Tomorrow’s budget is expected to confirm that federal government spending is likely to blow out above 800 billion dollars annually over the next couple of years. As spending swells, economists are calling for structural election repair measures to future-proof against unexpected pressures.
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00:00Accelerating defence spending.
00:05The Deputy Prime Minister bringing forward a billion dollars to boost Australia's military
00:10capability in tomorrow's budget.
00:14The acceleration of the one billion is really there to ensure that the very ambitious timelines
00:20that we have in relation to all of this are going to be met.
00:24Under pressure from US President Donald Trump to increase defence spending, who's also slapped
00:31tariffs on steel and aluminium exports from Australia.
00:35All feeding the projected deficit this financial year, estimated to be 27 billion dollars.
00:42The budget is in structural deficit, so effectively we've been playing our luck with commodity
00:49prices for years.
00:51That luck is running out.
00:53There's other unforeseen pressures too, like propping up the Wyala steel mill in South
00:58Australia and underwriting the future of regional airline wrecks.
01:03But don't expect any major tax reform in this budget.
01:06Instead, the government has spelled out five key priorities.
01:10Supporting the recovery from ex-cyclone Alfred, strengthening Medicare, investing in education,
01:17making the economy more competitive, dynamic and productive, and helping with the cost of living.
01:23We've seen a big improvement in the budget and in lowering the debt and lowering the
01:28interest on our debt because we have been so responsible in our budgets where we've
01:32had upwards revisions, we've paid down debt, we've banked that, we haven't spent it.
01:37The nation's finances will be revealed tomorrow, with voters getting their chance to decide
01:43on Australia's future in May.