For months, Jim Chalmers has been trying to write a budget about the future – productivity, reform, repair.

But events have a way of dragging budgets back into the present. And right now, the present looks expensive.

People are still under pressure. The economy’s been hit by another oil shock. And the Treasurer is trying to make the case for restraint without looking like he’s asking Australians to wear even more pain.

So will Jim Chalmer's upcoming budget be one of reform - or crisis management?

Today, senior economics correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Shane Wright, on what kind of budget this moment demands. 

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Guest: Senior economics correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Shane Wright.

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch