Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week has gone well. The weather is certainly starting to change here in Sydney and autumn is coming. Though we still have days in the 20s, it is definitely starting to turn.
I want to begin this post by introducing you to my newest news feature: Weekly news roundups in addition to my political news show, The Final Tally, that I host every week. As part of my reporting on the upcoming federal election, I will try to give you all the latest news to help you make sense of it and I want to give this out in written format as well. So, for the next few weeks, check this space to see the weekly political news from here in Australia and abroad to keep yourself informed.
So what has been happening this week?
Budget and number crunching!
For the fourth time, the incumbent Labor Government handed down their annual budget. At 7:30 PM on Tuesday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered the budget before the House of Representatives in Canberra. This budget was very important for the government as it tries to shore up support and create confidence and stability in the economy before the federal election later this year. Every government, prior to an election to get reelected does this. Think about the famous quote “its the economy, stupid!”
What were the key numbers delivered in this year’s budget?
The key number to look at is the deficit. Basically, governments get revenue every year from taxes, and then spend that money on important things. Sometimes governments spend more than the amount of revenue they take in and that is called a deficit. This year’s deficit is $42.1 billion.
The debt and the deficits of the Government are still high but they are getting smaller, but the budget is still going further into the red on deficit spending. That is due to contemporary circumstances such as stubborn inflation post-covid has caused a cost of living crisis here in Australia and the government has spent money to ease pains through energy bill relief, rent assistance, and tax cuts. The deficit for 2025-26 is 1.6% of Australia’s GDP.
A signature piece of the budget are more tax cuts. From July of next year, the tax rate on income earned between $18,201 and $45,000 will be cut from 16 per cent to 15 per cent, and will reduce even further to 14 per cent in 2027.
Rebates on electricity bills will also be extended for a further six months. Elsewhere, initiatives to boost Australian-made products and fund women’s health were also included. Even money to help sustain the pandas at the Adelaide Zoo were included in the budget.
The takeaway?
So what should you takeaway from this budget? It definitely looks like an election year budget, but economic outlooks for the coming years are rocky with the unexpected behaviour of the Trump Administration in the US and its impact on global markets and the possibility of a looming recession. In this case, Labor created a budget appealing to a large base, but also working within the constraints of the market. If the Coalition was in power, they would do the same things, but allocate money to different areas for their priorities. We have to wait and see how this year’s budget will play out. In which case, if you are basing your vote at the next election on the economy and cost of living, its worth asking yourself have any of the other past budgets helped you or your family and what you see the government or the coalition will do in the near future to help you have the fair go we all deserve here in Australia. Another factor to consider is who do you trust to steer Australia through a tough few years economically? Australia was last in recession during Covid in which the Morrison government steered the country through, and before that the country was in recession in the 1990s. Australia successfully steered through the 2008 recession thanks to deficit and stimulus spending from the Rudd Labor Government.
Local News
In terms of more local news, the election that we have all been waiting for is soon to be called! (FINALLY!) Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was on radio station, Triple M, that “it’ll be called imminently,” and speculation is mounting the call could come anytime from Friday to Sunday. Traditionally, Prime Ministers call elections on Sundays, and if the election is called on this Sunday, then that would put the election date to 3rd May as election campaigns must be at least 33 days from the date its called to the election. The PM could extend it and have the election on two other days: 10th May or 17th May. We will have to wait and see. It should be noted that the new Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, called for a federal election in his country on March 23, to be held on April 28. So we are in the strange circumstance where Canada will have their election before ours when there’s wasn’t even due till later this year, but the new PM wanted to use his boost in the polls to help his party.
International News
Finally, in international news as I’m sure you’re all aware of, the Trump Administration accidentally included an journalist on a secret Signal Chat discussing war plans. From 11 to 15 March, a group of senior Trump Administration national security officials used Signal, a messaging app, to discuss military operations against the Houthis in Yemen. The chat was created by Michael Waltz, the US National security Advisor to the President, and he accidentally included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief at the American Magazine, The Atlantic. In the chat, discussions of sensitive military operations as well as disdain of European allies was discussed. Goldberg observed all this on the chat and published an article about it, causing a firestorm. Across the political spectrum, Democrats are demanding accountability, calling this a serious national security blunder. Republicans have been noticeably quiet with some denying knowledge of the chat, or saying that national security secrets were not discussed.
To back up the claims, The Atlantic eventually released the full thread of text messages to show they were authentic. It is unknown right now how the Trump administration will handle the fallout from this.
Where do I see this going? Unfortunately nowhere. As we have all seen, this administration is breaking all the rules of accountability when it comes to integrity. Maybe one or two people will be fired from this, but I don’t foresee any real consequences, which is sad. Any good administration, regardless of party affiliation would crack down on this kind of reckless behaviour.
Well, thats it for this week, you’re all caught up. I’ll see you next week to give you more political and current events updates on the election and on world news! And don’t forget to listen to the Final Tally, Tuesday in the very early mornings at 12:30 AM to 2 AM, or listen back here on the Eastside website.