March 28, 2025

Blow the Budget

It has to be said that my interest in politics doesn't extend to spending the evening watching the Treasurer pontificate on how his side of politics - which is also the government - will manage the nation's finances for the coming year. And why Labor will make a better fist of it than the Liberal Opposition. In Australia Budget Night is always on a Tuesday, although not generally in March. This year the different date is due to an election that all the pundits say will be called on Friday (today) after the Opposition leader Dutton has given his right of reply on Thursday night. And no, I wasn't about to watch that one either.


Tuesday is also the day I'm usually scrambling to write my contribution to the weekly word game I've been playing for a number of years. I always intend being better organised instead of leaving it to the last moment. It rarely happens. This week the words seemed to fit neatly into a pithy comment involving Budget avoidance.


I even managed to send it off before we did indeed head out to a restaurant to have dinner with firiends.


"Tonight's the night when some of the politically engaged will submerge themselves at 7.30pm listening to the annual Budget speech. No doubt there will be many who will beat their breast, either with exhilaration, disgust or disappointment at the Treasurer's words. Others will simply express their pandiculation and flick the dial to Netflix. As for us, well we decided to switch off the TV altogether and enjoy an amiable evening out with friends. The Budget blues (or bonanza) can wait until tomorrow."


The highlighted words are the ones that had to be included in this week's offering.


And right on cue, PM Albanese called the election first thing this morning. We're off to the polls on 3rd May.  The pundits have been saying the result will be a minority government. I have no problem with that - providing the election will also see several more Greens going to Canberra. #smashtheduopoly

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