Treasurer Jim Chalmers is setting off on a countrywide trip to pitch his second budget, as a poll shows not all voters are convinced of its merits and debate continues on how to best support those on welfare payments.
Dr Chalmers will begin a five-city blitz on Monday to speak to business groups, unions and communities, starting in Sydney before moving on to other capital cities.
“Our budget sees people through difficult times and sets our country up for the future. It helps Australians doing it tough and makes significant inroads in cleaning up the mess we inherited from the coalition,” Dr Chalmers said.
“We understand that people are under the pump. My job this week is to tell more people how our investments in the budget can help.”
While the treasurer is looking to spend the coming days spruiking the $14.6 billion cost-of-living measures in the budget, he has declined to rule out an opposition proposal to increase the working hours threshold for those on JobSeeker.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called for the maximum number of hours those on the payment are allowed to work to rise before payment benefits are removed.
Dr Chalmers said the idea had already featured in the government’s examination of employment strategies, ahead of a white paper on the issue to be released later this year.
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said boosting the threshold would get more people into work.
“(The government) have got to put away their ideological prejudices and recognise that getting people into work and working is the best way to improve somebody’s life,” he told Sky News.
Meanwhile, a Newspoll published in The Australian on Monday found 33 per cent of voters approved of the 2023/24 budget measures, against 28 per cent who thought they would be bad for the economy and 39 per cent who were unsure.
Also, 39 per cent of the 1516 voters surveyed between May 11-13 believe the budget will make inflation worse, while 33 per cent think it will make no difference and 13 per cent expect it will make inflation “better”.
“We have plenty of time to explain to Australians why it (the budget) is good for them and why it’s good for the country,” Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek told Seven’s Sunrise program.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said the budget had struck the right balance.
“Everybody wants our economic policy to win a popularity contest, because everybody wants that, but the most important test is whether it is an economically responsible budget,” he told ABC TV.
“Some of these tough decisions that we’ve got to take have not always been popular, but they are in the national interest and they are getting our finances back into a sustainable position.”
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said the poll result showed the budget “kind of flopped”.
But 49 per cent of voters polled were sceptical that the coalition could have delivered a better budget.
Newspoll also showed voters back the Labor government on a two-party preferred basis at 55 per cent compared to 45 per cent for the coalition.
Asked who would make a better prime minister, 56 per cent backed Anthony Albanese against 29 per cent for Mr Dutton.
© AAP 2023
