From a disability perspective last night’s Budget had to answer three key questions.

Firstly, how does it leave people with disability and will the sector be better, or worse off than in the past? Secondly we need to ask if anyone loses out, or is it fair? That’s because if any other major group in society is left feeling excluded and angry then the budget won’t work. And finally, an extension of that question: will the country, as a whole, be better off?

Let’s go through these in turn. Firstly, the sector.

The good news is that the government still values disability with money allocated for the continued growth of the NDIS. The push to curb growth continues, but the scheme is still funded (if being made ‘more sustainable’).

An extra $175 million’s been allocated over the next four years to tackle fraud. On a more positive note though, an extra $424 million will be used to fund new supports. This is part of a drive to make the scheme more ‘evidence-based’, and developing programs that link people with disability with carers.

Improving the NDIS seems to be the aim, rather than growing it, with the budget stressing that this will ‘provide value for participants’. There will also be extra support for increasing accessibility in community spaces.

Money is also allocated to other supports not within the NDIS itself. The fact that consequent reductions in spending will be good for the government’s financial bottom line almost guarantees that these reforms will be driven with particular energy.

Programs that help to protect vulnerable people will likewise be enhanced. Although registration of providers won’t be increased, the government clearly wants to ensure the probity of the system by cracking down on operators seeking to exploit people with disability.

The budget will increase employment opportunities by establishing a Specialist Disability Employment Program. This will provide tailored support and create pathways to work, with a new Disability Employment Centre of Excellence improving the capacity of current employment service providers.

There will be a continued effort to collect relevant information from the sector and use this to improve policy and service delivery.

Even if they don’t change lives, these initiatives are all positive from a disability perspective. So let’s consider those other questions . . .

Like all pre-election budgets, the government was determined nobody would lose out and this was made clear with the one big shock of the night - a tax cut for everyone. Everyone.

The issue is, giving a cut to the poorest worker gives to the wealthy, too. So what’s that about?

Winning the election, of course. This money is really targetted at swinging voters in marginal electorates around the country. Even if this break comes down to only $10 a week, that still represents an extra free, large latte.

Will that be enough to win over votes? It’s difficult to know but this is, presumably, the thinking behind the cut.

So if it’s relatively good for the sector, and no other group is identifiably worse off, what’s it like for the country as a whole? Nobody will find anything really bad to point at but, just like any of Jim Chalmers’ other four budgets, there’s nothing really good to say about it either.

There’s no structural reform. There are deficits as far as the eye can see. The country is spending more than it saves. The interest bill is still growing.

It’s difficult to find a reason to go dancing in the streets. Just over $2 billion in savings, tens of billions in extra spending, and deficits stretching into the future as far as the eye can see . . .

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