Experts review the 2014 budget

This budget could devastate Indigenous Australians

Mick Gooda writes: from cuts to youth welfare to the new Medicare co-payment, the budget will have a profound impact on Indigenous Australians. Will the Federal Government speak to Aboriginal leaders before proceeding? Click here to read more.

This budget prioritises high income-earners

Ross Gittins writes: [Hockey] chose to focus on cutting three big classes of government spending: health, education, and income-support programs (pensions, the dole and family tax benefits). Not by chance, these are the programs of least importance to high income-earners. And while slashing away at health, education and income support, he was also busy abolishing the carbon tax, the mining tax paid largely by three huge foreign mining companies, cutting the rate of company tax by 1.5 percentage points and exempting federal grants to private schools from his education cuts. Click here to read more.

Student fee hike will force many women to pay more for education

Daniel Hurst writes: "Women who take time off work to have a baby face paying 30% more than their male counterparts in interest on their university student loans, according to new analysis of the Abbott government's higher education changes. The proposed overhaul – which faces an uncertain fate in the Senate – includes the removal of restrictions on the fees universities could charge students, decreasing the public funding for each course by an average of 20%, and increasing the interest charged via the Higher Education Loan Program (Help)". Click here to read more.

This budget means students will pay more, and are more likely to accumulate huge debt

Matthew Knott and Heath Gilmore write: "University degrees will cost up to three times as much under a deregulated fee system, leaving graduates with $120,000-plus debts, according to the architect of the HECS student loan scheme. Bruce Chapman, regarded as one of Australia's leading education economists, also warned that increasing the interest rate for student debts would hit poor graduates and women the hardest. Click here to read more.

This budget goes hard on young Australians

Bridie Jabour writes: "People under 30 will receive Newstart and Youth Allowance for only six months of the year which they will spend undertaking 25 hours a week on Work for the Dole programs. The Abbott government's first budget revealed job seekers applying for Newstart or Youth Allowance, who have not been previously employed, will face a six-month waiting period of no income support before they are eligible for payments by undertaking 25 hours a week in the Work for the Dole program." Click here to read more.

This budget puts our most vulnerable at risk

Lauren Wilson writes: "Almost a quarter of Australians on welfare are currently unable to afford medical treatment when needed and a third are unable to buy medicines prescribed by a doctor. The findings, contained in the Salvation Army's annual Economic and Social Impact Study, to be released today, have raised fresh concerns about how some of Australia's poorest families will cope when the federal government's new $7 GP co-payment and changes to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme come into effect on 1 July next year". Click here to read more.

Miki Perkins writes: "The Salvation Army has warned it expects a surge in people searching for emergency relief if federal budget cuts to welfare are passed, increasing the already significant number of Australians living in entrenched and grinding poverty." Click here to read more.

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This budget puts greater restrictions on people with a disability

Tessa van der Riet writes: "Changing the requirements for those on the disability support pension, as announced in the federal budget, is "completely ludicrous", says disabilities advocate Stella Young. "The reassessment of people on the disability support pension is always going to be a problem," Ms Young said. "It doesn't necessarily create jobs in the labour market, it doesn't create opportunities."" Click here to read more.>

This budget keeps life easy for high-income earners

Ben Phillips writes: "My overall impression is it's not really sharing the pain, the pain is largely going to lower and middle income families, and quite fundamentally, when you look at the forward estimates to 2017-18. High income families generally won't be hit all that hard, especially once you get to 2017-18 where they won't be hit at all when the deficit levy is gone. Click here to read more.

This budget spells trouble for rural Australians

Lesley Barclay writes: "People living in remote and rural Australia already have a shorter life expectancies and higher rates of premature deaths. Last week's federal budget will not only make that worse, it will introduce even more problems." Click here to read more.

This budget is bad news for the environment

Graham Readfearn writes, "The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority now has $600,000 per year less at a time when the coastline is the focus of multiple new developments and facing an embarrassing "in danger" listing by the World Heritage Committee. Not touched were subsidies to fossil fuel companies and miners, such as the tax credit that saves multi-billion dollar firms about $2.4 billion a year on their fuel costs." Click here to read more.

This budget will send us backwards on climate and renewables

John Connor writes: "If there was ever any doubt that the election of the Abbott Government might slam the brakes on Australia's climate and clean energy progress, it's now over. With the Government's first budget, it's reversing at full speed. This is the Backwards Budget - a budget that shifts the burden for pollution reduction from polluters to taxpayers. A budget that slashes renewable energy agencies and funding programs that are helping create the jobs and industries of the 21st century. A budget that rips hundreds of millions of dollars away from climate science, international climate finance and clean technology research programs. Click here to read more.

This budget takes a swipe at public broadcasters

Matthew Knott writes: "The managing directors of the ABC and SBS have criticised the Abbott government for breaking a pre-election promise not to cut funding to the broadcasters. Treasurer Joe Hockey revealed in Tuesday's budget that $43.5 million will be cut from the ABC and SBS over four years, with more cuts expected when an efficiency review of the broadcasters is complete. The ABC will also lose funding for the $223 million Australia Network international broadcasting service. Click here to read more.

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This budget will take money from secular services, and put it for religious services

Eliza Borello writes: "A school group says the scrapping of funding for non-religious counsellors under the National School Chaplaincy Program is doing students a disservice. Kylie Catto from the West Australian Council of State School Organisations is unhappy with the move. "State schools provide for a very diverse population of students, the current program gives them the option of having a school chaplain or a student welfare worker, we think that works well, giving schools the choice and we believe removing the choice is inappropriate," Ms Catto said." Click here to read more.