Politics With Michelle Grattan

This year's budget, handed down on Tuesday, boasts plenty of winners and minimal direct losers. Spending is lavish, with the government doing its utmost to avoid offending voters. The big spending commitments include: - $17.7 billion for aged care over five years - $2.3 billion for mental health - $1.7 billion in changes to childcare - $1.1 billion for women's safety - $1.9 billion for the rollout of the COVID vaccine - $20.7 billion in support for business through tax breaks - $2.7 billion in new apprenticeships - $15 billion over a decade for infrastructure - $1.2 billion for the promotion of a digital economy. Simon Birmingham, finance minister, and Jim Chalmers, shadow treasurer, are our post-budget guests on the podcast. This is Birmingham's first budget as finance minister. Usually, it's the finance minister's unpopular task to find spending cuts – but this time, these are minimal.   Birmingham's message to critics on the right of politics, who are claiming the government has given up the debt fight, is