Is this the Budget you have when you’re not having a Budget?
The most remarkable thing about this Budget, in contrast with Prime Minister Abbott’s promise of a fair Budget, is that so much of it relies on the re-election of a Coalition Government in 2016. Is it fair to make vulnerable Australians wait that long?
This Budget is designed to make the Government a small target until after the next election.
Many of the key measures in the 2015 Federal Budget, such as the Child Care Subsidy, are not scheduled to take effect until 1 July 2017. Despite its pledge to listen to the community following its horror 2014 Budget, the Coalition has retreated to its corner, deferring critical initiatives until after the next Federal election.
While this might enable the Abbott Government to see out the remainder of its current term in calmer political waters, it represents for Australia’s most vulnerable people a lost opportunity.
Those who are poor will pay the price for the failure of the Coalition to exercise its mandate to govern. This is a Budget calculated to secure a political future for the Government at the expense, again, of Australia’s most vulnerable people.
Those who are homeless, those with mental illness, women and children living the midst of family violence need assistance now. This Budget offers them little hope. For example, although the Abbott Government has stated that it wants to focus on reducing family violence, the absence of specific measures to increase affordable housing stock and extend homeless support services in this Budget means that women and their children remain at risk. The Government’s focus on community education is a welcome initiative but it won’t help people living in situations of violence now.
There is no commitment at all from the Federal Government to create more affordable housing or alleviate homelessness. The Budget is silent on the Government’s response to mental health services.
The annual Federal Budget process provides a significant opportunity to invest in communities, families and individuals in order to strengthen social cohesion, participation and wellbeing, and increase economic productivity. My organisation, Catholic Social Services Australia, continues to urge the Government to focus on investing in people, in families and in communities in order to realise long-term social and economic benefits rather than seeking short-term cost savings.
Australians are looking for a sustained commitment from Government to create strong communities, not just a strong economy.
One pleasing measure is the