Another Federal Budget has been delivered on Tuesday May 9. I forget how many that makes it. After months of speculation the moment has come. For Universal Basic Income advocates this is a frustrating moment of wasted opportunities. Embedded within the Budget is a commitment to conditional income supports - the belief that government should target citizens who lack enough income to live well with various schemes of financial support. True to form these financial supports are designed to be below the poverty line (Henderson poverty line sits at $611 a week). These schemes like Jobseeker, Youth Allowance, Age Pension need to be replaced with the superior design of a UBI. The current targeted schemes are meant to be efficient, cost saving, based on need. Ask yourself, efficient for whom ? Cost saving for whom ? Remembering the majority of Australians (around 75%) will be net beneficiaries of a UBI.

For most Australians I suspect the Budget is just another bewildering moment of governmentality. Talk of millions and billions representing the current governments' priorities. It is true a Budget represents the power of a federal government to shape the way of life Australians lead. Usually it aims to maintain what already exists. Not much changes. Unfortunate for the 3 million Australians living in poverty, doubly unfortunate for those wanting social change. Change is what a UBI promises. The introduction of a UBI into a federal budget will be a dramatic moment when it comes. Those Big Numbers will get a workout that night ! Hundreds of billions representing the UBI's expenditure, or 'cost', for a year. Don't worry, Big Numbers are what governments are designed to manage. They can handle them. Those Big Numbers are how we insure Australian citizens are receiving a desirable level of income. Do not be afraid of Big Numbers like $560 billion. They are your friend.

On Budget nights with a UBI in place there will be an assessment of the adequacy of the UBI and its relationship with other federal spending. A UBI will make other federal spending a whole lot easier. Most importantly, the focus will be on fixing problems, not endlessly managing them. The simple problem of citizens not having a regular income above the poverty line will be gone. Think of what this means for spending in areas like Health, The Arts, Education, Housing. The effects of such greater social participation stemming from a UBI will be unpredictable too, but this unpredictability is part of the fun. A society underpinned by a UBI will be more fun. That is a promise.

The current Budget does not address the problem of poverty adequately. Nor does it include measures to greatly improve the lives of Australian citizens. Without a UBI it never will. The recent debate around the rate of Jobseeker for example has been unedifying, to say the least. Resulting in a $20 a week increase. No matter how well you reform a conditional payment like Jobseeker it will be inferior to an unconditional payment like a UBI. Nor will poverty be fixed by merely 'raising the dole'. Only a UBI can do that.

A UBI is a direct way of assisting everyone which will underpin the types of supports we as a society want. The Big Numbers of a Federal Budget can accommodate it.

UBI advocates urge for the introduction of a Universal Basic Income now, not some vague time in the future. It is necessary if you want social change.