BUDGET TONIGHT

[Russ]

Just PM us directly. It was moved because general discussion on the Budget is going to happen in the general discussion forum for politics. If you want to have a specific discussion about the budget as it relates to your eco class, that's cool; just don't start a thread that is for general discussion, talk about specific elements and how that relates to whatever learning you're doing.

[abcdqdxD]

This is why I hate Julia Gillard! She has fucked Australia over and we are now heading well into the depths of the global financial crisis, just like America did in 2008. As much as I hate that lying bastard Tony Abbott, at least he is capable of getting Australia out of debt. But I'm not voting for him either because he is a crazy religious nut who wants to bring Australia back to the stone age. He wouldn't even allow his MP's a conscious vote on gay marriage and he has lied so many times and broken so many promises that I don't feel I can trust him.

I'm voting for Green's: the lesser of three evils.

This is wrong on so many levels. Australia has one of the lowest debt levels in the world. GDP has grown by 13% since the GFC. We were one of the few developed economies to avoid a recession. Low inflation and an acceptable unemployment rate. The truth is that nominal gdp exceeded real gdp for the first time in 50 years, hitting revenues hard and no one could have predicted this.

[Professor Polonsky]

Holy shit I agree with you, but I thought you were right wing... or are you a bloody small-l liberal after all? :p

Me? Right-wing? Not even close. Not a liberal either, though. It's not a dichotomy, thankfully.

[simpak]

I could count the things I support on one hand.

[Professor Polonsky]

Spoiler

[Mao]

Given my usual stance on these kind of things, this is a bit of a personal backflip. I actually have a lot of respect for this budget.

Echoing many media reports, this budget looks nothing like an election budget. It cuts a bunch of handouts that reflect a more prosperous era, and a bunch of others that were emergency stimulus, and in doing so have pissed off the lower, middle and upper class unanimously. Cuts to certain sectors such as coal hits the workers just as hard as the corporations (watch the union get mad over the next few days). Wayne Swan shows a lot of balls in bringing out an election budget that asks people to toughen up. I am glad that we are recognising how precarious our economy really is.

There are a few things I am disappointed about, mainly the delay of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, and the cut to corporate R&D subsidies. With how uncertain the mining boom looks (look at how well they are 'profiting' Australia, accounting for most of the GDP growth but little of the tax receipts), we must absolutely hold on to innovation as one of the driving force behind economic expansion.

Now, if the media has taught us anything for the past 8 years, over the next few days Abbott and some of the idiots of the Liberal party are going to make giant fools of themselves.

From 1 January 2014, the Government will offer Student Start-up Scholarships as income contingent loans to new full time higher education students, providing $1.2 billion of savings. The Government has ensured that students continue to have access to the same level of financial assistance while studying and will only repay any loans once their HELP debt is repaid.

The local screen industry will be strengthened with $41.6 million to attract major international film production including Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Captain Nemo.

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The Government will provide $1.4 million over four years to enable the Bureau of Meteorology to host commercial advertising on its website on an ongoing basis. This measure follows the previously announced advertising trial. The introduction of website advertising was one of the options identified in the Review of the Bureau of Meteorology's capacity to respond to future extreme weather and natural disaster events and to provide seasonal forecasting services. Revenue from this measure will partially offset the costs of the services provided by the Bureau.

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[Professor Polonsky]

It cuts a bunch of handouts that reflect a more prosperous era

Not sure I'm aware of this era you speak of. Handouts are cut, but not at a higher rate than tax cuts. And the main ones have been increased (FTB:A). You should be happy about this, less welfare and lower taxes!

Wayne Swan shows a lot of balls in bringing out an election budget that asks people to toughen up. I am glad that we are recognising how precarious our economy really is.

Really? I mean, forget about individual items. Look at this budget as a whole. The bottom lines are about the same. Revenue and expenditure still occupy roughly the same ratio of our GDP. Sure, you can point to individual items (a la baby bonus) and say "Look, they're cutting!" but any budget is about choosing our priorities. In this round, it's been the longer-term ones (NDIS, Gonski) who have been placed ahead of the shorter-term ones.

