APRIL 5, 2019

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There’s a maple tree in a Parliament House courtyard known as the Budget Tree, so named because treasurers have often stood under it to give post-budget press conferences.

By May, its leaves are usually flaming red. But this year the budget was rushed forward a month and held in April, so the tree’s hand-like leaves remain green. Maybe it’s a good omen for the government, which has finally found some breathing space ahead of the election.

If you didn’t have time this week, please browse through our in-depth coverage of budget week and as ever, let us know what you think by emailing boss@crikey.com.au.

Have a great weekend,

Bhakthi Puvanenthiran
Managing Editor

Budget 2019

This is a budget short on narrative but long on tactical spending

BERNARD KEANE 2 minute read

The government has adopted a firefighter approach to its political troubles, aiming a hose of money at at-risk seats or areas where Labor is threatening it.

The Liberals’ road to surplus was built on hard work – but whose?

BERNARD KEANE 4 minute read

Mathias Cormann has been crucial to the return to surplus forecast for next year. But so too has the Liberal Party's addiction to taxing Australians.

Can you trust what the budget says about the economy?

JASON MURPHY 3 minute read

It’s near impossible to make a budget in an atmosphere of such economic uncertainty.

Dark matter, cessnas and spin bowlers – a stroll past the budget’s more unusual choices

JASON MURPHY 3 minute read

An underground physics laboratory to study dark matter in Stawell? You bet. Visa exemptions for spin bowlers? Absolutely!

These impractical bleak evenings

DAN WOOD 4 minute read

The budget lock-up is an unnecessary, sometimes funny, occasionally grim affair.

The last lesson from my old teacher, George Pell

NELSON GROOM 3 minute read

One of George Pell's former pupils reflects on the gut feelings he once brushed aside.

Apocalypse today: the dangers of delaying climate policy

IAN DUNLOP 6 minute read

Putting it off until later has been an unofficial policy for far too long — delays on climate policy are a threat to our survival.

Disillusioned Australia has a serious case of politics envy

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Trans-Tasman rivalry is normally restricted to either the sporting field or disputes about the origins of various (Kiwi) successes — from Phar Lap and the pavlova, to Russell Crowe and Neil Finn. Thanks to Jacinda Ardern and John Key, a new area of competition is emerging: politics, and more specifically prime ministers. — Ross Stitt

Australia’s declining trust in politics and politicians paints a vastly different picture to our friends in New Zealand, where voter satisfaction remains high.

What does it take to be sacked from a broadcast job?

EMILY WATKINS 3 minute read

A look over recent history suggests it depends on how much cash you're bringing in.

Labor’s patchwork climate policy a retreat from past bravery

BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

Labor has retreated to a shopping list of emissions abatement measures rather than attempt a more economically efficient solution. And its mates will be looked after, as always.

Pauline Hanson accidentally throws media supporters under the bus

GLENN DYER 2 minute read

Pauline Hanson's complaints about foreign-owned media in Australia ignore the fact that the majority of her media supporters are employed by News Corp.

The Brexit process questions the possibility of true democracy

GUY RUNDLE 4 minute read

The most obvious effect of the Brexit process has been to thaw and reflow various arrangements of power and convention.

Doug Cameron was right all along

BERNARD KEANE 4 minute read

Former union official and Labor senator Doug Cameron once looked like a dinosaur. But the collapse of neoliberalism has shown him to be far more insightful than many of us gave him credit for.

Is the government doing enough to tackle the Indigenous suicide crisis?

KISHOR NAPIER-RAMAN 3 minute read

Josh Frydenberg promised millions of additional funding for youth mental health services. But was the government's funding for Indigenous suicide prevention good enough?

Does anyone in Australia think Newstart is adequate?

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Leaving aside those bleeding hearts at the Australian Unemployed Workers Union and the Australian Council of Social Services — who, as you would expect, favour a lift to the rate — it’s worth looking at where the community and interest groups are at on this one. Is the payment adequate as it stands? — Charlie Lewis

Last night’s budget was the 25th without an increase (in real terms) to the Newstart unemployment benefit.

Playing the Equivocation Game with Bill Shorten and the ALP

CHARLIE LEWIS 4 minute read

All the things Bill Shorten wants us to think he's said, even though he didn't actually say them.

What’s the point of a political grudge match?

GRETA PARRY 4 minute read

Roxane Gay's latest tour with conservative Christina Hoff Sommers was pitched as "meeting of the minds". It shouldn't come as a surprise that it ended in a mess.

How did the lucky country end up with an energy crisis?

AMANDA MURPHY 3 minute read

Australia is a continent full of abundant energy resources. Yet it seems we are facing an energy crisis. Exactly how has it all gone wrong?

Scott Morrison finally finds his star candidate for Reid

KISHOR NAPIER-RAMAN 3 minute read

After months of fumbling, Scott Morrison has settled on a "star candidate" to replace Craig Laundy in the marginal Sydney seat of Reid. But is it too late?