But did it work?

There was good news for the city with some more money for the Wagga Base Hospital redevelopment, confirmation of the government’s commitment to the PCYC rebuild and other odds and sods, but we really have to ask ourselves what it is that we expect governments to provide.

As the mother of a budding muso, the $100 Creative Kids voucher will come in handy, and I’m sure new parents will appreciate the $150 hamper they’re going to be given for the newborns, but is this really how we want the government to spend money?

Have we become so cynical, so conditioned to ask “what’s in it for me” that we can’t appreciate the value of good roads, decent schools and top-rate health care?

Yes, that $100 will help a little in offsetting the cost of my son’s piano lessons, but it’s my choice to provide him with those classes.

Instead of vouchers, would the community be better served if that money had gone into buying extra equipment for paediatric wards across the state?

The same budget that gave grey nomads a break on caravan registrations has reduced funding to public libraries by 18 per cent.

It has also been reported that $32 million will be removed from grants and subsidies to local government.

Given the choice between a voucher to help pay for music lessons or a good roads to get my kids around safely, I’ve got to say the bitumen should win.

As a community we have to stop doing this. We have to stop expecting government to hand out treats in the budget so that we’ll vote for them again next time.

That immediate sugar hit might be good for a little while, but in the longer term, we’re going to realise it came at a cost.

It’s not the government’s job to pay for my son’s music lessons or to outfit newborn babies with a starter pack of nappies.

But it is the government’s job to outfit the delivery rooms in our hospitals so that those babies have the best chance of entering the world safe and healthy, or to help those children access public libraries as they grow.

We all know times are tough.

We’ve been tightening our belts for so long, we’ve just about cut off the circulation, but we cannot expect the government to keep handing out money

Don’t forget, a lot of that money comes from taxation and other imposts on us as individuals, business and the community.

Those vouchers have been funded by stamp duty on home buyers, for example. They’re not really free.

But woe betide any government that tries to take away these little treats once the community is used to them.

Just look at how hard it is at a federal level to cut back on so-called “middle class welfare”. 

The first sniff of a cut and the government is going to cope a hefty wallop in the opinion polls.

We seem to develop a mindset that the payments – these bonuses – are actually entitlements and we will kick and scream when they're threatened.

Of course, governments need to keep the community onside to get re-elected, so there we start to see a reluctance for “reform” and the inevitable blow-out in deficits or cuts in other services to keep the popular ones.

It’s time to say no to the government-proffered sweet treats.

Jody Lindbeck

jody.lindbeck@fairfaxmedia.com.au