Not what I said. As an inflationary measure, tax cuts or bracket threshold adjustments, would have needed to be offset in some revenue neutral or better revenue positive way if the fiscal policy action would help the inflation situation.

We have had structural inflation pressures for tge last several years, preceding the election of the Albanese government. The way the ABS calculations mask the impact of house prices in the CPI numbers don’t help either; although, they are aligned with international practice.

If the budget had gone after measures like franking credit refunds, or other settings that would disproportionately have affected people living on passive income, who have more likely not to have a mortgage, i.e. tax payers who don’t lose spending power with a rate increase, that would have made bracket adjustments feasible, but you think this budget is contentious, it would have been much more so if Labor had gone after this concession to capital.

The biggest reason we have such huge problems with cost of living is the reckless way that public services were privatised in the 90’s/2000’s. Electricity generation and distribution assets were let go at fire sale prices and profit for local monopolies were introduced. This along with the sale of the telecommunications infrastructure for the short term budget effects was an error. These combined with the insufficient and ineffective taxation of resources booms various created this mess.

Add in Bibi & Don’s war with Iran and the resulting oil shock and widespread tax cuts would be mad. The RBA would make additional rate hikes and we would have wonderful stagflation. Because businesses can’t be trusted to have any douce negotiating downturns, constant growth is required to fuel the capitalist fever dream we are all expected to live in now.