"The Budget is a disaster"

one of my new neighbours has just muttered as he has rushed past me. I assume he is on his way to work. He was not talking to me - we have yet to say anything to each other - but was talking on his phone. This is still early in the morning, very early.

I wonder which budget he is actually talking about. Is it the one just handed down by the Treasurer? Is it the one for whichever business this neighbour works for? Are those places one and the same thing?

I really get nothing in the way of a handout from the plans outlined by the Treasurer. I did not expect anything. There is the so-called "electricity rebate" but it does not cover the rise in the cost of electricity. It does not cover the cost of the increasingly foolish pursuit of the "net zero without nuclear" dream. 

In the meantime we are apparently going to pay $14,165 a week for the privilege of caring for a couple of pandas. They are apparently a tourist attraction. The last pair did not produce any off-spring but it is hoped this pair might. 

Add to that a $16bn "reduction in student debt" for those who have not already paid their debts. Add "free TAFE" (technical and further education) and perhaps the budget really will benefit pandas and would-be tradespeople. No, wait a minute doctors will get more if they "bulk bill", some medicines will be cheaper and there is yet more money for the NDIS (national disability insurance scheme).

Perhaps the pandas really are fine. I actually feel sorry for the pandas - and any other animal stuck in a zoo. I do not like zoos and wish they were not a necessity for saving the diversity of animals on the planet.  And yes, we need tradespeople but there should be some mutual obligations in all this.  I am not sure how many doctors will return to bulk billing though because the costs have risen beyond that. Our local clinic is saying they will not be doing it. Perhaps they could help to review some of the rorting in the NDIS so that those who really need help get it.

I look at the funds for roads, for the steelworks, for defence and much more and just wonder who is really benefitting from the huge sums of money being spent. Why does it cost so much to build a roundabout? 

Looking at the Budget I feel as if I am being asked to believe six impossible things before breakfast...and I wonder whether the Reply will be any better?