Australia spends billions of dollars every year on things like health, education and defence but when the numbers are so big, it’s easy to lose perspective on how taxpayers’ money is spent.
Around $550 billion was collected in tax by the Australian government in 2021/22, making up 92 per cent of the total revenue the government collects, with other money coming in from GST.
In the same year, the government spent $623 billion including for its own running costs and to cover things like social security and welfare, as well as natural disaster responses.
But let’s break the big numbers down to something a bit more relatable. Let’s pretend the federal budget is not more than $600 billion, but instead $50.
Of this, the government would have spent $17.77 on social security and welfare, which includes spending on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), unemployment payments and the aged pension.
Around $8.52 of this $50 is spent on health, $3.47 on education and $3.07 on defence.
Some of the Budget’s $623 billion worth of expenses converted to equivalent amounts if total expenses were $50. Source: SBS News
Natural disaster relief cost the government 47 cents in a year that saw
floods devastate the Lismore community
and other parts of NSW, as well as areas in Queensland. Western Australian roads and highways were also washed away by
a “once-in-ten-year” event
.
Other spending includes subsidies to the mining, manufacturing and construction industries, equivalent to 31 cents, and funding for the management of the immigration system, which costs around 27 cents.
Leading up to the Albanese government’s first budget to be delivered on Tuesday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers flagged the cost of natural disasters could again have implications for the budget, as well as for cost-of-living pressures.
“It is too early for us to put a very precise price tag on the flooding that we’re seeing through such large swathes of Australia but we do know that there will be consequences for the economy and for the budget,” Mr Chalmers told reporters on Friday.
Mr Chalmers has said he will deliver a “bread and butter” budget.
“The budget will provide responsible cost‑of‑living relief in childcare, in medicines, in the cost of education, paid parental leave, and in other ways,” he said.
But Mr Chalmers said cuts would also be necessary due to a large amount of debt.
