The usual crowd has already been making loud noises about how unfair and harsh the budget is for specific groups. (Pensioners, school leavers etc.)
The government has been saying for weeks that EVERYBODY will have to put in for the economy to improve. What part of EVERYBODY didn't they understand? The loudest noises will come from those groups who represent the sectors of the community that absorb the largest proportion of government expenditure, (such as ACOSS and pensioners) so surely they had to accept that those areas would be affected adversely in some way.
Certainly, some sectors of the community are less able to sustain increased costs of living than others, but the welfare mentality that has pervaded this country for so many years has led to the conviction that hand-outs and subsidies are a God-given right, to be paid for by somebody else.
As always happens with budgets, there will be winners and losers. I think that in the long run, everybody will benefit in some way that might not seem so obvious right now. That's from the Federal angle. However, it will be interesting to see what effect the budget has on the States, and how they juggle their budgets if their funding for health and education is cut.
Of course, it's all immaterial at the moment, because the opposition has made it clear they will block the majority of the increases and cuts. Even the PUP has indicated it believes the budget is excessively harsh and unfair, so just how the government will get this one past the Senate is anybody's guess.
