On Tuesday 14 May 2024, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered his third budget, the repercussions of which will shape the electoral landscape for Australia.
In ‘Budgeting a soft landing’ a post-budget special episode of the Democracy Sausage podcast, our Chief Executive Officer, Elizabeth Ames, speaks alongside Peter Martin AM, a Visiting Fellow at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and the Business and Economy Editor of The Conversation. Joining host Mark Kenny, they examine the impact of the budget on the Australian economy, how this budget sets the Labor Government up for an upcoming election, and whether this budget will help deliver a soft economic landing given the ongoing cost of living and inflationary pressures.
Elizabeth highlights the similarities between the recent UK Budget and the Australian one, in particular the cost of living subsidies for energy bills. Although she cautions that unless communicated properly to the electorate, the Australian Government may not see a polling benefit from the measure.
The discussion then moved to discuss the similarities and differences between the political systems of the United Kingdom and Australia, reflecting on the length of parliamentary terms and how these affects a nation's ability to implement policy. For the UK, there are almost two extra years per term, and Elizabeth drew attention to this difference, noting that “it gives [governments] a proper chance to embed policy…[in the UK] you get a government who is able to make decisions on day one and see them through, and then go back to an electorate and say, look what we’ve delivered.”
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Listen to the full episode here.
