Comment: Australia, don't believe Josh Frydenberg's surplus until we see it
There's plenty of infrastructure spending to try to impress voters in regional seats, a car park construction fund for city voters who happen to live near train stations in marginal seats and promises of doubled tax relief for lower- and middle-income earners. Check the detailed tables for your lucky tax cut.
And yet, "by the standards of a pre-election budget, this is a reasonably responsible one," says Deloitte's Chris Richardson. "But that's a pretty low bar." The budget assumes the price of iron ore will fall back to its long-run average over the next year, which is more responsible than counting on further engineering disasters in South American jungles.
The tax plan stretches a decade into the future. There's an inherent implausibility in a government that's had three prime ministers in six years trying to tell you the exact number of dollars and cents in your tax cut a decade hence. Until now, Labor was promising to hand out 75 per cent more tax relief than the government. With this budget, Frydenberg is outmatching Labor and, asked if he's returning the Labor hit, replies, "Yes and this is more than that."
The real question is whether, as the two teams go shot for shot to win the political point, whether there's anyone left in the stands. If you're in the right demographic, in the right seat, the government wants to promise you a tax cut and a car park, but does anyone believe enough to switch their vote as a result?
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