A Budget premature congratulation

Squizzy has been around long enough to have been in the Budget lock-up when John Howard was Treasurer so, notwithstanding targeted political leaks, he is well-acquainted with the security that surrounds the Budget documents. 

There was, of course, the occasion on which veteran political journalist, Laurie Oakes, found a copy of the Budget in his letterbox but, apart from that, non-deliberate leaks have been few and far between. 

So, Squizzy takes his hat off to Master Builders Australia for its press release issued at 1.52 pm ahead of the 7.30 pm tabling of the Budget announcing the 2022 Housing Accord as “a welcome signal to the building and construction industry”. 

Now, granted, the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, had been kicking around the possibility of a Housing Accord in a number of media interviews but, even with a 7.30 pm embargo, Squizzy thought the MBA was being a tad adventurous in getting its message out to the media before even question time in the House of Representatives had begun. 

Of course, given the number of home builders who have gone broke in recent months leaving home-buyers up the creek in search of a paddle, the MBA’s premature congratulation is probably understandable.