'Shuffling the Deck'

BUDGET 2.0 2022-23 SUMMARY

With seven months until the 2023-24 Budget is released in May 2024, it is fair to say that this Budget 2.0 for 2022-23 is a shuffling of the deck and not a new set of cards.

 

See the full budget summary from Power Tynan.

There is nothing in this Budget that would create a UK style crisis. The stage 3 tax cuts legislated to commence on 1 July 2024 are not mentioned, and most funding initiatives appear to be a reallocation of previous Government initiatives.

 

And, the commodity driven $54.4 billion improvement in tax receipts has largely been banked, not spent. 

Key budget initiatives include:

• Inflation forecast to peak at 7¾ per cent in the December quarter of 2022.
• Labour market conditions are expected to remain tight and are expected to see annual wage growth pick up to 3¾ per cent by June 2023.
• Electricity and gas prices are expected to rise sharply over the next 2 years. Treasury has assumed retail.
  electricity prices will increase by an average of 20% nationally in late 2022.

• Energy grants for SMEs, although detail is lacking.