What a difference a year makes.
Australia's budget was expected to be well and truly in surplus by now, with the budget previously tipped to be back in black in the 2019-20 financial year.
Such hopes were dashed when the global pandemic arrived, plunging the country into recession for the first time in almost 30 years. The one saving grace is that at least this time, no one is pitching it as the recession "we had to have".
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg had the tough task of delivering a budget that supported Australians struggling as a result of the pandemic, while also stimulating the economy to help end the recession and eventually get us heading back towards a surplus.
And while COVID-19 is the most serious issue we're facing at the moment, the government must still take a long-term outlook.
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There are certain measures each budget must include to keep the country moving, and any cutback in this spending will just leave us worse off down the track.
Only time will tell whether the government achieved the right balance. For now, it seems there are quite a few positives for agriculture and our regional areas, including the continuation of the water infrastructure rebates, efforts to boost the country's ag exports and remove red tape, funding for regional tourism, and changes to the instant asset write-off program.
With agriculture less affected by the pandemic than many other industries, the government has so much to gain by investing in the sector and helping farmers and agribusiness thrive.
The challenge to deliver a budget during a pandemic now goes to the state government, with Treasurer Rob Lucas to unveil the 2020-21 state budget on November 10.
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He will face similar challenges to his federal counterpart, although his job could be even more difficult, with falling GST revenue leaving the state's coffers emptier than expected.
We'd been warned to expect a reduction, but the federal budget papers revealed the decline in SA's GST revenue for 2020-21 is about $1.3 billion more than the state government had forecast a few months ago.
While governments should be commended for their efforts to stimulate the economy and get the country back on-track during a global pandemic, it's clear the financial impact of COVID-19 will be with us for many years to come.
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