Monday May 15, 2023
This week on Q+A… a one-on-one special with Treasurer Jim Chalmers. After a year in government, Labor is handing down its second Budget – but just how much help will there be for Australians struggling to make ends meet?
The Treasurer is spruiking a $4 billion surplus – the first in 15 years – but there is more pain to come. And in the scheme of the overall budget, it’s a drop in the ocean. Is the much-hyped surplus more about the politics than the economics?
We know already that the single parent payment cut-off is being lifted from eight to 14 and there will be a modest boost to JobSeeker – but with the stage three tax cuts still in the mix, how much difference will the changes make?
Will this be a budget that cements Labor’s claim to be good economic managers, or will it just postpone some of the difficult decisions that have to be made as the global economy continues to falter?
Q+A is live from Sydney on Monday, May 15 at 9.35pm AEST.