Josh Frydenberg wants the Budget to push unemployment lower, as the economic winds change

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has given one of the most significant speeches in his time as Treasurer.

In a speech today, he said the Morrison Government wanted to use its May Budget to deliberately drive the unemployment rate down below 5 per cent.

He said the Budget would not be an “austerity” Budget, because it would prioritise getting people into jobs, rather than chasing a surplus.

It was a radical departure in thinking for the Coalition.

It revealed the Coalition is continuing to slowly turn its back on some of the economic arguments it has been making for decades, further repudiating the economics of Tony Abbott.