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Commercial free-to-air TV must love it. Likewise, the streaming services.
If anything is guaranteed to get viewers switching from the ABC, it's budget night, followed later in the week by the budget reply speech. Drying paint is more compelling, especially in the modern era when so much of what's in the budget is released in the days and weeks leading up to it.
![The finance minister Katy Gallagher and Treasurer, Jim Chalmers are "drip feeding" the budget to us. Picture by Elesa Kurtz The finance minister Katy Gallagher and Treasurer, Jim Chalmers are "drip feeding" the budget to us. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/203652251/80519eb9-5cbd-4335-a2dd-77cbba3c5d1f.jpg/r0_341_8080_4884_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Long gone are the screaming tabloid headlines "BEERS, CIGS UP" over stories phoned in from the budget lockup. With so much now known in advance, it's a mystery the lockup persists. The media is drip-fed over weeks, generally with the good news but sometimes with hints of the bad stuff in an effort to dampen expectations. After a while those drips can feel like water torture.
Governments learned long ago to tightly manage information about the upcoming budget. The leaks which once burnished political journalists' reputations for getting the inside story were replaced. Details were deliberately "leaked" until we all saw through the ruse. After that, information was "dropped" ahead of the big night.
That leaves us where we're at now, facing yet another boring routine in which the Treasurer slaps himself on the back, repeats his tired "we know people are doing it tough" schtick, perhaps delivers one "surprise" and everyone on the government benches applauds while those opposite glare back, stony-faced.
The farce continues with the budget reply speech in which the Opposition leader tries to convince the eight or so viewers watching that he could have done a much better job without revealing exactly how. It's at that point the 16th repeat of Vera begins to look like a better viewing option.
But if you think viewers get the raw deal, spare a thought for us in the media on the day after the budget. Our in-boxes collapse under the weight of missives from every interest group imaginable. From the Federation of Roundabout Beautifiers to the National Society of Umbrella Preservers, they all have something to say. Add the unsolicited invitations from universities offering "expert" comment from their academics and it usually takes until June to clear out all the emails.
The tragic aspect to all this is that we should be interested in the budget. After all, it's our money being spent - or not spent where we think it ought to be. We need to be satisfied that billions being poured into nuclear submarines is as important as rent assistance, that school funding is up to scratch and there's enough cash to fix the potholes which have been around for five years.
I suspect it's in any government's interest - Liberal or Labor - to make budget night as boring as possible. If it was compelling, us voters would pay more attention and that could spell trouble at the ballot box.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you watch the Treasurer's budget speech? Or the Opposition Leader's reply? Has the whole budget process become too stage-managed? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- NSW is the most generous state in Australia with 42 per cent of residents saying they donate to charity at least once a year, according to a new survey. In contrast, 64 per cent of Victorians say they gave less than usual in the last 12 months due to the rising cost of living and 41 per cent are considering reducing their contributions.
- The eSafety Commissioner has criticised an "illusory" claim by Elon Musk's X/Twitter that the social media platform's refusal to take down clips of a Sydney bishop being violently stabbed was in the name of free speech. The internet watchdog has sued X Corporation in the Federal Court after clips of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed during a live-streamed sermon on April 15 remained on the platform for Australian users to see.
- A woman who lied to police about her Tesla being on autopilot when she hit a pedestrian has been sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. Sakshi Agrawal struck 26-year-old nurse Nicole Lagos as she tried to board a tram on a March morning in Melbourne in 2022, before fleeing the scene.
THEY SAID IT: "A budget tells us what we can't afford, but it doesn't keep us from buying it." - William Feather
YOU SAID IT: Before we embrace we embrace a future made in Australia, we should remember the past made in Australia.
Horst writes: "When I arrived here, I was impressed with some very well-built products. There was a quiet model of hand dryer of which a few are still in use. But now Mr Dyson's noisy machines which are supposed to dry your hands quickly just blast the water including germs around the room and I guess, their main achievement was a considerable contribution to the COVID pandemic. A preference for Australian goods is fine, as long as it doesn't override any other considerations."
