BUDGET: 'You've got to be freaking kidding me mate, $300 for the rich?' Senator Lambie

THE keynote of the 2024-25 budget handed down on Tuesday night by the Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers is a surplus of $9.3 billion this coming financial year contributing to a debt position that will be $152 billion less than projected only a few years ago.

But this year’s budget will be the last in surplus for the foreseeable future with $122 billion in deficit budgets in next four years, that is the government will be spending much more than it receives.

Despite that, the government hopes to get inflation under further control, down from 3.5% now to 2.75% by the end of next financial year with the "cynical" aim of allowing home interest rates to be falling by the next Federal Election on or before September 27 next year.

However, while the budget is again in a surplus, the government will be spending more than ever before with $9.5 billion in new initiatives, and still hoping to avoid adding to inflation pressure.

The budget, according to the Treasurer, is about putting downward pressure on the cost of living and inflation.

The opposition financial spokesman Angus Taylor said it was a high spending, cynical budget designed to restore the Albanese Government's popularity ahead of the next election..

But outspoken Tasmanian Senator Jacquie Lambie was even more scathing.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me, rich people and people like myself don't need a handout of $300 per household, all because the government can't be bothered doing a means test," Senator Lambie said.

Features of the cost of living initiatives include:

There’s power bill relief of $300 per household for everyone

Help for the rental economy, up to as much as $70-a-fortnight with benefit for up to one million people.

And an average tax cut of $1900.

The government aims to save $14.4 billion by cracking down on NDIS rorts but will be spending a similar amount as the NDIS scheme expands.

“This is a budget for the here and now and into the future,” he said with funding for more housing, a key focus on financial management, the care economy, education and a “dignified retirement for every Australian”.

It is a budget framed in retrained and fragile conditions across the world.

There’s help, he said, for farmers to reduce emissions, but the initiatives will have to be put under the microscope to see if it’s a help or a hinderance.

There’s a boost for Bulk billing with $227 more for a further 29 urgent care centres, $361m for mental health, $2.2 billion more invested into aged care and $22.7 billion invested in industry, much of it into renewables including the bluesky goal of hydrogen development.

Budget overview

Australia is facing an uncertain global economic environment and a changing world. Global challenges, high but moderating inflation and higher interest rates have contributed to cost-of-living pressures and slower growth. While many Australians remain under pressure, our economy is better placed than most to handle these challenges.

This Government's responsible economic management has helped ease inflationary and budget pressures. Though inflation is still too high, it is now less than half its peak and almost half of what it was around the middle of 2022.

Unemployment is near a 50-year low. Real wages growth has returned. Australia recorded the second strongest budget balance among G20 countries. And we are uniquely placed to maximise opportunities from changes in the global economy, including the net zero transformation. The Budget helps people under pressure today and invests in a Future Made in Australia. It provides responsible cost-of-living relief, helps Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn, and builds a stronger and more resilient economy.

At the same time, the Budget forecasts a second surplus in 2023–24, representing the first back-to-back surplus in nearly two decades, lower debt every year over the forward estimates and lower inflation, which is now expected to be back in the RBA's target band sooner.

This Budget responds to the challenges of today and lays the foundation for future prosperity by:

• easing cost-of-living pressures

• building more homes for Australians

• investing in a Future Made in Australia

• strengthening Medicare and the care economy

• broadening opportunity and advancing equality All of which is underpinned by responsible economic management.

This Budget strikes the right balance between keeping pressure off inflation, delivering cost-of-living relief, supporting sustainable economic growth and strengthening public finances.

Key Budget initiatives

Easing cost-of-living pressures

· All 13.6 million Australian taxpayers will get a tax cut, averaging $36-a-week

· $3.5 billion for $300 in energy bill relief to all Australian households; plus relief for one million small businesses

· Waiving $3 billion in student debt for more than 3 million Australians

· $1.9 billion to increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance by a further 10 per cent, benefiting nearly 1 million households

· Cheaper medicines as part of the up to $3 billion agreement with community pharmacies

Building more homes for Australians

· New housing investment of $6.2 billion, for a total of $32 billion under this Government

· An additional $1 billion to help states and territories build more homes

· More student accommodation

· $16.5 billion additional funding for infrastructure projects to connect our cities and towns

Investing in a Future Made in Australia

· $22.7 billion to become a renewable energy superpower and strengthen our economic resilience

· $1.1 billion to reform higher education and support future productivity

· $466.4 million to advance Australia's quantum computing capabilities

Strengthening Medicare and the care economy

· $2.8 billion to strengthen Medicare, including a further 29 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics

· $3.4 billion for new and amended listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

· $2.2 billion to improve the aged care system

· $888.1 million to help people get the mental health care they need

· Funding set aside towards increased aged care and child care wages

Broadening opportunity and advancing equality

· $925.2 million for victim-survivors leaving violent intimate partner relationships

· $1.1 billion to pay superannuation on Government-funded Paid Parental Leave.