There are a few things I am disappointed about, mainly the delay of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, and the cut to corporate R&D subsidies. With how uncertain the mining boom looks (look at how well they are 'profiting' Australia, accounting for most of the GDP growth but little of the tax receipts), we must absolutely hold on to innovation as one of the driving force behind economic expansion.

I'm sure those corporations with turnovers of over $20 billion and who pay virtually no tax can spare a few dimes from just another tax write-off they get. Those corporations have enough incentive to carry on R&D operations (their own bottom line), they don't need another lousy tax credit to do so.

The local screen industry will be strengthened with $41.6 million to attract major international film production including Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Captain Nemo.

ಠ_ಠ

The Government will provide $1.4 million over four years to enable the Bureau of Meteorology to host commercial advertising on its website on an ongoing basis. This measure follows the previously announced advertising trial. The introduction of website advertising was one of the options identified in the Review of the Bureau of Meteorology's capacity to respond to future extreme weather and natural disaster events and to provide seasonal forecasting services. Revenue from this measure will partially offset the costs of the services provided by the Bureau.

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Leeching on to minor items with virtually zero cost? Not that I see what the problem is with either of those...

[Professor Polonsky]

So Abbott is going to repeal the carbon tax, but keep the concessions it includes for businesses. And to pay for that, he's going to cut super and payments to students and parents; and fire 12,000 public sector workers.

Why are we going to vote this dickhead in again?

[ninwa]

because most Australians are too lazy and/or stupid to read the actual policy documents and will just listen to whatever newspapers / party media releases tell them

[chasej]

So Abbott is going to repeal the carbon tax, but keep the concessions it includes for businesses. And to pay for that, he's going to cut super and payments to students and parents; and fire 12,000 public sector workers.

Why are we going to vote this dickhead in again?

Absolutely bizarre. Not to mention the whole shitstorm re: carbon tax has died down now for the most part and apparently the tax is working.

Labour has actually done pretty well the last two terms.

[Russ]

So Abbott is going to repeal the carbon tax, but keep the concessions it includes for businesses. And to pay for that, he's going to cut super and payments to students and parents; and fire 12,000 public sector workers.

Why are we going to vote this dickhead in again?

Because in a two party system, you just have to be better than the other guy

[enwiabe]

Labour has actually done pretty well the last two terms.

Only thing they've failed at is selling their policy victories to the Aussie public. Which I find to be a good thing. I want my governments to be shit at propaganda.

[JellyDonut]

$113 billion for defence, up by $10 bil from last year. Can someone explain to me how military expenditure works?

[Mao]

$113 billion for defence, up by $10 bil from last year. Can someone explain to me how military expenditure works?

JSF. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/raaf-ignored-joint-strike-fighter-advice-20130312-2fyf7.html

Basically, George Dubya Bush + Johnny Howard + NATO friends decided to start this incredibly expensive venture to make the next generation fighter, which is currently having a lot of problems getting designed/made/delivered. Estimated global sinkhole of ~$1.1T

Anyways, gotta buy some new planes to tide us over while we wait for the JSF to eventually get produced. New planes because in case China invades for our iron ores or something.

[alondouek]

I'm quite happy with a number of aspects of this budget, actually. Really happy to see funds allocated towards initiatives such as the NDIS, developments in health sciences and schools - the only issue I have is really where funds have been sourced from. I feel that the cuts to tertiary education for fund allocation to schools is just a band-aid, helping one area (schools) while another (unis, TAFEs etc) is more vulnerable as a result.

That foreign aid was cut is an interesting move - and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I recognise that it's important to have a significant, effective foreign aid system to help those around the world in dire economic and social situations, but it doesn't seem very economically viable for Australia - in this financial climate especially - to maintain a high level of foreign aid instead of investing those funds in its own development. Maybe I'm missing the point to this altogether?