Here Is A Simple Budget Explainer Because My British Boss Asked For One

    The US has Trump, France has a new president, the UK has an election... Australia has a budget!

    Mark Di Stefano
    by Mark Di Stefano

    BuzzFeed News Political Editor, Australia

    Richard, my British boss, asked me the other day: "Mark, can you write a really simple explainer about the Budget?" I was like: "Gosh, Richard. Can I live?"

    Mick Tsikas / AAPIMAGE

    But OK. Take a seat Richard and everyone else.

    Let's start with Scott Morrison, the guy on the left shaking the prime minister's hand.

    Morrison is the federal treasurer and this is his second Budget. Friends and journalists like to call him "ScoMo", which led him using it on Facebook.

    Facebook

    Good way to ruin a cool nickname if you ask me, but OK.

    What do you need to know about Morrison? He's the guy best known for putting in place Australia's controversial "stop the boats" asylum seeker policy.

    Tourism Australia

    He also made this ^ famous TV ad. True story.

    On the second Tuesday of May each year, the treasurer reveals how the government plans to spend Australian taxpayers' money.

    Lukas Coch / AAPIMAGE

    "Wait that's this year's Budget right there!" Yes, yes it is.

    It's already been printed, but won't be released until Morrison stands up at precisely 7:30pm AEST in parliament for his special Budget speech.

    In the lead up, Morrison takes part in several theatrical displays. Like, here he is getting out of a car.

    Lukas Coch / AAPIMAGE

    Standing in front of the Treasury building.

    Lukas Coch / AAPIMAGE

    And scoffing his face with pizza.

    Twitter: @7NewsSydney

    Yes! Channel Seven really did spy Morrison knocking back some late night pizza as he worked on the Budget over the weekend. Things get heaps weird in Canberra this time of year.

    Twitter: @7NewsSydney

    Governments like to have ~themes~ in Budgets. This year, Morrison and Turnbull have come up with a line that you'll hear repeated a lot: "There are better days ahead".

    Things aren't great and Morrison knows it. The latest data shows people's wages in Australia aren't growing and things are getting more expensive

    Morrison has already announced some pretty big things that will be in the Budget.

    Dean Lewins / AAPIMAGE

    There'll be billions of dollars for a new Sydney airport, a few hundred million for the Australian Federal Police and some new measures that might make buying a house a little easier.

    If you're a pensioner or single parent, there's a $75 one-off payment to help with power bills.

    CBS / Via gph.is

    However, it doesn't come close to the tax cut that politicians are getting with the expiry of the deficit levy.

    If you're a university student you probably got your bad news last week: uni fees are going up and the income threshold at which you start paying back student loans is coming down.

    amber nelson @ambmarienelson

    me looking at another year of student loan debt and thinking about how screwed my future is

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    Of course, in the background, is former prime minister Tony Abbott. Expect to hear a lot from him in the next week or so, because Abbott is NOT A FAN of the direction the government is headed.

    Mark Di Stefano 🤙🏻 @MarkDiStef

    When the universe gives you the perfect visual metaphor

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    Tl;dr it's a huge moment not just for the economy, which is growing very slowly, but for Malcolm Turnbull and his government which is behind in the polls.

    Lukas Coch / AAPIMAGE

    Does that help, Richard? I hope it helps. There's still a lot of unknowns which makes it all terribly exciting.

    gph.is

    You can follow all our Budget coverage from Canberra on Facebook here.

    Scott Morrison @ScottMorrisonMP

    Let's go sharks

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