In the 2018 budget, the coalition has laid out a seven-year plan to reduce personal income tax, starting modestly.
At the end of the period 94 per cent of taxpayers will have a marginal tax rate of 32.5 per cent or less.
But the seven-year wait will take a lot of voter patience.
School funding, much criticised by Labor, is talked about in terms of a 10-year needs-based system and hospitals as a five-year agreement with the states and territories.
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Road and rail funding is noted in the budget papers as a $75 billion, 10-year "rolling infrastructure plan".
However, there are some shorter-term sweeteners.
Some taxpayers will see an immediate benefit of up to $10.20 a week.
Australia's growing army of small business operators will continue to get targeted tax breaks to help them invest.
Seniors will immediately be able to keep more of what they earn on the side without reducing their pension payments, and release their home equity to meet their retirement needs.
The government says its long-term focus is about what can be "responsibly afforded", while keeping the budget on track to the black.
It's this message the prime minister and Treasurer Scott Morrison will be using as they make their post-budget pitch to the electorate.
However, there is enough ammunition for Labor to keep the coalition on its toes ahead of an election due by May 2019, likely much earlier.
There's the question of whether the government could be more generous to low- income earners, pensioners and welfare recipients, who are struggling right now.
And having ditched a Medicare levy hike to pay for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the government has resorted to a "trust us" approach to its funding.
Gonski 2.0 will still be a bone of contention, given Labor's insistence the public and private system continue to be short-changed from the previous funding trajectory.
Then there's the miracle of turning around a $14.5 billion deficit this year to a $2.2 billion surplus the following year.
There is enough in the budget for coalition MPs to serve up to their electorates, but making a meal of the long-term "vision thing" could see Labor on the treasury benches.