"My fondest memory is of my Holden Kingswood," writes Murray. "It never once stranded me as the mechanics of it were so simple that I could maintain it myself and it just kept going under pretty rough conditions on bush roads. With increasing automation and AI, I believe a local manufacturing industry is now not only feasible but quite cost effectively competitive in our country. Also we already possess the raw materials to manufacture these ourselves, we should look at manufacturing here again and so stop our reliance on foreign countries for many of our basic needs."
Phil writes: "Modern manufacturing requires huge capital investment. To be competitive on the world market requires massive automated factories with a few highly trained skilled staff. The Hyundai/KIA factory in South Korea factory is worth about $200 billion, more than the worth of every mining and bank company in Australia. Attracting that sort of investment and training that many skilled engineers ain't gonna happen."
"The Queensland government announced that it will contribute a billion dollars of taxpayer money towards building the world's first quantum computer in Brisbane," writes Peter. "This investment will create around 400 jobs, at around $2.5 million per job. Applying The Echidna's benchmark, that's about 1,666,666 pairs of RM Williams boots. Then there's the AUKUS submarine program, which at $380 billion is the equivalent of about 633,333,333 pairs of RMs. Is Australian manufacturing expensive? Not if you wear thongs."
Sandra writes: "You had it right in the last paragraph. Made in Australia items were too expensive. Which has always puzzled me. We export all our natural gas, wheat wool and actors. Maybe stick to exporting."
"You mention RM Williams boots," writes Bill. "I bought a pair in 1994 as I believed they were the best thing since sliced bread - cost a fortune, leather soles and as shiny as a new pin. But they were the most uncomfortable boots I have ever owned, even worse than the army boots issued to me in cadets at school in 1963. Found out later that Blundstone (now offshore) and Mongrel boots were by far a better buy for comfort and price."
Deb writes: "I really miss Australian-made shoes. They were fashionable, well made, and were available in half-sizes. These days most shoes, even quite expensive ones, are made in China and don't come in half-sizes. I haven't had a pair of truly comfortable shoes since the 1990s."
"Well said, John," writes Old Donald from Lake Macquarie. "I recall fighting rust in cars of the 1960s and '70s including the early Japanese lot with fish oil (drowning them in it, to the delirious joy of every cat in the neighbourhood) but some of the newer Jap models woke up pretty fast (Subaru, Honda) and dragged our lot up with them. Ultimately our guys just threw in the towel on the whole industry. In too many cases we've sat on our laurels while other countries develop our basic concepts ... and therein lies much of the problem for The Lucky Country."
Sue writes: "I still have a Hills Hoist, although it is a bit lopsided, courtesy of its other function as play equipment. I grew up with an Early Kooka. Mum said it was wonderful by comparison with the slow combustion/firebox variety she learned to cook on. Our Early Kooka was slightly rusted at the base. Our dachshund loved it. She would lie upside down under the stove whenever it was on, even in summer, and would stay there even when the milk from the overcooked rice pudding trickled through the rust holes onto her stomach. An Australian manufacturing industry could be feasible but it would really depend on finding the niche. We are dealing with too many expenses already to pay unnecessary costs."
"I was told by a public servant involved with AWA that, while their TVs were not great, their carpentry workshop produced world class handmade TV cabinets," writes Rick. "His view was that AWA should give up TVs and focus on bespoke timber furniture."
David from Nowra recalls a conversation he had with a bloke who was on the design team of the P76. "He told us the original P76 boot was a copy of the Holden HK, HT, HG, but everything had to be ratified by British Leyland. Leyland Australia sent two examples of the finished cars to England for approval. Months later the cars returned in the form we know them as, with a note: 'This design will sell incredibly well, we know your market better than you do!' This included the 'famous' boot and the host of cheaper designed inclusions that fell off during use."
"The problem in the past was that Australian manufacturing was protected by trade barriers, so there was little competition or incentive to ensure quality production," writes Ian. "While the reduction of tariffs forced many out of business, many niche and specialist manufacturing industries survived, so there is potential here for the right products and industries. Many highly profitable international companies are thriving on Australian patents, because the Australian developers of those patents couldn't get development capital in Australia. Take solar panels and wireless for starters. The problem now is that many of our 'best and brightest', including those with innovative ideas, are forced overseas because there is no employment or development support for their ideas here."