Albo Increasingly Nervous That His Gung-Ho Treasurer Might Betray Labor Values By Doing Something

CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT

Australian business leaders and everyday people who became millionaires because they were born before the release of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope are waiting on tonight's Federal Budget with baited breath, after weeks of media speculations and relentless leaks from the Treasurer's office.

Even when using the most vague language possible, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has sent shockwaves through the political and media class by declaring that Australians can expect "more than the usual amount of savings and more than the usual amount of reform". 

As far as anyone knows at this point, it seems the government is expected to make unprecedented and reckless changes to negative gearing, trusts and the capital gains taxes of property assets and investments.

However, all of this is speculation is based on off-the-record thought bubbles that Chalmers has mentioned to journalist from the Canberra press gallery.

Meanwhile, the impregnable and generationally talented Federal Opposition are preparing to dismantle even the slightest sign of an ambitious May Budget.

At time of press, the Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson was tearing strips off the government for betraying Australians by daring the backpedal on pre-election promises to not do anything, even if economic circumstances change drastically because of a major war in the Middle East.

With only a few hours before Jim Chalmers takes the floor to outline his ambitions, the pre-budget hysteria is currently at feverpitch.

Right around the country, there has been a firesale of investment properties, as the nation's financially illiterate and accidental wealth-hoarders rush to get in front of major changes to tax loopholes that nobody has even clarified yet.

However, nobody is more nervous than Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is currently freaking out that he might have appointed the wrong bloke to Federal Treasurer.

The PM was unequivocal in his promise to not change capital gains tax or negative gearing ahead of the last election, and has spent his last term and a half as the leader of a majority government by playing it very safe.

As the hype around this May budget continues to grow, so do the fears from Labor party heavyweights that perhaps this gung-ho Queenslander is starting to think he could pull off some bold Paul Keating type reforms, rather than let the economy chug along in a well-managed decline like it has since Paul Keating.

It is believed that the Prime Minister has sent several gentle warnings to his Treasurer this week, urging him to focus on delivering extremely noisey cultural conversations like the ill-fated Indigenous Voice referendum, rather than betraying modern Labor values by daring to do something.