Australians have reacted angrily at the failure to address some fundamental issues in the recently unveiled budget. Thousands of citizens wrote to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), asking the Treasurer to do more to tackle rising inequality in the country. Thousands of residents from all over Australia raised their frustrations. Lastly, they were disappointed the budget did not focus on social security, renewables and affordable housing.
Tony Haigh, Bellerive in Tasmania, environment and economics spokesperson for the Tasmanian Greens Tony Haigh. The thing we didn’t see, he lamented, was their focus on raising the bottom rung of social security. Peter Vincent, a utilities engineer from Melbourne, said the budget failed to show how Australia was going to make a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Holly Roberts, a senior teacher and union delegate from Adelaide, voiced her frustration. She acknowledged that there has been no conversation whatsoever around the $368 billion AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement.
Concerns Over Social Security and Energy Transition
Advocating for all those experiencing social security inadequacies, Tony Haigh explains why he thinks this budget missed the mark. Although these announcements were welcome, he said nothing about raising the bottom tier of social security payments. Haigh stressed that the time is now for Australia to reduce its dependence on coal and gas. This transformation is an essential step toward creating a more equitable, sustainable future.
As an independent voter, Peter Vincent shared his frustrations with us. He highlighted the budget's failure to adequately address Australia's energy transition as disappointing. Vincent made his concerns over affordable housing clear. In his case, he said he still needs 5-6 years to save for a housing deposit.
"The few things that were there are so limited that I don't think they will have any meaningful impact on making homes more affordable," said Vincent. "They seem like they are only there to give MPs a talking point when asked about housing."
He welcomed a few things, notably the much heralded ‘Help to Buy’ scheme and the capital freeze on foreign investment. At the same time, he said, these measures don’t go far enough.
"I like the 'Help to Buy' scheme; there are just so few places," Vincent added. "I like the freeze on foreign investment; it's only for two years."
Budget Criticized as a "Retail Budget"
Retiree Grant Astill from the Gold Coast labelled the budget a “retail budget.” He called it the opposite of short-term fixes that only provide immediate gratification and don’t address underlying challenges.
"I'm disappointed that the treasurer did not take the opportunity to pitch a better future more explicitly," Astill said.
Astill said it was dangerous that Australia had become less self-reliant and less trade diversified as the world has become more unstable. He championed deeper reforms in education, health, public safety and social services.
"Over the past few years, Australia has been shown its vulnerabilities by our largest trading partner and our largest ally," he remarked. "Not enough trade diversification and not enough self-reliance and it appears that our political leaders are not overtly moving to protect the nation."
In his view, social and affordable housing needs urgent attention, and building more social housing is a positive step, albeit a small one.
Calls for Comprehensive Reforms
Adrian Sim from the Gold Coast strongly agreed, putting a big focus on the need for more fast-tracked social and affordable housing. Sim urged broad, systemic reforms in all sectors fueled by energy, from electricity and insurance to childcare and grocery markets.
"I like building more social housing; it's a small investment on the scale of Australian housing," he stated.
Chief Agnieszka Daga, Holly Roberts, an educator who has long been concerned about global instability and its effects on future generations. Roberts desires for her students to have a future they can look forward to, but instead she is met with a grim perspective on war from them. Admitting that she’s not an economics whiz, Roberts nevertheless emphasized the need for a change in tone from politicians when talking about this kind of stuff.
