Politics with Michelle Grattan: Simon Birmingham and Jim Chalmers on a big spending budget

By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

This year’s budget, handed down on Tuesday, boasts plenty of winners and minimal direct losers. Spending is lavish, with the government doing its utmost to avoid offending voters.

The big spending commitments include:

$17.7 billion for aged care over five years
$2.3 billion for mental health
$1.7 billion in changes to childcare
$1.1 billion for women’s safety
$1.9 billion for the rollout of the COVID vaccine
$20.7 billion in support for business through tax breaks
$2.7 billion in new apprenticeships
$15 billion…

Read complete article
© The Conversation - Wednesday, May 12, 2021

~	Getting to know Alexandra Philbin: A Q&A with an Irish language activist

~	Trump trial reveals details about how the former president thinks about, and exploits, the media

~	Why the potential for another Donald Trump presidency is making Iran very nervous

~	Labor facing heavy defeat in Queensland, but faring better in federal polls

~	We reconstructed landscapes that greeted the first humans in Australia around 65,000 years ago

~	What do we lose when our old suburbs disappear?

~	Does fighting inflation always lead to recession? What 60 years of NZ data can tell us

~	Australia: Rights Vetting Crucial for Defence Cooperation

~	How visas for social care workers may be exacerbating exploitation in the sector

~	Why the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service should be designated as a provincial police service