I am not very good at maths.
There I said it. I mean It is not like I didn’t try, and know all of my times
tables (up to 12 x12 obviously) and simple maths is fine, but as soon as
someone starts talking about quadratic equations and square roots, polynomials or
anything that cannot be answered by a plain boring calculator (or your fingers)
I have to go and look it up in Mathematics for Dummies… Which is kinda funny
when you find out what my absolute favourite part of politics and the political
process is: THE BUDGET!! Reading the Appropriation Bills, or more simply put,
the Governments outlining of its proposed spending plan for the next financial
year (July 1 to June 30) is my upmost favourite thing to do. And it sometimes
coincides with my birthday. Can you say best birthday present ever??? The
2014-15 budget has not actually been released yet, but
this is what you can expect.
For the last few years, the
Federal Government has been at the mercy hands of the Australian Labor
Party, and so the federal budget has reflected their views and ideals for the nation’s
future. In 2012, the Treasurer Wayne Swan’s budget speech read like an
optimistic novel which looked to “spread the benefits of the boom” while still
finding room to finance the ALPs core promises on education (the government
invested 38.8 billion into higher education), health and the environment. In
2013, Wayne Swan’s speech was dubbed a “Labor budget to its bootstraps”
implying that they were trying to reconnect with the electorate and their
declining voter base, ahead of the 2013 Federal Election, which they lost less
than 5 months later.
This year however, Tony Abbott
and his team will have their first opportunity in over 6 years to be able to
control outright where government money is spent. While the essential process
is the same, punters already have the feeling that this budget will be quite
different to anything we have seen in quite a few years with some saying it
will be a “horror budget”. Abbott and his partner in crime Hockey, have alluded
to the harsh realities of what is to come and has many people running scared. Alleged
cuts to a whole range of areas in an attempt to get the budget back into a
“sustainable surplus”. Since being elected both Abbott and Hockey have preached
that their budget will be tight and many predict we are in for a tough few
years.
One of the things to expect from
the Australian budget process is the fake secrecy surrounding the days
immediately before the budget speech (on the second Tuesday in May). Last year’s
budget had so many leaks, it was an effort reading the papers trying to find
out anything you didn’t already know! While it is still unclear the extent to
which the Coalition will leak its own leaks, my guess is it will leak the some
of the cuts so not to completely and inextricably freak out the electorate. The
government will more than likely keep its sweeteners close to its chest, so
they can whip them out in an attempt to soften the blow. Furthermore, it is Abbott’s paid parental
leave scheme that will keep people watching, so they can find out once and for
all, how it will unfold as well as any changes to the NDIS and Education
funding.
When the budget gets released it
will be the first real piece of legislation that will give people a chance to
size up the Abbott Government, as up until this point it has been all talk and
no substance as they get a grip on the state of the economy and find out really
what has been going on straight from the mouth of department heads. Furthermore,
this budget will give everyone a good indication of what to expect in terms of
a legislative program for Abbott’s first term in power, especially given the
Senate’s changeover and an influx of micro and independent Senators as of July
1. Can anyone say party? I sure can!
