A Tasmanian perspective: 2018-19 federal budget overview

Public order and safety: $8.7 million (forecast: $7.7 million)

Education: $487.6 million (forecast: $485 million)

Health: $446.million (forecast: $435.9 million)

Social security and welfare: $143.2 million (forecast: $137.9 million)

Housing and community amenities: $38 million (forecast $31.8 million)

Transport and communication: $142.5 million (forecast: $115.1 million)

Other purposes: $2.5 billion

EDUCATION:

The state’s government and non-government schools will receive $446.5 million in funding for the government’s Quality Schools program.

This is $28.5 million above what was forecast in the 2017-18 budget.

Government schools will receive $186.4 million and non-government schools $234.3 million

The University of Tasmania will be the recipient of a share in the $123.6 million over five years being offered for more Commonwealth-supported places.

This will allow for an additional 500 sub-bachelor places in 2018, and 1000 ongoing sub-bachelor places from 2019 for the Burnie and Launceston campuses.

There will be more money than expected from the national partnership on universal access to early childhood education.

It was expected that the state would receive $6.5 million but it will instead receive $9.3 million.

HEALTH

The state's hospitals will receive more funding than anticipated.

Hospitals will receive $410.7 million.

It was forecast in this year's budget to receive $399.8 million.

Tasmania is the only state that will receive a special assistance funding allocation for its public hospitals with $4 million coming through in 2018-19 and $31.6 million allocated over the forward estimates.

The federal government will provide another $5 million to assist with subacute models of care in Tasmania.

This will enable for services to continue at the John L. Grove Rehabilitation Centre in Launceston.

It provided $10 million towards the plan in this year's budget.

Tasmania will receive $17.5 million in 2018-19 to improve access to health services for people in rural and regional areas.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The state will receive $32.9 million in 2018-19 under the National Affordable Housing and Homelessness Agreement.

This is slightly more than forecast in this year's budget ($31.8 million).

COMMUNITY SERVICES

Under National Disability Agreement funding arrangement, Tasmania will receive $33.5 million in 2018-19.

Funding under the National Partnership on Family Advocacy and Support Services will continue with $600,000 coming to the state each year for the next two years.

GST

Tasmania will get $70 million more in GST payments in 2018-19.

Not accounting for budget revisions to the overall GST pool, Tasmania was listed to receive $2.41 billion in the last year's budget with a 3.8 per cent share.

Next financial year, the share will reduce to 3.7 per cent but the state will receive $2.48 billion.

The GST pie for 2018-19 is expected to be $67.3 billion.

It was $63.4 billion this financial year.

Mr Morrison says the budget deficit will fall in 2018-19 to $14.5 billion.

As expected, the government will work to drop income taxes.

He said those earning up to $37,000 paying 19 cents in the dollar will have their tax reduced by up to $200.

For those earning between $48,000 and $90,000 paying 32.5 cents in the dollar, their tax will be reduced up to a maximum of $530 per year. 

The average tax paid by Australians in this tax bracket was $10,400 per year in 2015-16.

Mr Morrison said Australians earning more than $41,000 will only pay 32.5 cents in the dollar all the way up to the top marginal tax rate threshold, which will be adjusted to $200,000, to account for inflation and expected wage movements over the next seven years.

The total revenue impact on the budget and forward estimates is $13.4 billion. 

Mr Morrison said the tax office would play an active role in recovering an individual's lost superannuation funds.

It will be founded and redirected to active accounts.

The government will be increasing the number of home care places for older people who do not want to enter residential aged care facilities by 14,000 over four years, costing $1.6 billion.

This will increase the number of home care places to 74,000 nationally by 2021-22; an 86 per cent increase.

Also for aged care services, $146 million will be allocated to improve access in rural and regional places and $83 million for increased mental health support.

The government will also introduce $10,000 in wage subsidies for employers who decide to take on older employees. 

As for education, the government will provide $24.5 billion more over the next 10 years.

Schools will receive $18.7 billion this year.

It will rise to $30 billion in 2027.

The budget provides for an extra $1.4 billion for listings on the PBS.

This will cover medicines to treat spinal muscular atrophy, breast cancer, refractory multiple myeloma, and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, as well as a new medicine to prevent HIV.

Leading economist Saul Eslake has described the federal budget as "pretty good" for Tasmania.

"I think the government has got the balance right between budget repair and income tax cuts," Mr Eslake said.

"The personal income tax cuts will benefit proportionately more Tasmanians because we don't have a lot of high income earners."

But he said no additional money for affordable housing was disappointing.

"The cynical view is that the government believes there are no votes in this and the people struggling live in safe Labor seats."

Mr Eslake said as part of the Launceston City Deal, $47.5 has been million allocated to clean up the Tamar River.

The first allocation of $8.8 million will flow in 2019-20.

Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Bailey has praised the federal budget.

“The tax cuts for people earning under $90,000 will impact Tasmania strongly," he said.

“The support for aged care will create jobs in Tasmania and I will be looking at the details for that funding.

“The big infrastructure spend on the Bridgewater Bridge and freight corridors is overdue and very welcome.”

Mr Bailey was hopeful Hobart and Launceston would be able to access $1 billion set aside nationally to address traffic congestion.

He welcomed funding to clean up the Tamar River, which he said was an important waterway worthy of investment.

Mr Bailey said he was disappointed more had not been done to address structural repair of the budget.

“The surplus is forecast on everything going right and nothing going wrong, which is a dangerous place to be,” he said.

Greens Senator Nick McKim has a less positive view of this year's budget.

"It's a budget for the big corporates ... and it's a disaster for the environment," he said.

"Really disappointingly, [there's] no money for light rail [in Tasmania].

"I was hoping to see some money to address the housing crisis in Tasmania."

The state's Liberal senators have said more than 75,000 Tasmanian taxpayers would receive the full amount of $530 per year.

“For example, a retail assistant earning $45,000 a year will have an extra $440 in their pocket from the budget year onwards, and $3,380 over seven years as the tax relief increases,” Senator Richard Colbeck said.

“While a teacher on $75,000 per year will have an extra $530 in their pocket.

“This money will assist Tasmanians with their cost of living pressures."

Bass Labor MHR Ross Hart said there was nothing new in the budget for his electorate.

“There’s no funding for road projects and the $400 million is just a slush fund,” he said.

“The government is playing catch up on the funding Labor promised for the UTAS redevelopment and to support associate degrees and also the Tamar River clean-up.”

He said pensioners looked to be $14 a week worse off under the budget.

Braddon Labor MHR Justine Keay said the budget contained a $270 million cut to TAFE and apprentices.

“This cut will do nothing to address the loss of 2,000 apprentices from Tasmania including 700 from Braddon since the Coalition was elected,” she said.