A $22 billion investment in ''nation building'' dubbed the biggest since the Snowy Mountains Scheme is the centrepiece of a federal budget that cracks down on middle-class welfare and targets the rich to generate savings.
But Australians who are already on the pension, first-home buyers, small business owners and university students are big winners in the budget crafted as the country had been ''dragged into recession'', according to Treasurer Wayne Swan.
''This budget is forged in the fire of the most challenging global economic conditions since the Great Depression,'' he said last night.
''It is a budget that supports jobs today by investing in the infrastructure we need for tomorrow.''
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times.
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