It’s the time where those who rule us get to — literally — put their money where their mouth is and decide in which direction they want to take the country or the state.
What we’ve been learning about the Albanese Government’s budget is painting a curious picture, and one that is leaving your humble correspondent confused about what Labor is for?
What’s its purpose?
As Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell has pointed out, it has removed a lot of funding from regional areas and has yet to say what it will replace the money with.
His hunch is that the government will replace it with nothing at all.
It is certainly following the Victorian Government in having a heavy city-centric focus, and it deserves another shellacking for that — a shellacking it’s had over and over and over.
Labor has traditionally supported the downtrodden, those who are struggling to make ends meet on welfare, and during a cost-of-living crisis many voters were attracted by the party’s history of making life easier for those in need.
It has... not done that so far.
It has gone ahead with billions of dollars of tax cuts put in place by the previous government, which — as brilliantly displayed in a recent ABC piece — could pay for an extraordinary amount of things, such as raising the disability pension, JobSeeker and other welfare payments, which are simply not high enough to keep a person alive in this economy.
Labor knows this money isn’t enough to keep someone alive, because it has suggested it’s raising it — but only for people aged 55 and over.
Labor has locked in billions of dollars in spending on submarines that could be used for... war? against China? which... is our biggest trading partner? — for reasons that aren’t entirely clear.
It has pledged a lot of money for a stadium in Tasmania.
I like stadiums, and want Tasmania to have a team in the AFL.
But going to a state with a horrific rental market and a far, far worse home-buying market to pledge $240 million for a new stadium in Hobart and $65 million for an upgrade to one in Launceston stinks when so, so many people are living in tents coming into winter.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese loves trotting out the line about how he was brought up by a single mother, living in public housing, and how they did it tough.
And yet, he seems to be doing nothing to help improve the lives of people in similar situations.
I’m reminded of a screenshot that makes the rounds every time Joe Biden gets mad at something, which reads “Biden is always tweeting shit like ‘who the hell is the president, I’d like to have a word with him’”, and is normally linked to a tweet from the US President himself saying “Let’s give public school teachers a raise” or “We should ban assault rifles”.
My guys, you’re in charge. You can do the thing?
Labor was voted in on a mandate of change amid a cost-of-living crisis, and while all the faces and names have changed, the only thing I’ve noticed is a distinct lack of anyone caring about the regions.
Next week’s budget will show where the Federal Government’s priorities really lie.
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