A Tale of Two Speeches
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way — in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
In more normal times the last week would have involved two speeches to the Australian people that outlined the Federal Government’s and oppositions counter plans for the next 12 months. While these are not normal times, and no Federal Budget was released, two speeches were still given. One from the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and one from the opposition leader Anthony Albanese. While neither were a federal budget (and the promises they typically contain) both were an opportunity to present a vision for a post Covid-19 Australia.
Labor — Anthony Albanese
Unlike typical budget week the Opposition stole the march on the government giving a major address before the budget with Anthony Albanese’s his fifth vision statement. You could be forgiven for not immediately recalling his previous four (I had to Google them myself) but as a “budget-week” speech this one was considerably more important.
For the opposition it is easier to outline a grand future, especially when the election is so far away and Labor’s policy book is still in flux. This is not necessarily a bad thing. As Anthony Albanese was keen to highlight, many of Labors policy ideas during Covid-19 (and through the bushfires) have been adopted by the government.
Based on his speech the top 3 policies for a post Covid-19 future look to be a compact on jobs and skills (I can almost see a former Industry Minister’s hand in that one), a safety net that supports people (a clear nod to increasing job seeker payments), and an infrastructure program (essential for fans of the TV show Utopia).
The opposition leader was also keen to take the government to task, a clear indication that the bipartisan honeymoon was over. With an abysmal national broad band network and a manufacturing sector that saw the loss of our beloved Holden he was certainly right that it should not have taken a pandemic to understand the importance of investing in these areas. Although taking the government to task for not working well with the states or businesses and unions not getting along……well every Federal Government, Labor or Liberal faces these challenges at one point or another.
The Coalition — Josh Frydenberg
Political pundits were calling this The Treasurers most important speech of his career. It is unfortunate then that the initial coverage was of his coughing fit and not the substance of his speech. His speech seems also to have been over-shadowed by back-benchers growing skittish about the stimulus packages and the bleak economic picture being painted.
As with any budget statement Frydenberg was required to outline the current budget and economic position, not a pleasant task under the current circumstances to be sure. Deficit was higher by $9.9 billion than forecast and tax income was lower by $11.3 billion than forecast. This change was of course due to an increase in unemployment and the $320 billion provided in economic stimulus during the Covid-19 shutdowns. It is not surprising that the words “back in black” were never spoken with the 2019–20 federal budget being described as “back in balance” (it doesn’t have the same ring to it does it?).
Unfortunately, when the time came for future aspirations, the Treasurer’s speech followed the tried and tested (and election winning) strategy of business as usual. Which is to say they outlined what has happened but said little of their future plans. Only that they would follow the Coalitions’ values and principles (not easy with a broad church). It would be a safe bet that this would mean a greater push on cutting the corporate tax rate and, as the Prime Minister put forward, implementation of the “Shifting the Dial” report. A report that is no doubt being read by policy wonks around the country.
Arguably there was mention of the 850,000 jobs they are expected to return when restrictions are over, but realistically the restrictions have, and continue to be, within the remit of the states more than the federal government. Just ask the folks in the Northern Territory enjoying a pint at the pub.
The tale of two futures.
It is the tale of two potential futures. No one can deny in these unprecedented times (let’s be honest a Covid-19 story has to use that phrase, it’s the rules) there is an opportunity for great change. I think, what Australian’s need to consider, is whether the status quo was working for them pre-Covid19 or should the Government take this time to consider a new path.
