- The Federal Government will hand down the budget later this evening, outlining how Australia will spend itself out of a COVID-19 related recession
- Massive spending on infrastructure and energy projects has already been flagged as well as speeding up planned tax cuts
- Tonight’s budget is also expected to reveal Australia’s largest ever deficit — of over $200 billion
- The blowout had primarily been fuelled by the pandemic, which has seen unemployment rise and GDP contract
- Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the focus going forward will be on job creation
Ahead of tonight’s federal budget reveal, the Federal Government is being widely tipped to reveal Australia’s largest-ever deficit.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will soon outline exactly how Australia will spend itself out of a COVID-19 related recession which saw GDP fall seven per cent and unemployment hit 7.5 per cent.
While some measures have already been flagged — such as tax cuts and energy spending — what isn’t known is exactly how bad the deficit will be.
It’s expected to top $184 billion — the number put forward by the Treasurer back in June — before Victoria re-entered sweeping lockdowns for almost 12 weeks.
Those stage-four restrictions saw all non-essential businesses close, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without work.
As a result, JobKeeper had to be extended, though that support is unlikely to be extended beyond March next year.
It’s not just the unemployment benefits set to cost the budget, its also the effect of Victoria’s economy inactivity over the last few months.
Speaking about how Australia will recover from the effects of COVID-19, the Treasurer said the focus was on job creation.
“Our plan will create jobs. This is all about jobs. It’s all about helping those who are out of a job get into a job. It’s all about helping those that are in work, stay in work,” he said.
Exactly how the government will do that will be made clear tonight, when the budget is handed down.