Mike's Minute: Australia's Budget will show us what we're missing

Australia's Budget Day is today. The claim is they are going to present a surplus, which is little short of a miracle. I also read that trade with China is at record levels. This is Australia and China, the two that were at each other's throats after Scott Morrison wanted an inquiry into Covid origins. The Chinese, having none of that, started whacking tariffs on barley and wine and beef. What Australia did was go and find new buyers. Now, having learned their lesson, the old buyer is back and Australia is rolling in it. Further news as to why Australia is rolling in income - Rio Tinto's boss said he regretted being so bullish on his company's climate targets because - guess what - the world still wants natural resources. Which is ultimately why Jim Chalmers, the treasurer, will be able to present numbers in the black tonight. The world wants what Australia sells and, as a result, the Government tax take is through the roof. By way of comparison, our Government's tax take is now falling. We of course could be earning more than we do. But we have taken a climate course and have become bogged down pretending we want to save the world, while at the same time not really doing much about it. But yet another dodgy batch of aviation gas arrives in the country, because we no longer refine, and as the money from search and drilling licences dries up we can only sit here and hope dairy starts to pay a bit better and the Chinese get on a plane and get tourism back to where it needs to be. You can say whatever you like about the morality of selling coal and iron ore to the world but what you can't argue with are the cold, hard numbers. Australia still owes a fortune. Well, everyone still owes a fortune, but some countries are rebounding faster than others. Some countries get what makes the world tick right now and want to meet that demand. Then some countries are wrapped in ideological mumbo jumbo, which really only produces hot air, not cold, hard cash. We already lost a net 3100 people to Australia this year. Tonight's budget will be a further advert and incentive for many more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.