Let Them Eat Surplus

Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered his 2023–24 Budget on 9 May. It included some cost-of-living relief measures, but also a surplus of $4.2 billion – the first surplus in an Australian federal Budget in 15 years. Wes Mountain satirises the political win this represents for Labor, given that the Coalition traditionally campaigns as the fiscally responsible party. At the same time, he questions the wisdom of delivering a surplus during a cost-of-living crisis.