The Federal Budget was released a week ago and has been met by a chorus of outrage and shock.

It has been outlined, repeatedly, both in mainstream media and especially online that Tony Abbott has lied. He has broken pre-election promises and he has, let’s face it, made a bit of a twit of himself after he based the entire election campaign on NOT being a liar (as he claims the previous Labor government was with regard to implementing the carbon tax).

He has lied, and himself, Christopher Pyne and Joe Hockey continue to lie. That’s a fact.

What is more troubling to me and many observers of the Australian political stage is how out of touch our own government is with the temperature of their constituents right now.

That a government believes its people so inattentive, so naive, so incredibly gullible that they would be oblivious to cut throat measures that cut almost every throat of every working person in the country.

The discussion – so much of it rhetoric – since the budget was released has focused predominantly on profit, debt and blame. Perhaps many in the media and the government have forgotten that actual people – real, living, breathing, tax paying people – are going to be affected and instead of focusing so much on the lies and blame games they all need to come back down to earth and remember the people.

Joe Hockey said that he believes the budget “unshackles Australia”, but if we look at the people of Australia, we see the “unshackling” may not be what it seems.

• 16,500 public sector jobs will be cut, so many will be “unshackled” from having to go to work.
• Universities have been “unshackled” to charge whatever they want, which will in turn “unshackle” many Australians from being able to pursue the career they want.
• Cuts to the foreign aid budget, ensuring other countries are “unshackled” of the responsibility to assist us in the case of a national disaster or emergency.
• The new petrol tax will “unshackle” us all from our cars.
• Massive cuts to benefits will “unshackle” families, young people and the unemployed from having to cook – seeing as they won’t be able to afford food (secret plan to attack the obesity problem..?)
• Massive cuts to funding for Indigenous programs and the arts will “unshackle” many Australians from the opportunity to progress their lives in a positive and creative way.
• Pensioners are just generally being unshackled and left to fend for themselves and after being told they spend their money on too many “luxury items” they should be happy to re-enter the job market to compete with young school and university leavers in an already flooded market for employment.
• Oh, and of course, going to the doctor will not only be out of the question for many Australians, it is actually being discouraged by many of our Parliamentarians which means some of us may even end up “unshackled” from, you know, being alive.

This is by far the most controversial budget Australia has seen for many Prime Ministers and if Tony Abbott has taken our temperature wrong, it is time to make sure he knows it.