Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced a spending bonanza in Tuesday night’s budget speech, signalling a complete shift by the normally fiscally conservative Coalition government. Frydenberg has defended the budget, which allocates billions across most sectors of society, manifesting in the form of tax breaks, job training programs, and boosting of critical services. It also precedes the next federal election, which is due between August and May next year. “This has been the most significant economic shock since the Great Depression,” Frydenberg told the ABC, saying the impact of COVID-19 “dwarfed” the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Australia’s budget deficit is forecast to be $106.6 billion in 2021-22, while debt will reach $1 trillion in 2024-25—close to 45 percent of GDP. Daniel Wild, director of research at the free-market think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, said, “It will not just be our children paying back this debt, but our grandchildren and …