Scott Morrison to pitch budget for ‘middle Australia’

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has outlined his plan for the next budget, saying he will focus on helping relieve the pressure on ‘middle Australia’.

Morrison said housing affordability, the cost of living and health care services are all in his sights as he prepares to hand down the budget in May.

Speaking with The Australian, Morrison indicated he would boost spending on hospitals and education and possibly end the Medicare rebate freeze.

“At a time when wages growth is admittedly and, regrettably, flat, I think Australians, particularly hard-working Australians on middle­ incomes, rely more and more and depend more and more upon these services,” he said.

“Hard-working Austral­ian families rely on these services and I think an important message for the government is to ensure that we give them that confidence about that, that they can rely on those services, and they can rely on them under a Coalition government.

“And so the budget does need to signal, I think … that people can feel confident about the support for those services.”

He signalled the government would scrap the $9bn National Housing Affordability Agreement, saying they had been “shelling out billions and billions and billions for a program that isn’t achieving anything”.

While there was no specific mention of seniors or the pension, Morrison earlier told Sky News he would be addressing housing affordability for both buyers and renters to try to make it easier for all Australians meet the costs.

What do you think of Morrison’s proposals? Do you think this budget sounds reasonable? What would you like the government to address in the budget?