A Laborious Budget Special
A Laborious Budget Special
Today’s newsletter is 1087 words: 4 minute read.
Thursday, May 11.
Only three days until Mother’s Day. Don’t forget.
Yeah the Mums, you’re the best 🙌
In today’s email:
Safety Bar: The big, safe Labor budget
Last Week’s Poll: Results
Trending: A massive sporting event coming here
Around the Web (Snippets): A Big Business Merges, Queensland’s Small Business Month, AI War Rages and The King’s Real name.
📚 Need a read? Here’s your blueprint for life
Gold Coast housing price movement
Weekend weather and surf:
1. One Big Thing: A Laborious Budget Special
Happening now
The Liberals are literally in the process of putting forward their budget reply live tonight.
But on Tuesday
Treasurer Jim Chalmers from the Labor Government revealed a big budget presentation with a lucky and surprising first surplus since 2008, boosted by the solid near-capacity workforce and booming commodity pricing.
However, the vibe between the lines touched on tones of dire days ahead, and a flavour of restraint was felt.
Zoom out
In short, taxes have been rolling nicely in from those who feed the Australian treasury the most, businesses and workers.
Winners and losers
Winners:
Low-income renters: Increased financial support with a 15% rise in the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance.
Welfare recipients: Base rates of support payments, including jobseeker, will rise by $40 a fortnight.
Doctors, aged care workers, and people needing healthcare: More bulk-billing incentives for GPs, better-coordinated healthcare, and a 15% pay rise for aged care workers.
Politicians: Additional funding for resources and increased traveller expense allowance.
Veterans: More funding for services, including tackling a backlog of claims and enhancing mental health support.
Losers:
Middle-income renters: Lack of immediate relief for those not qualifying for low-income support payments.
Commuters and train lovers: No new funding for significant commuter rail projects, including a high-speed train along the east coast of Australia.
Travellers: A $10 increase in the passenger movement charge from July 1 2024.
Small businesses: Beyond a raised asset write-off and green incentives, there's scant help for expertise acquisition and staff shortages.
Smokers: A 5% annual increase in tobacco excise for three years from September 1.
Tax dodgers: Continued crackdown on businesses not paying goods and service tax (GST).
Scammers: Establishment of a national anti-scam centre and measures to tackle phishing websites and investment scams.
Zoom in
Labor leaders are under no illusions that the surplus will be erased in future budgets.
Beyond this, budget surplus predictions diminish rapidly and aren’t expected to return to surplus for another decade.
“10-year budget forecasts?”
We couldn’t find the crystal ball they used for that outlook, but we hope to find one.
Counting some beans
Support payment base rates will increase for some welfare recipients.
Payments will increase per fortnight beginning September 20 by $40 for jobseeker, youth allowance, the partnered parenting payment and Austudy, and direct energy relief payments for some.
Doctors, aged care workers and healthcare recipients and veterans are also targeted for help in the budget.
One unexpected group that will benefit from the welfare funding increases is..
POLITICIANS
Yes, there is a line item for these poor souls that totals $159m over the next four years.
Are you kidding?
Nope.
Each parliamentarian will receive additional funds for frontline electorate staff resources.
This is another indicator that the budget is prepping for the election in two years.
What’s been said
Chalmers defended the budget with a prediction that the economy will grow in 2023-24 by 1.5%, while inflation, which is currently at 7%, is forecast to fall to 3.25% next year.
”Australians have shown resilience in the face of heightened global uncertainty, persistent inflation and higher interest rates, which are combining to slow our economy”.
Liberal Leader Peter Dutton said the Labor budget ignores those who need help the most.
“There are millions of families who aren’t getting any assistance in this budget, who thought they were. An average family with a mortgage and three children is $25,000 worse off under Labor in this budget.“
The Gold Coast effect
Higher exit and visa fees in the new budget are both negatives for Gold Coast.
Tourism and international workers are both economic drivers for growth, so the more barriers to entry, the worse for us.
A positive in the new budget for Gold Coast tourism is an injection of infrastructure spending that will help with the Olympics.
Think roads and airports..
But, it’s got to happen yet.
For Gold Coast developers, the budget will guide a quicker path to build-to-rent highrises.
Those ready to work with federal and state governments to set aside social and affordable housing in current and future projects could also get a fast track on approvals.
And we kinda’ need it.
What to look for next
A budget is a guide, and as a wise project manager once told us here at The GC Minute -
“Carefully prepare your budget, double it, and you’re probably close.”
We’ll see what comes, but what we do know is that this country is going to look mighty different ten years from now, in South East Queensland especially.
Last week’s poll - Thanks for keeping The GC Minute real 🙌
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2. Trending
Tim Tszyu will defend his WBO super-welterweight interim world title against Mexican challenger Carlos Ocampo on Sunday, June 18, on the Gold Coast
3. Around The Web (Snippets)
Kind Of A Big Deal: Brisbane’s Allkem in $15.7 billion-dollar merger (AUD) announced overnight with Livent (and will now supply the likes of Tesla)
Google AI Challenge Accepted: To compete with ChatGPT, Google expands Bard to 180 countries in 40 different languages
It’s Queensland Small Business Month: There heaps going on
A Title Fit For A King: Did you know Our King’s official title now is… deep breath in… His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Australia and His other Realms and Territories.
What a business card 😎
Microsoft’s Chat GPT vs. Google’s Bard as a board game…
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