Expect a lot of talk about Australia’s deficit, but remember the golden rule: budgets are always about choices

‘The global economic uncertainty index is now as high as it was right at the start of the pandemic … How will the government respond?’ writes Greg Jericho ahead of Jim Chalmers handing down the 2025 Australian federal budget. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP

Ahead of next week’s federal budget, it is time to remind you of my budget commandment: “Everything is affordable if the government chooses to care about it.” There has never been a true priority of a government, or an emergency, or urgent expense which has not been paid for because the government could not afford it, because it had to “live within its means”.

I point this out because we are going to hear a lot about budget decisions and deficits and I want you all to realise that every single thing done and not done in the budget is because of a choice made by the government. Nothing happens “just because”.