Pitch Engine
The Times


.

A budget for the ‘squeezed middle’ – but will it be the political circuit-breaker Labour wants?

  • Written by Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Massey University
A budget for the ‘squeezed middle’ – but will it be the political circuit-breaker Labour wants?Getty Images

One way to make sense of Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s fifth budget speech was to see it as a political performance working on different levels.

First, Labour needs this budget to do an immediate job – address concern with the cost of living. Following two years of pandemic-dominated politics, Robertson had to tell a...

Read more: A budget for the ‘squeezed middle’ – but will it be the political circuit-breaker Labour wants?

More Articles ...

  1. Raiding super early has already left women worse off. Let's not repeat the mistake for home deposits
  2. Proof positive. Real wages are shrinking, Wednesday's figures put it beyond doubt
  3. Are real wages falling? Here's the evidence
  4. Air of compromise: NZ's Emissions Reduction Plan reveals a climate budget that’s long on planning, short on strategy
  5. Elections used to be about costings. Here's what's changed
  6. Will the budget be another missed opportunity to get more New Zealanders out of their cars?
  7. The Russian invasion of Ukraine made everyone nervous, upending trade patterns for exporting countries like New Zealand
  8. Super for housing or the government as a co-owner: how Liberal and Labor home-buyer schemes compare
  9. Australia is bringing migrant workers back – but exploitation is still rampant. Here are 3 changes needed now
  10. The cost of living crisis means bolder budget decisions are needed to lift more NZ children out of poverty
  11. We all lose when charities compete with each other. They should join forces
  12. If governments were really concerned about tax and the cost of living they would cut the cost of childcare
  13. How well off you are depends on who you are. Comparing the lives of Australia's Millennials, Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers
  14. Electricity prices are spiking, ten times as much as normal. Here are some educated guesses as to why
  15. The age of hybrid working is here – how can businesses find the right mix between office and home?
  16. Even if next week’s budget avoids the issue, it’s time New Zealand seriously considered a wealth tax
  17. Stand by for the oddly designed Stage 3 tax cut that will send middle earners backwards and give high earners thousands
  18. Tiny and alternate houses can help ease Australia's rental affordability crisis
  19. Poverty isn’t a temporary experience in Australia. We need urgent policy tackling persistent disadvantage
  20. Australia is investigating a digital currency, or e-dollar, but its benefits seem slight and the risks to privacy large
  21. The Coalition is guaranteeing essential services and lower tax. We can't have both
  22. Australia is missing 500,000 migrants, but we don't need visa changes to lure them back
  23. Brands can be rewarded for social activism – but they also risk losing customers to apolitical rivals
  24. RBA Governor Philip Lowe is hiking interest rates. Worst case, it'll mean an extra $600 per month on a $500,000 mortgage
  25. Why the RBA should go easy on interest rate hikes: inflation may already be retreating and going too hard risks a recession
  26. Labor says power prices are going up. The Coalition says they aren't. Who's right?
  27. For first homebuyers, it's Labor's Help to Buy versus the Coalition's New Home Guarantee. Which is better?
  28. Central banks hunt in packs. Here's why ours ought to be wary about lifting the cash rate
  29. Clive Palmer's promise to cap mortgage rates at 3% would make it much harder to get a home loan
  30. More affordable housing with less homelessness is possible – if only Australia would learn from Nordic nations
  31. Fiji is officially ‘open for happiness' – will that apply to its tourism workers too?
  32. Inflation hits an extraordinary 5.1%. How long until mortgage rates climb?
  33. Elon Musk's Twitter takeover isn't quite a done deal: what happens now
  34. Cut yourself and others some slack: we need more time to experiment and fail at work
  35. There are 4 economic wildcards between now and election day. The first gets played this week
  36. How can more people be on unemployment benefits than before COVID, with fewer unemployed Australians? Here's how
  37. It's not all nomadland: how #vanlife made mobile living a middle-class aspiration
  38. All new smaller size! Why getting less with shrinkflation is preferable to paying more
  39. Regional journalism is dying: advertising subsidies won't help
  40. Natural disasters cost the nation: we've calculated the income tax revenue lost in their wake
  41. PEFO tells us Morrison has abandoned some secret promises, but his books are in order
  42. Cheaper food comes with other costs – why cutting GST isn't the answer
  43. This economic model tipped the last 2 elections – and it's now pointing to a Coalition win
  44. Australia would be among the biggest economic losers from a new cold war
  45. Technically our unemployment rate now begins with a '3'. How do we keep it there?
  46. Artificial intelligence may take your job. Some lessons from my grandmother
  47. Forget the election gaffes: Australia's unemployment rate of 4% is good news – and set to get even better by polling day
  48. What our negative comments and consumer gripes on social media reveal about us
  49. The overwork pandemic: Ashley Bloomfield's resignation highlights burnout on the COVID-19 front line
  50. Renters spend 10 times as much on housing as petrol. Where's their cost-of-living relief?
hacklink hack forum hacklink film izle hacklink online casinos australiaonwinonline casino australiaDeneme bonusu veren siteler 2026Grandpashabetjojobet girişbetparkjojobetmeritkingbets10casibomjojobetagen bolabahis siteleriholiganbetcasibomlunabetvaycasinolimanbetjojobet