“Jobs are back,” Australia’s treasurer Josh Frydenberg told journalists at a press conference on Tuesday, just before handing down this year’s budget. The Australian media have mostly lapped it up, taking at face value Frydenberg’s assertion that this budget will create jobs.

The announcements that have dominated the headlines revolve around some major commitments. Frydenberg is offering billions in tax cuts to businesses and households, and high-profile spending boosts to aged care, disability and mental health services, and childcare.

Frydenberg has put a positive spin on Australia’s economic situation. The country’s isolated geographical position and strict public health measures helped keep COVID-19 largely at bay. While there was still significant disruption to the Australian economy in 2020, it endured one of the shallowest recessions of any industrialized nation and has now experienced one of the quickest recoveries.