The Coalition government has spared the ACT from pain but offered it few sweeteners as it promised tax relief and an earlier return to surplus in what could be its last budget before the next election.
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A strengthening economy will fund personal income tax cuts over seven years, the budget's big ticket item as Treasurer Scott Morrison put tax offsets and new tax bracket thresholds at the front of the Coalition's pitch for re-election.
Canberrans on low and middle incomes will receive tax offsets of up to $530 a year from 2018-19, and the government predicts more than four million Australians will receive that full benefit in its first year.
For the second year in a row, the government will increase the threshold of the 32.5 per cent tax bracket, from $87,000 to $90,000, with more changes in later years.
The Coalition painted a rosy picture of the national economy, forecasting economic growth of 3 per cent in 2018-19 and the following two years. It projected the budget returning to a slim surplus of $2.2 billion in 2019-20, while the deficit in 2018-19 is expected to be $14.5 billion.
Sluggish wage growth is expected to accelerate, growing from 2.25 per cent to 2.75 per cent in 2018-19 and 3.25 per cent in 2020, as the economy strengthens and jobs grow by at least 200,000.
Coal and iron ore exports, and a crackdown on multinationals and the cash economy, are predicted to create extra money to pay for $75 billion in road and rail projects over 10 years along with other spending.
Schools are set to benefit from an extra $24.5 billion under the so-called Gonski 2.0 needs-based funding package, while a new childcare system will start on July 2, and the Coalition government will increase in the number of home care places by 14,000 over four years at a cost of $1.6 billion.
A new public hospitals agreement will deliver an extra $30 billion to 2024, while medicines to treat breast cancer and multiple sclerosis will be made cheaper.
ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja said the national capital had won in the 2018 budget, saying 170,000 Canberrans would benefit from the Coalition's tax relief plan next year.
He also referred to $130 million in tech upgrades for the Home Affairs Department, and a funding increase for the National Capital Authority funded by parking fee hikes.
The Coalition largely ignored the ACT as it splashed on big infrastructure spending interstate, with just $100 million to be spent on upgrading the Monaro Highway out of $25.4 billion pledged on infrastructure projects. The Barton Highway is also set to receive a $100 million upgrade.
Canberra hospitals will benefit from $403 million in spending, while schools will receive $308 million.
Public servants will find cause for alarm in cuts to the Department of Human Services, while Home Affairs and security agencies will receive a boost to their operations. The government will grow its non-military staffing to 167,484 full-time-equivalent jobs, about 900 higher than in 2017-18.
Canberra's National Gallery of Australia will receive $16.6 million for building repairs.
Ten jobs will be cut from the National Archives, while 12 will go from the National Library.
The Coalition is set to ramp up its Defence and security spending, and the Defence department was alone in having an increase in capital expenditure predicted over the forward estimates, rising by 3.4 per cent in 2018-19, and reaching 2 per cent of gross domestic product in 2021-22.
with AAP
