State Budget thread...
No doubt the Government had a task ahead of them this Budget. We all understand the impact of #COVID19
It was an opportunity to be hands on, to deliver a multi-faceted jobs plan, using the public sector to support employment. But it wasn’t that #politas

We already knew about the construction blitz which is great if you’re in construction. That spend is significant but nothing nearly as significant for other industries/demographics. There’s still a lot to unpack with this spend as well to see if it delivers actual jobs #politas

Unemployment is forecast to hit 8.5%. That’s a real worry especially if there’s no vaccine soon. The papers were clear that #JobKeeper helped keep our unemployment rate down. It’s going to go up soon when that support tapers off. This will hurt our bottom line #politas

The Government seem to be rushing to surplus in 2 years. Now is the time to borrow to fund jobs. Interest rates are low. We shouldn’t fear borrowing if it helps delivers jobs and services. The surplus fetish should not even be a consideration right now #politas

And lastly, jobs for women. We know women have been hit hard by COVID. Yet the Government tips billions into construction (80%+ male dominated) but only finds $2.5M to put together a plan to help women into jobs? Let’s just support industries with women eg the arts is 45% women.