Aussie billionaire Gerry Harvey rips into the Albanese government with foul-mouthed takedown of the Budget: ‘Just playing politics’

Billionaire Gerry Harvey has joined the chorus of voices accusing the Albanian government of using the budget to play politics rather than help Australians.

The Harvey Norman co-founder, 84, expressed disappointment at politicians’ handling of the economy as a growing number of voters threaten to boycott Labor at the next election over its “irresponsible” budget.

‘You just have to realize that there’s a lot of bulls*** going on in this world and you have to take it with a grain of salt. It doesn’t matter which party you’re talking about, they’re just playing politics,” Harvey told the paper Herald Sun.

‘We are active in eight different countries. The only other country in the world as bad as Australia is New Zealand.”

The Harvey Norman co-founder has expressed his disappointment with Australian politicians as voters threaten to boycott Labor at the next budget election.

The federal budget, released by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday evening, promised every Australian household a one-off payment of $300 towards their energy bills.

One million small businesses will also receive $325 off their bills.

Mr Harvey said his energy bills had doubled in the past two years, but said he doubted the budget would make much of a difference.

“The budget will not make a big difference because we are playing politics,” he said.

‘When I look at what it costs me now to run my warehouses, compared to a few years ago, it is 100 percent more. Everything you do at the moment in terms of development costs is so high and the government is doing nothing to reduce that.’

While the $300 payment will come as a relief to some households, wealthier Australians have questioned why they are being offered extra money they don’t need.

“A flat $300 in energy aid is lazy and reckless policy,” one voter wrote online.

“Rich Australians don’t need it, and many struggling Australians need a lot more.”

“Why does everyone get a $300 energy rebate? There are people who are really struggling right now, others are doing just fine,” said another.

A third wrote: ‘I’m sure Gina Rinehart is happy to get $300 back on her energy bill.’

An angry Australian called the Prime Minister directly and told him the money could have been better spent helping to solve the housing crisis.

“Hey Anthony Albanese, thanks for taking $300 off my utility bill. “The only problem is I don’t have a damn utility bill because I can’t afford to live anywhere.”

Dr. Jim Chalmers receives applause from his colleagues after presenting the budget

Dr. Chalmers was congratulated by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Other cost-of-living relief outlined in the budget included increased rental assistance and the cancellation of $3 billion in student debt indexation.

The new relief is in addition to the phase three tax cuts announced in January. The average household will receive an annual tax cut of $1,888, or $36 per week.

Dr. Chalmers said the measures would ease pressure on households without exacerbating rising inflation.

“While many Australians remain under pressure, our economy is better positioned than most other countries to meet these challenges,” he said.

“This government’s responsible economic policies have helped alleviate inflation and fiscal pressures.

“While inflation is still too high, it is now less than half of its peak and almost half of what it was in mid-2022.”

However, some experts are skeptical that the measures will have no impact on inflation.

Independent economist Chris Richardson wrote: ‘My big question for the Budget was that it not poke the inflationary bear. I don’t think it passed that test.

“The administration said it would be careful not to push forward its new costs, but that’s exactly what it did — and its new dollars are both big and fast.

“They will be eight times larger in the coming year than in 2027-2028, so this Budget narrows the Reserve Bank’s already narrow path.”

Experts remained skeptical that Labour’s cost-of-living measures would have no impact on inflation.

The treasurer was questioned by the ABC presenter about the controversial $300 energy payment

Dr. Chalmers was later questioned by ABC 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson about the inflation risks of his budget and the controversial $300 energy rebate.

Ms Ferguson asked: “There are a lot of people who don’t live in Central Australia, like you, who don’t need help paying their bills.

‘Why do you have to give those people energy help?’

Dr. Chalmers replied: ‘I think cost of living pressures go up and down the income scale.

“We have found a responsible and affordable, but meaningful way to help people with the cost of living, not just those on low and fixed incomes, but also people in Central Australia.”

Labor celebrated a budget surplus of around $9.3 billion, but that figure will fall sharply to a deficit of $122 billion over the four years to 2028.