Whether Australia’s budget has a surplus tells us little about the government’s worth – it’s all on the choices made

Australian treasurer Jim Chalmers delivering a pre-2024-25 budget address, which will be fully released in May. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/EPA

We are now a month away from the 2024-25 budget. And as with all budgets, the choices made matter much more than any big numbers that get the media attention.

The first thing to remember about budgets is caring about whether or not the budget is in surplus or deficit is a rather silly endeavour.