Budget explainer

ABC Online has put together a neat budget explainer, telling us what is already on the record, what to watch out for and what might happen tonight.

Yesterday we heard that a further 36 government bodies will go in addition to the 40 already axed, at least on paper. Amongst them Ivor Frischknecht (literally ‘fresh servant’) had a lot to say about the expected demise of ARENA, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. The audit commission recommended that ARENA be dissolved and its activities rolled into the Department of Industry.

Frischknecht seems to be taking the view that ARENA is legally obliged to keep operating until its governing legislation is changed. That will depend on the Senate.

The Government seems to be taking the view that decision-making and service delivery will be cleaner, more streamlined and more accountable if the Government does less. In my humble opinion burying the activities of separate, identifiable, dedicated agencies in the bowels of government departments will have the reverse effect.

Meanwhile Abbott gave backbenchers and newbies ‘love and reassurance’, but they still have to go out and sell the crock Hockey and co have cobbled together. They should sound about as convincing as sales people and be held in similar regard.

7 thoughts on “Budget explainer”

  1. The Conversation is putting out a special Budget edition after 7.30. With more to come tomorrow.
    Abbott reckons we’ll have forgot this budget by the election. Among other things, he’s not as good a politician as Howard, and Howard would’ve been scuppered if it weren’t for 9/11 and the Tampa.

  2. From the budget explainer(sic)

    Around $700 million was paid to farmers in 2011-12 under the diesel fuel rebate.

    That is just not true.
    The diesel fuel tax is for road users to pay.
    Not boats, trains, farm only vehicles, mine site vehicles or diesel powered aeroplanes if there are such a thing.
    Next they’ll be saying that allowing tractors not to be road registered, even though they never use the road, is a subsidy.

  3. Given the high cost of keeping people in prisons one wonders how someone on low wages who loses their job can go for 6 months without help. Then again, law enforcement and the gaols are state responsibilities.

  4. I think it’s clear that the young, the poor and the marginalised are going to do the bulk of the heavy lifting.

  5. Jumpey @ 2: Aero-diesels do exist but are still quite rare. Junkers did well with them back in the paleolithic age of aviation. Zoche turned out a really nice aero-diesel in recent years – I’m not up-to-date with what’s around in 2014. Diesel is a hell of a lot safer than avgas or avtur. Think novelty of the concept and starting power needed (especially restarting in mid-flight) might be the two things against aero-diesels but they are outweighed by other advantages, such as avoiding carby icing and vapour-lock. Can’t understand why they are not more common.

  6. Jumpy: You are quite right about the reason why fuel tax is not paid for vehicles that do not use public roads. It is not a subsidy as some people claim. The miners I worked for still had to pay fuel tax on vehicles that did use public roads.

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