Read on Twitter
START OF BUDGET NIGHT THREAD. I’m not sure how much I’ll dig into this stuff tonight, but I’ll start by linking to the various @zdnetaustralia stories on all the pre-announcements. #Budget2021
“Budget 2021: Drones and aviation tech gets AU$32 million” by @ashabeeeee https://www.zdnet.com/article/budget-2021-drones-and-aviation-tech-gets-au32-million/ #Budget2021
“Budget 2021: Digital economy strategy gets nearly AU$1 billion” by @ashabeeeee https://www.zdnet.com/article/budget-2021-digital-economy-strategy-gets-nearly-au1-billion/ #Budget2021
“Budget 2021: myGov to undergo a multimillion-dollar makeover and get a chatbot” by @ashabeeeee https://www.zdnet.com/article/budget-2021-mygov-gets-a-multimillion-dollar-makeover-and-a-chatbot/ #Budget2021
“Budget 2021: Regional Connectivity Program gets second round and extra AU$130m pot” by @dobes https://www.zdnet.com/article/budget-2021-regional-connectivity-program-gets-second-round-and-extra-au130m-pot/ #Budget2021
“Budget 2021: Square Kilometre Array scores AU$387 million” by @ashabeeeee https://www.zdnet.com/article/budget-2021-square-kilometre-array-scores-au387-million/ #Budget2021
“Budget 2021: Bushfire-prone urban fringes to get AU$16.4m in mobile network grants” by @dobes https://www.zdnet.com/article/budget-2021-bushfire-prone-urban-fringes-to-get-au16-4m-in-mobile-network-grants/ #Budget2021
All those stories were written before anyone saw the actual Budget papers, of course. Those papers will appear at https://budget.gov.au/ at 7.30pm AEST.
Understatement of the day. Josh Frydenberg is one of the dreariest public speakers in the Coalition’s line-up. He seriously needs coaching. Just download the text once it’s posted. Even then, ignore it because it’s the political spin. Look at the actual documents. #Budget2021 https://twitter.com/_BertHandsome/status/1392045147865509888
Josh Frydenberg in happier times. #Budget2021
“Team Australia” FFS. #Budget2021
For new players, Budget Paper No. 2 is the one you want. #Budget2021
I”m going to finish my noodles before getting into it though. #Budget2021
He’s looking thrilled. #Budget2021
A new “patent box”? #Budget2021
REMINDER: Whenever a Budget includes alleged “record funding” remember that there’s both inflation and population growth. Every Budget line item should have record spending just to stay the same. #Budget2021
Lol they have no fucking clue. Reminder: The median Australian household income is around $50,000 before tax. #Budget2021 https://twitter.com/GrogsGamut/status/1392054186267746306
Which is to say, a family with $160k income is roughly 3x the median. They’re doing just fine. #Budget2021
Leigh Sales’ first sentence is spin. “The Budget confirms that Australia’s economy is bouncing back strongly”. No, it’s *based* on that assumption. What it confirms, I guess, is the government’s belief. Or its hopes. But it “confirms” nothing. #Budget2021
This is the fun stuff, of course. #Budget2021 https://twitter.com/dobes/status/1392060147162177538
“The Government will not proceed with a measure to extend early release of superannuation to victims of family and domestic violence.” #Budget2021
“The Government will increase the maximum releasable amount of voluntary concessional and non-concessional contributions under the First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSSS) from $30,000 to $50,000.”
You can use super to buy a house but not escape family violence. #Budget2021
You can use super to buy a house but not escape family violence. #Budget2021
We”ll get a Freedom of Information Commissioner, @jpwarren, though it’s just the Commissioner and minimal support staff. #Budget2021
The Digital Economy Strategy is somewhat less impressive when you see that the bulk of it is the Australian Digital Health Agency and Services Australia. #Budget2021
Also the “Investing in emerging aviation technologies” line is *part of* that strategy, not a separate thing, so it was kinda announced twice. #Budget2021
The AI stuff is part of that too. Remember to divide by 4 because it’s “over 4 years”. #Budget2021
Glad to see the term “peri-urban” making an appearance. #Budget2021
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide gets its funding. As some of you may know, this pleases me very much indeed. #Budget2021
We’ll be helping India with its COVID-19 response to the tune of... does calculation... 78 cents per Australian in the first year, 64 cents after that. #Budget2021
ASIO needs another $1.3 billion because... reasons. #Budget2021
The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security get some funding to oversee the TOLA Act etc, though I don’t know whether this is the amount they said they needed. #Budget2021
There’s a few million for “Advancing Australia's Gas Fired Recovery” which is amusing. #Budget2021
There’s a little bit more for the Australian Space Agency. #Budget2021
Does anyone even remember the Rum Jungle uranium mine? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_Jungle,_Northern_Territory #Budget2021
A million bucks for the Australian fashion industry! #Budget2021
There’s an allocation for the National Collecting Institutions, but not a lot, and I don’t know how much this makes up for any cuts that might have been made in previous years. #Budget2021
Here’s the line items for the drone stuff from early in this thread. #Budget2021
There’s some additional funding for the Australian National Audit Office but from memory this does not make up for cuts in previous years. Someone else can check that, or I might do so tomorrow. #Budget2021
