Same old cycle - explaining our budget attention deficit

11/06/13 5:36 PM

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12 May 2011, 1.56pm EST

Same old cycle explaining our budget

attention deficit
Paul Harrison
Senior lecturer, Graduate School of Business at Deakin University

D IS CLO S UR E STAT EMENT

Paul Harrison does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any
company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.
There is a sublime moment in
the first series of The Thick of
It, the brilliant British comedy
TV series that satirised the
inner workings of modern
government, where the
Minister for Social Affairs and
Citizenship, Hugh Abbot, and
the Prime Ministers foulmouthed director of
communications, Malcolm
Tucker, discuss the Zeitgeist
Tapes a weekly digest
prepared for the Prime

Balanced response: Tony Abbotts budget speech should be

thoughtful, not just critical.

Minister that boils down the

weeks television, cinema,
music, and other popular culture, so that he can appear with it.
The fictional Abbot (played by actor Chris Langham), already under the pump having taken
over the ministry at short notice, admits to his minders that he has struggled to find the time
to watch the 10-minute video summary, and asks them to provide him with a prcis of the
prcis.
I was reminded of this scene as I watched the desperate scramble among media outlets to
summarise Wayne Swans fourth budget on Tuesday night and Im sure to be reminded
again during our own Tony Abbotts budget reply tonight.
Very few of us watched Swans 3000 word summary of his budget, broadcast live from
7:30pm on ABC TV on Tuesday, with the majority of viewers opting for Sevens Australias

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Same old cycle - explaining our budget attention deficit

11/06/13 5:36 PM

Got Talent (1.752 million), followed by Tens Masterchef Australia (1.44 million).
Even fewer would have gone to www.budget.gov.au and downloaded the full budget papers,
or maybe even the key budget document, Budget Paper 1: Budget Strategy and Outlook (all
384 pages of it).
Dont get me wrong, this is not a criticism of the attention span of the modern Australian, nor
is it a discourse on the shallowness of the media. But it is a reflection on the capacity of
humans to process complex and detailed information.
And yet, we are all expected to form an opinion, and espouse our views on the budget and
how it will affect our lives.
So, if all of us struggle to get our heads around a more-than-1000 page document, where do
our opinions come from?
Like most things in life, people simply dont have the time, capacity, or inclination to engage
at a deep, considered and thoughtful level with the detail of something such as a national
budget.
So, those who are interested (and the numbers will be small) will be drawn towards
information that either directly affects them or their wider family, or their perspective will be
moved in a particular direction by what they consider to be authoritative sources.
Many people will use a suite of media outlets which will ostensibly conform to their
particular worldview to help comprehend how something as nuanced and detailed as a
budget will influence their lives.
Although we are becoming more comfortable with using new media, such as Twitter and
blogs, even these sources are heavily reliant on what might be termed mainstream, or old
media for authoritative analysis.
And the fact that we have access to more information doesnt necessarily mean that we are
more analytical. Our capacity to process and reflect has not evolved or increased as quickly
as the surfeit of information that is currently available to most of the population. If anything,
when we feel overwhelmed, we are more likely to return to material that offers simplicity,
regardless of its veracity.
That said, much of the reporting in our mainstream media aspires to be thoughtful, critical,
and detailed. But because of time and editorial constraints, the majority of the stories about
the budget (and other subjects) are condensed, massaged and moulded around particular
themes or stories that will appeal to that media outlets target audience.
The flipside of this is that detail and nuance will be invariably missed in the rush to publish.
So, The Herald Sun leads with Big Squeeze is all about jobs, while across at The Australian
Financial Review we have the headline, Turning deficit into surplus.
We know from a lot of research into learning that it takes a significant amount of energy,
cognitive resources and time for people, even experts, to fully comprehend the detail of

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Same old cycle - explaining our budget attention deficit

11/06/13 5:36 PM

information provided to us, and then to abstract that information to understand the influence
of that information at both a micro (individual) and macro (broader community) level.
But because many of the stories in our newspapers and online sites have to be posted within
a couple of hours of receipt of the budget papers, even the writers have to rely on what they
already believe and know to develop their stories. There is little time for reflection.
Ultimately, those early stories become the stories, and any revisitation of the budget is
viewed through the prism of those earlier reports.
Whether by intention or not, the early reports create the anchor by which the reader and
the analyst examines all future stories about the budget.
But, there is another way. I would argue that the best opportunity for a considered, reflective
response would need to be at least a couple of days (and maybe even a week) after the
budget is delivered.
It gives the experts time to read and consider the detail, and also provides reflection over
and above the immediate headline reaction in legal parlance this might be called a
cooling-off period.
This doesnt necessarily mean that the entire document will be read, but what it does mean
is that the analyst can take the time to synthesise their ideas, and make connections free
from time and space constraints.
We all know that we think better we have time to reflect, discuss and consider information,
yet we accept much of the instant analysis without considering this.
But should we expect deep reflection from our commercial media?
Probably not.
They are, after all, businesses. Their major goal is to sell advertising. Newspapers need to be
sold the next day, and radio and TV stations need to fill up their news, morning shows and
current affairs programs. If one newspaper didnt lead with a budget wrap-around, it simply
means that they will miss out on sales.
But there is some hope.
In theory, the best opportunity for a considered, thoughtful and balanced response to the
budget is the Opposition Leader Tony Abbotts budget reply tonight.
If Tony Abbotts aim is to provide analysis and a critical perspective on the budget for the
benefit of the Australian population, then we should expect thoughtful, reflective and
considered analysis that highlights problems in the budget and offers solutions.
One might even argue that a real leader should attempt to step outside the concept of
opposition, per se, and offer, as much as possible, an objective and impartial response.
If, however, Mr Abbotts aim is simply to criticise the government, force an election, and by

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Same old cycle - explaining our budget attention deficit

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extension get into government, then we can expect a reply that is mostly about criticism,
little about hope and vision, and reliant on what might lead the headlines the next day.
My hope is that Tony Abbott can show some of the intellectual rigour absent in the fictional
Hugh Abbot, and respond to more than a prcis of the prcis.
But in the likely words of Malcolm Tucker, Im not holding my f***ing breath.

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