Treasurer Scott Morrison has used the story of a struggling young Sydney man to pitch the merits of his first budget.
Mr Morrison told the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday the unnamed man had been homeless, in trouble with the police and not completed school.
But the Project Youth organisation in Miranda - in the treasurer's electorate of Cook - had linked the man with a local small business, helped him get a driver's licence and he now works full-time with the business.
"Small business, growing, backing young people, giving them a chance - everybody wins," Mr Morrison said.
Mr Morrison welcomed the cut in interest rates announced by the Reserve Bank just before his budget was delivered on Tuesday.
"Yesterday's 25 basis-point cut in the cash rate to address recent inflation outcomes is to be welcomed as it will further support our economic transition, including support in the near term for consumer spending, housing investment and exports," he said.
The government was upbeat about the economy.
"But we are very mindful that around the country this transition is being felt more acutely in some places and by people in some occupations and some industries more than others," Mr Morrison said.
The treasurer was cautious about returning the budget to balance in 2021, saying the figures were "just projections".
"I'm not placing any more on that than what I have just said - they are just projections and how those projections turn out in the years ahead will depend on how we continue to perform as a nation," he said.
