Health Minister Mark Butler has possibly let slip there will not be a federal budget on March 25, referring to a “budget update” before the next election.
Butler is doing the media rounds this morning as he promotes Labor’s flagship Medicare policy, to pour $8.5 billion into broadening bulk-billing incentives and providing bonuses to GPs who opt to bulk-bill. Within hours of its announcement on Sunday, the Coalition confirmed it would match the funding.
Asked on Nine’s Today how the government would fund the policy, Butler appeared to slip when discussing what budget details the public would receive before the election. With the election date still not set, the government is due to hand down its fourth budget on March 25.
Health Minister Mark Butler announces Labor’s “Strengthening Medicare” policy in Launceston in Sunday.Credit: Brodie Weeding
“[Savings] will be laid out before the Australian people at the next budget update, well before they have the chance to cast a vote,” he said.
Today presenter Sarah Abo interrupted, asking: “Did you say update or next budget before the election? Because that’s telling.”
“Well, the budget is a budget update, whether … we’re getting one before the next election or whether it’s an update before the election, I don’t get to determine the election time,” Butler replied.
It’s possible that if Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces a March or April election, the March 25 budget could be scrapped, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers instead delivering a truncated budget update. The Australian Financial Review reported on Sunday that Labor was mulling this option.
When Abo suggested that it sounded like Butler “might have just let something slip”, Butler replied: “Whenever the next election is … all of those numbers are going to be laid out before the Australian people.”
Read the full article here
