The fiscal policy plan for 2002-03 is not a reflection of what the people want. Last year the Budget went into a $1.2 billion deficit, and now Australian families have to pay the bill. Added on top of the deficit is the government¡s plan to create ¡§safer Australia, secure borders, strong defence and a strong economy.¡. To reflect this, much of the spending from the Budget will go into defence and border security. An Intergenerational Report was created for the first time to show the cost of current policies in 40 years, and to face up to the challenge of the ageing population, cuts were made to health and welfare.
             As a result of the Terrorist attacks on September 11th, the 2002-03 budget¡s main concern was on border security and defence. Defence is the big winner in this budget, with a $912 million jump in defence spending. Almost $200 million of this will go into Australia¡s contribution to the war on terror in Afghanistan, while $22.3 million will go towards paying the navy to carry out its controversial role of intercepting asylum seekers. The funding also included more money for spies at home and abroad, and new defence units to respond to terrorist attacks on Australian soil.
             An increase of $1.2 billion in border protection is the new weapon against asylum-seekers, with a large proportion of that money used to build the new state-of-the-art detention centre on Christmas Island. Added with a funding boost of almost $80 million to Customs, Marine and coastal surveillance will double to deter illegal boat arrivals. Money will also be set aside to help tackle people-smuggling in transit countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
             The creation of the Intergenerational Report showed that the Federal Government finances will turn to deficit in 2018, and reach a horrendous $87 billion annual shortfall by 2042. The report states that if policies are not changed, there will be a higher tax burden on the next gene...