Invest
‘Fancy spin and slick marketing’: Pre-budget speech fails to impress
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has failed to commit to a strategy, walking away from an austerity budget on 11 May but again relying on businesses to do the heavy lifting, his pre-budget speech revealed.
‘Fancy spin and slick marketing’: Pre-budget speech fails to impress
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has failed to commit to a strategy, walking away from an austerity budget on 11 May but again relying on businesses to do the heavy lifting, his pre-budget speech revealed.
Just two years ago, the government promised to deliver the first surplus in over a decade, declaring “today we’re bringing the budget back in black”.
Now the Treasurer is looking to abandon his low-debt austerity stance, instead trying to drive the economy into a position of strength through lowering the unemployment rate, strengthening wages and inflating Australia’s debt away.
He used his pre-budget remarks at the Australian Chamber of Commerce to announce the government’s changing tactics. However, he failed to announce any plan as to how the government will achieve its promises.
“Looking further ahead, our challenge once we recover from this crisis is to again rebuild our fiscal buffers,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“We have done it before and we will do it again.”
“But we won’t be undertaking any sharp pivots towards ‘austerity’.”
However, Mr Frydenberg stopped short of completely splashing the cash, instead putting the onus on the business sector to carry the recovery.
“Large-scale government support is no substitute for sustainable jobs in profitable firms” and that the government would instead focus on growing the economy in order to service its debt obligations.
His remarks were heavily criticised by opposition treasurer Jim Chalmers, who called the speech “fancy spin and slick marketing”.
“What really matters is all of that job insecurity, underemployment and stagnant wages,” Mr Chalmers said.
“This is the same guy who printed the ‘back in black’ mugs. These are the same people that said when debt was $200 billion, it was a disaster, but now it’s heading north of a trillion dollars is management, prudent and sensible.”
While highlighting that, on the surface, increasing employment and spending during a crisis is prudent management, he questioned the plan which failed to provide any further details as to how the government will get Australians into better-paying jobs.
“This treasurer thinks he can spin and grin his way to full employment when what we really need in the budget is a plan to achieve full employment.
“Now this speech once again is all about politics and not economics. What this speech is saying to the Australian people is there will still be austerity, there will still be budget cuts, but the Australian people have to wait till the other side of an election to find out what they might be.
“All this speech does is push budget nasties from this side of the election to the next side of the election.”
Mr Chalmers said he welcomes the recovery from the deepest recession Australia has had this century, but highlighted how the recovery is not even, with those on the bottom being pushed further behind.
“We still have almost 2 million Australians who can’t find a job or can’t find enough hours to support their loved ones,” Mr Chalmers said.
The opposition treasurer said the budget cannot be another missed opportunity to invest in Australia’s people and their employment, “with the Treasurer simply sprouting numbers without releasing details as to how he will improve Australia’s unemployment rate”.
“It needs to be an opportunity to make the necessary investments in employment to have an actual jobs plan and not just slick marketing spin.
“What we desperately need to see in this recovery is Australians able to get ahead, to find work, to find the hours they need so they are not left behind as we recover from this deep and damaging recession,” Mr Chalmers said.
RELATED ARTICLES
About the author
About the author
Economy
Economist calls for July RBA rate cut following inflation data
An economist from State Street Global Advisors has called for the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates in July following today's Consumer Price Index data for June. Read more
Economy
GDP data prompts economist to predict faster RBA rate cuts
Australia's latest GDP growth data has come in significantly below expectations, prompting an economist to suggest the Reserve Bank may need to ease monetary policy more aggressively. Read more
Economy
Global markets face turbulent start amid tariff concerns, but outlook remains cautious
Global equity and bond markets have experienced a turbulent start to 2025, primarily due to concerns that a potential tariff-driven trade war could heighten inflation and recession risks. Read more
Economy
RBA may cut rates faster if GDP data disappoints, economists say
The Reserve Bank of Australia may cut interest rates more quickly if next week's GDP data disappoints, economists said following today's consumer price index data for May. Read more
Economy
RBA delivers widely expected rate cut as inflation optimism balances global uncertainty
The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the cash rate by 25 basis points, delivering on widespread market expectations while signalling a clearer directional shift towards less restrictive monetary ...Read more
Economy
Economist warns strong jobs data may delay further RBA rate cuts
Strong employment growth in April has put expectations for multiple interest rate cuts at risk, though upcoming economic data may clarify the need for lower rates, according to State Street Global ...Read more
Economy
Australian inflation continues downward trend, nearing RBA target
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.7 per cent in the year to August, down from 3.5 per cent in July and 3.8 per cent in June. Read more
Economy
UK markets poised for gains after election, global geopolitical risks remain
Chris Iggo, Chief Investment Officer at AXA Investment Managers, has provided an optimistic outlook for UK markets following the recent general election, while cautioning about ongoing global ...Read more
Economy
Economist calls for July RBA rate cut following inflation data
An economist from State Street Global Advisors has called for the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates in July following today's Consumer Price Index data for June. Read more
Economy
GDP data prompts economist to predict faster RBA rate cuts
Australia's latest GDP growth data has come in significantly below expectations, prompting an economist to suggest the Reserve Bank may need to ease monetary policy more aggressively. Read more
Economy
Global markets face turbulent start amid tariff concerns, but outlook remains cautious
Global equity and bond markets have experienced a turbulent start to 2025, primarily due to concerns that a potential tariff-driven trade war could heighten inflation and recession risks. Read more
Economy
RBA may cut rates faster if GDP data disappoints, economists say
The Reserve Bank of Australia may cut interest rates more quickly if next week's GDP data disappoints, economists said following today's consumer price index data for May. Read more
Economy
RBA delivers widely expected rate cut as inflation optimism balances global uncertainty
The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the cash rate by 25 basis points, delivering on widespread market expectations while signalling a clearer directional shift towards less restrictive monetary ...Read more
Economy
Economist warns strong jobs data may delay further RBA rate cuts
Strong employment growth in April has put expectations for multiple interest rate cuts at risk, though upcoming economic data may clarify the need for lower rates, according to State Street Global ...Read more
Economy
Australian inflation continues downward trend, nearing RBA target
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.7 per cent in the year to August, down from 3.5 per cent in July and 3.8 per cent in June. Read more
Economy
UK markets poised for gains after election, global geopolitical risks remain
Chris Iggo, Chief Investment Officer at AXA Investment Managers, has provided an optimistic outlook for UK markets following the recent general election, while cautioning about ongoing global ...Read more
