EDITORIAL: Budget that won’t stop biting causes agony for Labor

If it’s true that a rolling stone gathers no moss then it may follow that a snowballing budget picks up a lot of crap along the way.

It must be exhausting for the Treasurer trying to sell a shemozzle as a smorgasbord — all while attempting to outrun an avalanche.

The 93 people who would be most likely to say nice things about the budget denied themselves the opportunity this week, despite encouragement by the Coalition’s Dan Tehan.

Outside of the chamber, it’s hard to find anyone who wants to wax lyrical about Jim Chalmers’ budget. Especially those Labor voters who suddenly seem to find Pauline Hanson not quite so gauche after all.

In defence of one of the budget’s more scorned attributes — its proposal to replace the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with a minimum 30 per cent tax on inflation-adjusted capital gains — Mr Albanese said he was simply reverting to Paul Keating’s pre-1999 indexation model.

But they just can’t take a trick.

Questioned in parliament on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Jenny Wilkinson admitted Albanese’s claims were misleading.

Under questioning from Liberal Senator Claire Chandler, Ms Wilkinson said Labor’s Budget plan didn’t include the pre-1999 model of allowing capital gains to be averaged out over five years.

“So, Senator, that has not been part of the announcements that the Government’s made in relation to the tax package”, she said.

“That was not announced in the Budget.”

Ms Wilkinson also confirmed the capital gains tax from 1985 to 1999 did not impose a minimum 30 per cent tax on inflation-adjusted gains.

“No, it didn’t, Senator,” she said.

Mr Albanese was pressed during Question Time about the Treasury secretary’s contradiction.

“What we’ve moved from is a discount of 50 per cent to the discount system that was in place prior to 1999, which was a discount system based upon real gains. That was what was in place. That is the fundamental difference between the two distinctions,” he said.

Right…

Despite accusing critics of the budget of mounting a scare campaign “built on lies”, the Albanese government seems to be stooping the same level, using spin, obfuscation and flat out fallacy to win over big business, small business, the tech sector, start-ups, investors, retirees, homebuyers, households — pretty much everyone.

Meanwhile the Coalition, Greens and crossbench are strategising how they might force more intense scrutiny of the budget when it goes before the upper house, potentially derailing Labor’s plan to have the major pieces through by the end of June.

Just when they thought it couldn’t get any worse, Labor is being constantly wounded by a budget that won’t stop biting.

The wet reception shows no sign of ebbing, which provides an opportunity to the Coalition — the side of politics more renowned for financial credibility and fiscal nous.

And Jim’s in a jam because the government remains intent on ramming through a fundamentally unpopular budget it seems to believe people will grow fond of once they understand it better.

Except people understand it plenty.

Responsibility for the editorial comment is taken by Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore