{"id":8681,"date":"2015-04-29T11:39:27","date_gmt":"2015-04-29T01:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.socialpolicyconnections.com.au\/?p=8681"},"modified":"2015-04-29T17:57:01","modified_gmt":"2015-04-29T07:57:01","slug":"tony-abbotts-second-budget-what-we-will-get-and-what-we-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socialpolicyconnections.com.au\/?p=8681","title":{"rendered":"Tony Abbott\u2019s second budget: what we will get, and what we need."},"content":{"rendered":"

Kate Mecham<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Policy Officer The Salvation Army Victorian Social Program & Policy Unit.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Fairness at work march, Dunedin, by Hickey\/Scott, flickr cc<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here we are again – another budget. We remember the last one clearly, and wonder what\u2019s in store for us next.<\/p>\n

The budget this year will be relatively unremarkable \u2013 \u201cdull\u201d and \u201cmuch less exhilarating\u201d <\/strong>to use the Prime Minister\u2019s words. It has to be. The Abbott Government would not be able to weather another year like the last.<\/p>\n

Rhetoric around the budget has shifted from stressing the need for \u201ctough decisions\u201d last year to emphasising that this budget will be \u201cresponsible and fair\u201d. It\u2019s an important admission that last year\u2019s budget was indeed \u201cunfair\u201d \u2013 at least in the eyes of the Australia public, who have made it very clear they will not stand for policies which punish the poor and leave untouched the well-to-do. Nor will they stand for policies which undermine the cornerstones of the social system, like free healthcare and education.<\/p>\n

However, while we may be relieved that we will not see a budget as bad as last year\u2019s, there remains a danger in settling for mere relief. Just because this year\u2019s budget will not be as bad as last year\u2019s, it doesn\u2019t mean it will be good.<\/p>\n

The Abbott Government would desperately like this budget to pass under the radar, so they will play it safe. Playing it safe means no big cuts, but it doesn\u2019t mean there won\u2019t be small cuts. It doesn\u2019t mean they learned their lesson, understand their policies were unjust, and Australia won\u2019t stand for it. It just means that they have learned they need to make smaller changes and manage their public relations better than last time.<\/p>\n

While the rhetoric on cuts is much softer this time than before, the Coalition Government has stuck to its claim that the budget is in trouble. And in the long term, it is<\/a>. We need reform. The question is how to get there. The answer is not cutting welfare payments and support programs. The answer is expanding them to give people the \u2018leg up\u2019 they need.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Helping the homeless, Ed Yourdon, flickr cc<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For a long time, the community sector been putting forward solutions for youth unemployment, entrenched disadvantage, rising housing prices, and generating the revenue needed to pay for it. Its time someone started to listen.<\/p>\n

We need:<\/p>\n