A radical idea to bring forward the federal budget from May 10 has been floated among senior members of the Turnbull government.
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Although such a radical move is considered unlikely by Turnbull government insiders – and it has not been formally considered in forums such as cabinet – Fairfax Media has confirmed the idea has been discussed.
However despite the idea being floated internally, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told the Senate on Monday that the budget would be held on May 10.
The idea to bring forward the date of the budget by a week or two to the first week of May or the last week of April would give the Turnbull government more time to debate its budget in the Parliament and explain it to voters, particularly if the government decides to call a double dissolution election for early July.
It would also allow time for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to give his budget in reply speech, which is traditionally two days after the budget is handed down, and to appropriate the money needed to keep government running.
It would also given the government more time between the delivery of the annual economic statement and the last available date a double dissolution can be called, which is May 11 – one day after the budget is scheduled to be handed down.
A double dissolution poll can be held no later than July 16 and if a double dissolution was held before July 2, another half-Senate election would have to be held within two years.
However, changing the date of budget would also create a massive scheduling and logistics headache, as Parliament is not scheduled to sit between March 17 and the May 10 budget day.
Asked about the idea, a cabinet minister told Fairfax Media it was unlikely because of the reduced amount of time that would be available to work on the document, but did not deny discussions had taken place.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his Treasurer, Scott Morrison, are under increasing pressure to reveal their plans for tax reform after ditching plans to raise the GST in exchange for income tax cuts. Labor has also stolen a march on the government by unveiling a policy to curb the use of negative gearing.
By convention, the federal budget is handed down on the second Tuesday in May.
But this was not always the case. Until 1993, the budget was handed down in August, and it was moved to May in 1994. In 1996 the budget was again delivered in August because of the timing of the March election that year.
Mr Turnbull unveiled the government's senate voting reform proposals on Monday, which would reduce the ability of minor parties to harvest preferences and get elected with a tiny primary vote.
A deal struck with the Greens to pass the reforms removes a major impediment to holding a double dissolution election.
Asked about the possibility of a July double dissolution election, Mr Turnbull on Monday said "nothing has changed".
"I'm working on the assumption that the election will be hemmed at the normal time, which is August, September. October, in that period," he said.
Mr Turnbull urged crossbench senators to pass a contentious bill to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission. The bill is designed to tighten union governance requirements, and is already a double dissolution trigger.
The ABCC has been rejected once by the Senate and is likely to be rejected a second time after an inquiry into the bill concludes.
Last week, Fairfax Media revealed Coalition strategists believe the government is on track to lose 10 seats, but retain government at the next poll.
Labor Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen seized on the report as evidence the government was "desperate" and that "the budget has been on a regular timetable for years, since the Keating government set the budget in May".
"It would be a sign of cowardice and desperation if they wanted to rush something out against the standard normal procedure and timetable. Scott Morrison could clear that up immediately," he said.
"That would be an extraordinary move for a Treasurer and a government to make and would be a sign of policy on the run, far from methodical, calm and collected government."
