Christmas in May
Categories : Australia, Politics |
Well they say Christmas only comes once a year but for the last few years in Australia it has seemed like we were developing a tradition of “Christmas in May” at least in the greedy, consumeristic sense of Christmas. May is federal budget time, and in these recent times of economic boom there has been a continuing series of tax cuts and handouts to the average Australian. Despite all this there are always some who find reasons to whinge and complain.
This year is no exception – Peter Costello has once again managed to deliver significant tax cuts whilst spending additional money in key areas like infrastructure, education and defense. Even though this is an election year it seems the budget is fairly financially responsible and should avoid inflationary and interest rate pressure, which is a noteworthy achievement. There is no doubt that many of the initiatives in this budget are politically motivated to try and neuter some of Kevin Rudd’s strengths, but overall it seems Costello has been reasonably restrained (although he’s got plenty of cash in the kitty to buy votes closer to election day).
So overall I’d say that this is a pretty good budget. Last year’s was more explosive with tax cuts and super changes, but he seems to have struck a fair balance here. There’s not a whole lot under the tree for me this time – just a very small tax cut (though a slightly bigger one next year) and no extra Medicare spending that I can see. Hopefully if he can survive the election Costello’s next budget will risk some more bold reform of the taxation system, such as the eradication of the 45% tax rate, but the Liberals have some big hurdles to jump before then. The other thing I would truly like to see is a massive increase in foreign aid – although they have boosted it a little this year it pales in comparison with the extra $2 billion devoted to defense. If even a quarter of that amount was spent on foreign aid it could make a tangible difference to many people worldwide and set a good example to other nations. If only Peter’s brother Tim Costello had a bit more say in the matter…
