Battling the hyperbole: Budget '07

$21 will buy you this great new shade of hair dye from L'Oreal!

Peter Costello has handed down a budget that aims to achieve two things:

1) Buy back the votes of the low and middle income earners who have been ignored by the Howard government when it comes to handing out tax cuts over the past 10 years. These people have only just started to wake up to the fact that Howard isn't really on their side, and obviously the government thinks it can be fixed with a long overdue tax cut. Sure, $21 per week is enough for a couple of lattes and slices of cake rather than the happy meal that low and middle income earners have been afforded by the Howard government up until now, but I don't see any mention of the $80+ per week taxcuts granted to high income earners last time around. Peter Costello's tax cuts merely illustrate whose votes the government thinks will be most crucial to its success at the election later this year.

2) Steal the thunder from Kevin Rudd's 'education revolution' (or whatever he's calling it) policy.

The Howard government's attitude to climate change? Piss on climate change! The money can be better spent on propaganda campaigns:

The Greens said the figures showed only $150 million a year would be spent on climate change, while the Government would spend $65 million on advertising its Work Choices change.

The Howard government's attitude to dental health? Throw a bit more money at it after their previous promises proved a lie, and their spending embarrassingly small. But the patients still have to be nearing death's door to be allowed to benefit:

The existing limited Medicare dental scheme, introduced in 2004, has fallen well short of government forecasts that 23,000 patients would benefit. It has been reported that the budget plan would increase that target to 200,000 over four years.

The modest rebate has meant patients have had to bear heavy gap costs, usually about $70 but in some cases more than $500, where a specialist dentist is required.

The scheme has been limited to patients whose dental problems are worsening other chronic illnesses and who have a referral from their doctor to see a dentist. Poor oral health can aggravate such conditions as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

It is unclear whether the Government will loosen these requirements in order to make it easier to qualify for Medicare dental cover.

$70 is more than a week's worth of food. People on welfare don't often have a 'spare' $70 to visit the dentist. And here we're talking about people who are suffering from chronic diseases, not healthier people, who have to pay fees up to hundreds of dollars every time they visit the dentist.

Either that or they can visit a public dentist, be seen by an inexperienced student, sent home in an unnecessary amount of pain only to have the filling fall out a week later, as happened to my brother's girlfriend (who is in the privileged position of being able to swear that she'll always see a private dentist from now on).

As for defence, the government wouldn't need to spend so much money on the Australian military if the money were actually poured into actual defence rather than trotting around the world, tongue out, after various US military disasters.

This budget isn't for the battler, despite what the panting media have so breathlessly reported. It's a pure and simple vote-buying exercise.

Will we be fooled again?


UPDATE:

Patrick's Budget 2007 post

Mikey's Budget 2007 post 1 & 2

Larry's Budget 2007 pre-election bribes post.