In the past 12 months, Daniel Judge has seen his pay docked by five per cent and prices on the rise, leaving less money to put towards savings and discretionary spending.
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The experience of Mr Judge, who works in IT for the University of Wollongong, is perhaps typical of many in the city.
Mr Judge and his wife Essi Haukkamaa-Judge each earn roughly the average full time wage and have two school-aged children.
The household is now finding less money left over at the end of the week for non-essential expenses.
In addition to the wage cut, which UOW management and staff agreed to in 2021, Mr Judge said the household budget had been impacted by rising costs of groceries and petrol, with Mrs Haukkamaa-Judge driving to her workplace in Sydney five days a week.
The federal budget, handed down on Tuesday night, has attempted to defray some of these costs through a one-off cash grant and cuts to the tax paid on fuel.
Mr Judge said any extra money would go towards bills, repaying debt and being able to afford going to the doctor more often. Anything left over would go towards replacing worn out household items and clothing.
With the reduction in the fuel tax and cash payments temporary or one off measures, Mr Judge said he would like to see the federal budget do more to address long term economic issues facing the Illawarra and the country.
"Obviously temporary relief is useful, but I don't think it addresses the overarching problem that petrol is only going to get more expensive in the long term."
Aside from measures designed to address cost of living pressures, the 2022 federal budget also includes billions in infrastructure investment, support for apprentices and a $480 million boost for the NBN in regional, rural and remote areas where internet is accessed through fixed wireless.
Working from home, Mr Judge said that his access to the NBN, through fibre to the node rather than fixed wireless, would benefit from improvement and that investment in public transport and health services were high priorities for his household.
While Mr Judge and his family were able to ride out the pandemic thanks to secure jobs that were possible to do from home, optimism towards the future was tinted by a frustration with a lack of long-term thinking.
"We've seen the floods and the bushfires and unless we address climate change, these pressures on our lives are only going to get worse. So, I'm not super confident for the long term unless the government addresses serious, long-term concerns."
At a glance
- $420 cost of living tax offset for low- and middle-income earners, and a $250 cost of living payment for pensioners, welfare recipients, veterans and concession card holders
- Halving petrol and diesel excise for six months, delivering a saving of $300 for the average household
- From July 1, the PBS Safety Net threshold to be reduced for general and concessional patients lowering out-of-pocket costs for medicines for 2.4 million people.
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