The government isn't doing much heavy lifting when it comes to paying down its own debt. Instead,it plans to keep up with interest payments on its record borrowing and “stabilise” the debt.
Politically,it may be a smart strategy,as most Australians can relate to the impact rising interest rates are having on their own household budgets.
There is also not a lot of love for landlords from a generation of voters struggling to break into the housing market and battling rising rents.
It plays into a bit ofold-fashioned class warfare, with Pallas telling parliament “it’s only fair that those that did well contribute to the repayment effort”.
Pallas denies this,of course,but with the big end of town,landlords and private schools in the firing line,it's hard not to view him as a modern-day Robin Hood.
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Having identified some villains to whack with tax hikes,the government hopes those impacted will simply pay their new tax bill and get on with it – with nothing more than a little whinge on the way through.
It's the sort of budget governments hope never to deliver,but if they are forced to,they like to make these hard decisions after election wins,hoping that any pain will dissipate by the next time Victorians go to the polls.
However,with debt levels this high,the government might struggle to turn the tide by 2026 when debt hits $171.4 billion - 24.5 per cent of gross state product.
Before the budget,economists and business groups warned that any changes to payroll and property taxes could also have a flow-on effect,with costs passed on to consumers and renters already doing it tough amid a cost-of-living crisis.
If that's the case,the spin and blame might not be enough.
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