12 May, 2015. 14:35
CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | [email protected]
The 2014 Budget’s biggest hitter, the concept of forcing young people without a job to wait six months before they could receive benefits, has failed to pass the Senate and has triggered outcry from social services groups.
It appears that this, among many other things, may have been the deciding factor surrounding Joe Hockey insisting that he will no longer be Federal Treasurer by the end of the week.
This morning Mr Hockey confirmed the $1.2 billion savings initiative had not survived the budget process intact and was going to be presented as a different model in tonight’s 2015 budget address.
“You’ll see a changed version of that,” he said, in the traditional early morning budget day doorstop with the media, one of his last media scrums for the foreseeable future.
Questions had just been interrupted by a grinning onlooker who asked the Treasurer for a “selfie” with the person who is in charge of the money that we get taxed.
“Oh she’s obviously just a bit emotional that the Joe-dog is giving up his spot as the Treash [Federal Treasurer]” said Mr Hockey, who was speaking in third person.
“Joe’s gotta do what Joe’s gotta do. This ain’t checkers it’s *********in’ chess!”
Joe Hockey has also stated his final farewell will take place at the same time as his final task. The 2015 Budget Address.
As always usual, spot on, very clever.