Delivering a Federal Budget is a mammoth effort, and the Albanese government has certainly shown its capacity for being adaptable and agile. This was the budget that wasn’t meant to be – until Cyclone Alfred came along and kicked the Federal election plans down the road.
The majority of announcements in tonight’s budget have already been made public as part of the ALP’s pre-election commitments and promises that have been trickling out since the beginning of the year. The surprise item in tonight’s budget was the ‘tax cuts for all’ policy piece that will undoubtedly be well received by those taxpayers feeling the squeeze.
Coming off the back of a few weeks on the road holding FRSA Member Forums in each of the States and Territories, our desire for certainty in the family and relationship services sector with most of our programs in some stage of review will have to wait until after an election.
What I have heard loud and clear in listening to members is that life for an increasing number of Australians is tougher than it was before. We are seeing people coming into our services that have not needed to seek out our services before and the complex nature of their lives intensifies their need and stretches the capacity for our services and systems to respond. There are certainly measures in the Federal Budget that attempt to provide some financial relief and longer term support in areas such as child care, disability and aged care but I can’t help being left feeling it does not go far enough.
Disappointingly, there’s no increase to income support payments. As ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie said, “in the face of a serious cost-of-living crisis and overwhelming evidence to fix JobSeeker, to give $7b in tax cuts and do nothing to lift people out of poverty is simply shocking”.
Post election, FRSA will be working hard to influence the next Federal budget/s and the incoming Government to ensure that the real cost of service delivery is being met moving forward, whatever shape our programs take. We know for a fact that funding has eroded over time, and we have gone to great lengths to demonstrate that impact through our Cost Benefit Analysis work.
The value and benefit of the work of the family and relationship services sector really is indisputable, and we will be working hard to ensure that the children, young people, men and women we serve remain front and centre in the Government’s deliberations and decisions moving forward.
