Federal budget 2016: political experts react

The government is trying to encourage jobs and growth in the 2016 budget through some measures for young job-seekers and working families while establishing tougher rules on welfare. Working families will have to wait for the childcare subsidies in the Jobs for Families package. But there is A$840 million in the budget for a Youth Employment Plan to help up to 120,000 young people secure jobs. The government will extend the time people can spend in job-active services before they have to start Work for the Dole from six to 12 months. The budget provides an additional $100 million over three years to address family violence. The measures will draw on the recommendations of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and builds on the $101.2 million in the 2015-16 mid-year budget update. The government is spending an additional $29.9 billion over ten years to deliver the plans outlined in the 2016 Defence White Paper. This includes the funding for 12 new submarines, nine future frigates and 12 offshore patrol vessels. The public service will be the focus of "Smaller Government" reforms, with portfolio stocktakes and functional and efficiency reviews. The Conversation's experts react to these and other aspects of the budget measures below.