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Nobody in federal parliament uses metaphors like Barnaby Joyce. He thinks and speaks in pictures and has a natural ability to deliver sound bites that cut through all the normal verbiage of political reporting.

Sure, I’d like the big bad miners to pay more tax, writes Eva Cox. Who wouldn’t like some extra funds in the public kitty to spend on socially useful ends? But, that’s not what the RSPT is about.

Once you get beyond all the spinning, there’s plenty to consider in what Joe Hockey and Andrew Robb offered yesterday: more substance than Tony Abbott has managed all year.

Silly and unnecessary mistakes ruined Joe Hockey’s budget reply. This year’s election seems to be shaping up as a battle of the incompetent.

Daily media wrap: Joe Hockey gave the Opposition’s Budget Reply speech yesterday, promising to save $47 billion. But he forgot to say how — and it didn’t go unnoticed.

Joe Hockey’s Budget Reply has come badly unstuck after he refused to provide details of savings costings or whether Ken Henry would be reappointed, overshadowing an otherwise well-crafted speech, reports Bernard Keane.

From baby bonuses to first home buyers, it seems we’re just standing with our hands out waiting for the government to support us, and they continuously do. Why did we get so lazy?

Wayne Swan claimed the economic stimulus package saved the Australian economy, with a clever graph tucked inside the Budget showing exactly that. Except, the figures were hand picked to give the answer Wayne wanted, writes Chris Berg.

Snap! It’s a polling trifecta today, with the latest Essential Report following Newspoll and Galaxy’s lead at 50-50. Plus additional questions on the budget reveal… most Australians don’t care, reports Possum Comitatus.

The first reaction to the Budget was ho, and the second was hum — which was exactly the way Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan wanted it. The headline they were hoping for might have read: “Very quiet Budget, not many hurt.”

Tony Abbott’s entire economic policy and Budget reply seem to be based on killing all the government handout goodies for voters. Will the tough approach work? asks Malcolm Farr.

This election will come down to a simple question, writes Dennis Shanahan. Who do you believe is the best person to manage the economy: Kevin Rudd or Tony Abbott?

Tony Abbott has correctly targeted Kevin Rudd as Labor’s weak link. But he has his own weaknesses, as the last 24 hours have shown.

Don’t set too much store by the paltry savings initiatives on offer from Tony Abbott last night: he’s using it to fund a variant of the Regional Rorts program.

If ever there was an assumption that athletes are not overly interested in politics, the political interest displayed by athletes in Olympic sports on Budget day suggests otherwise, writes Olympic rower Kim Crow.

Australia has one of the world’s highest levels of tax expenditures, with $350 billion this year. But this government sees them as much as a source of easy savings as of good policy.

The Oz takes you inside the Budget lockup, showing their chief political journos and editors madly scrambling at rows of laptops in a wood panelled room. It looks thoroughly tedious.

Wayne Swan’s “no frills” budget is about responsibility, not politics. Why is this a shock? Budgets should always be about careful management, not buying votes, and anything else should not be “expected”, says Tom Ormonde.

Tony Abbott has made the Government’s new mining tax the centerpiece of his election strategy. Given how poorly Kevin Rudd has sold the proposal so far, could it be a winner? asks Bernard Keane.

Rudd’s 7.30 Report appearance wasn’t his finest moment, but probably won’t do too much harm; Consumer confidence down — as is China’s — Manny Pacquiao takes a slug at politics.

This year’s Budget is smoke and mirrors on the renewable energy front. Everyone gets a share, but this is all peanut money, writes Tony Kevin.

This year the Budget was delivered against a backdrop of international uncertainty, reliance on China and a local boom. Any bets on what the outcomes will be in a year’s time?

Policy announcements don’t mean a lot until you see the actual money committed in the Budget, and this time the health sector was pleasantly surprised, writes Carol Bennett.

Poor Ken Henry. Yes, Wayne Swan did announce another two measly recommendations from the Henry Review in the Budget, but cherry picking makes for terrible policy, writes Judith Sloan