The recent Budget is the weakest most insipid budget ever produced by this Government. What a lost opportunity. We need big ideas and big investments not frills and tax tinkering. Bring on a Government that is prepared to chase our future and not votes.

We are held captive by a government driven by economic cynicism and opportunism and an electorate that recognises neither.

The noble voyeristic intentions of Rudd are no challenge to the short term insecurities of an Australian electorate with huge personal debt and a fear of interest rates rising.

Fear and greed, works everytime.

The election has already been won and lost.

To paraphrase Roy & HG
Australia-where too much government is never enough.

whinge, whinge, whinge, whinge.

The only sensible comment so far comes from 'runner'.

bugger off liegh, this discussion is for people with an intellect...

The Budget papers indicate that there are no real tax cuts, they state their will be a 1.8% increase in personal income tax revenue next budget year.

Read the Budget Papers they show how disgraceful the budget really is.

Funding for National Securiy $702.0 million.

Funding for "Realising Our Potential" also builds on the Australian Government’s strong support of skills creation in the vocational education and training (VET) sector through a range of initiatives worth $638 million.

$35 million to build a new stand at the SCG, $22.9 million to combat illicit drugs.

Smoke and mirrors, I wonder what "goodies" we have in store when the opinion polls show that people just aren't buying this miserable budget?

more roy and hg:

You couldn't put a struck match between them.

Oh how easy it is for all you posters to criticise. As I mentioned in a previous contribution - "It always amuses me to see nightly on TV the public calling on the government to provide more money for everything from education, health, defence, pensioners, roads, R & D, social security to tax reduction. You name it, everything is mentioned eventually depending on personal priority. What seems to be forgotten is the fact that all the money is "our money" and people always feel that someone else should provide more than them. The government already "gives away" billions of dollars to compensate over half the population for anything from the baby bonus to first home buyers. Obviously there is a compromise" - There is only so much money in the kitty and of course the government wants to give the people what they want. That's called democracy. Not a perfect form of government, but the best we have come up with so far. Perhaps the dissatisfied writers in this column could suggest an alternative budget that would satisfy the majority of the population, because that's the name the game.

Snakes comments make the most sense. Yes, we have limited means. I agree there needs to be more infrastructure spending in general, but to race out and spend up big only inflates the ecomony, speeds up inflationary pressures, then low and behold, we get another interest rate rise. That's in no-ones best interests. So to my mind it is quite a responsible budget in overall terms. As far as the personal tax cuts go, they are just a little sweetner, more so that the govt can claim at election time that it has X record in giving personal tax cuts.

Its also good to see a govt that is making the most of the additional funds from the resources boom, by putting aside large capital amounts to fund ongoing expenses in future times, when there might not be the level of tax revenue that there currently is. This is responsible planning.

Country Gal

Spending on infrastructure does not put pressure on inflation it reduces it. One of the reasons we have high interest rates now is that the economy is at full capacity.

Dozens of ships waiting weeks to get loaded at most ports, a failing copper wire phone network, trucks failing to deliver on time due to crap federal roads etc.

What happens to the future fund and the lets not fund universities fund when the next stock market crash comes?

I have to agree with runner and Leigh. I think I have to start a sattirical thread.

In the budget, whose money is the Government throwing around, ours, why do they have so much of it? Because they have been ripping taxpayers off for years. Why have they not spent our tax dollars along the way, improving education standards, hospitals, dental care and training our own people in the industries where we need workers? Why is it only at election time any Government starts to throw our money around? Neither Liberal or Labour represent the people who vote for them. They are ruled by outside influences, and don't run the country for the benefit of the country or it's people. If we don't have farmers to provide our own food, we are open to big problems if some country decides to attack us. If you have to import all of your food, your supply can be cut off and then watch out.

Oh dear back to the "everything in the garden will be rosy under the ALP"?
It was a damn good Budget in many respects. It needs more work in the environmental and welfare sectors - but I suspect that is still to come.
Could the ALP do better? On Rudd's performance I doubt it but no doubt Australians will be silly enough to vote out economic prosperity in favour of welfare-union dependency.

We have "economic prosperity" (whatever that means) despite John Howard not because of him.

do stop calling oz a 'democracy', it makes everything you say suspect. oz is an elective oligarchy, a parliamentary society ruled by a guild of thieves, charlatans,and white collar thugs.

if you don't like the budget, take comfort in this: nobody asked you what you wanted. citizens decide things like budgets. subjects get told what they must bear. you can rebel at the ballot box, if you wish. let's see, the significant difference between labor and liberal is... hmm, i'll get back to you on that.

It is good to see so much discussion going on. It shows there are people who care, also shows all voters are not fools to believe everything. I don't believe we would be better off with Labour either but it would be great to have a real choice. I think the comment that we are ruled by white collar thugs and thieves is valid and it's about time there was some honesty in politics. Oops, sorry, I forgot those words should not be used in the same sentence. Keep talking, there are there of who are listening.

Just for carreyn1,
there are other people living in Australia.
For me this budget has been one of the best I have ever seen in the last 40 years.
I congratulate the treasurer for bringing down another successful budget,if not the most successful.
Well Done Peter Costello.
PS I am not usally a fan of him.