youth allowance?

Peter Dutton:

We’ll make an announcement tomorrow. We have certainly spoken a lot about trying to provide support to people on lower incomes and but there are millions of Australians who have missed out significantly in this budget. They’re the ones that I think are really hurting at the moment and we’ll have more to say about that tomorrow night.

(Tomorrow night is when Dutton will deliver his budget reply speech.)

Dutton’s verdict on the surplus

What does Peter Dutton think about the forecast surplus (wafer thin – $4bn – but it is predicted to be there).

He told the ABC:

If they have been gracious they should acknowledge they inherited a good set of figures. They obviously had a surge of income and they have spent some of that wisely but there’s a lot of extra taxing spending that is going to be inflationary and, as Chris Richardson points out, he thought the Reserve Bank Governor had already finished with the baseball bat, but he thinks there is likely another interest rate increase out of this. So I worry for those families who have been missing out and who are really hurting at the moment.

Is the budget inflationary?

Anthony Albanese also spoke to ABC News Breakfast about whether or not the budget is inflationary.

Host: But there is that extra spending out there. An independent economist, Chris Richardson, reckon it is [that the] RBA was ready to lay-off further rate rises until last night. He says they’ll look at these new spending measures.

Albanese:

He’s going to get a run on ABC, doesn’t he? If he didn’t say something dramatic, you wouldn’t give him another run.

Host: He makes a valid point, doesn’t he?

Albanese:

Come on. We are producing the first projected surplus in 15 years. We’re banking, putting 87% of the revenue gains to the bottom line. We produced $40bn of savings over two budgets. This is a responsible budget that deals with the pressure of inflation which is there, whilst also understanding that we need to assist people who are under pressure. Which of the measures did Mr Richardson say we shouldn’t have done?

Host: Let’s talk about one of those measures, jobseeker going up by $40, that equates to $2.85 a day. Independent Senator David Pocock describes that as both laughable and embarrassing. Are you embarrassed to offer such a small rise in jobseeker?

Albanese:

Here’s a great contradiction you put. In the first two issues you raised with me, you said we’re spending too much in your first question, and the second you say we’re not spending enough. The truth is we got the balance right. We understand that people are under pressure. But we needed to make sure that it was a responsible budget. So, this $40 increase is something that will make a difference to people.

‘We have tried to do as much as we can, without blowing the budget’

Jim Chalmers, on ABC News Breakfast, was also asked about the base rate of the working age payments given a small increase in last night’s budget (jobseeker, Austudy and youth allowance) and said:

It is important that we increase the base rate of jobseeker in the budget but in addition to that, extra money for the max rate of commonwealth rent assistance, energy bill, the relief we were talking about and we have tried to do as much as we can, without blowing the budget and adding substantially to the inflationary pressures in the economy. I understand and respect there will be people who say we should do more, people will say we shouldn’t have done any of this. We have done what we can and a lot of people who are eligible for one of the payment increases in Budget would be eligible for two or more of the increases. Look across the cost of living package.

More staff for MPs and senators

There was about $160m for additional staff for parliamentarians. Anthony Albanese cut the number of staff independent MPs were given soon after winning government. At the time, he said it was because additional staff had been given to crossbench MPs by the Morrison government as part of negotiations to pass bills, but that party backbenchers didn’t receive the same help.

Patricia Karvelas asks Albanese whether the court case Sally Rugg, who had worked for independent MP Dr Monique Ryan, contributed to the decision, given what she raised about the pressure on independent’s staff to do practically everything.

Albanese says:

It is the right thing [to do]. What the Morison government did was unbeknown to anyone. You had two people sitting next to each other – the member for Bennelong would have had four staff and the member for North Sydney next door have doubled that with eight staff Guess what? They got the same number of constituents, the same number of pressures to deal with which is what electorate staff are for.

So one of the things that has happened though, there used to be 80,000 odd people in an electorate when I was first elected. Mike Freelander has almost 150,000 people so it’s one added pressure which is there.

So for some people, it’s almost doubled.

He says it is about the “number of constituents” and the “nature of the work”.

Previously, you would get letters in the mail when I was first elected, now you have emails you have social media, you have so much pressure on electorate staff, and that is across the board.

And one of the things that that court case was about of course, was pressure on staff of members of parliament. So that that is why the treasurer made that comment, but that pressure is there across the board. Independents, Labor, Liberal, National, and this is across the board has not singling anyone out for any favours. And this is necessary because of that pressure.

Albanese asked why cost of stage-three tax cuts wasn’t in the budget

There was a short back and forth between Patricia Karvelas and Anthony Albanese about why the figure for the stage-three tax cuts wasn’t in this budget when it was in the October budget.

Albanese just says that the government’s position hasn’t changed, but that the legislated measure “wasn’t a consideration for this budget”.

Stage three is legislated to come into effect from July next year.

Paying down debt will help inflation – Albanese

Given the $20bn in spending in the budget, why does the prime minister think this won’t make the Reserve Bank’s job harder? (which is another way of saying – is this inflationary?)

Anthony Albanese:

We’ve got $40bn of savings. And if you compare what we’ve done with the revenue gains: 87% to pay down debt to reduce those interest payments to take pressure off the economy compared with 40% under the former government, and just 30% under the Howard government, so they had in last year’s budget if you want to look at the alternatives, look at what the last Morrison budget brought down, which had a whole range of cash injected into the economy, which added to inflationary pressures, but didn’t address any reform as well as leaving these budget black holes where funding just ended on June 13.