How they reacted to the federal budget

Treasurer Joe Hockey has received some kudos for his second budget, but there's been plenty of criticism as well. Here's what some key stakeholders had to say.

BUSINESS

"It's a budget extraordinaire for small businesspeople. It's the message to small businesspeople that the government isn't just thinking of them but that they know them."

- Peter Strong, CEO Council of Small Business Australia

"The budget will perform a pincer movement on productivity, encouraging more people to enter the labour market while also making it easier for small businesses to hire."

- Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Kate Carnell.

"The budget deserves to be passed by the Senate. The government has listened to many parts of the community ... Australia cannot afford another 12 months of obstruction and denial."

- Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott.

"The immediate write-off of certain capital expenditure up to $20,000 per will be a sweetener for business and an encouragement for them to get out and invest, update their tools, update their tradie ute and get on with the job that needs to be done in small business."

- Paul Drum from Certified Practising Accountants Australia.

"It's a budget that recognises agriculture as a pillar of the Australian economy and one of the few pillars that are actually growing."

- National Farmers Federation chief Simon Talbot

JOBS

"Last year the government took a sledge hammer to the budget. This year it's a chisel that is cut, cut, cutting away and we know you can't cut your way to growth."

- ACTU president Ged Kearney

"We're now seeing the government forecasting a further increase in unemployment up to 6.5 per cent over the next two years. Australia is facing the threat of slipping into long-term structural unemployment, particularly in parts of the country like Tasmania, Adelaide and Geelong."

- Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national secretary Paul Bastian

"Nothing in this budget will fix the queues at Centrelink, or put tax workers back on the ground to ensure big business and multinationals pay their fair share of tax or better fund science and innovation."

- Community and Public Sector Union national secretary Nadine Flood

RETAILERS

"While this tax is certainly a positive step, we must now ensure GST collection is extended to low value parcels. It should be just as easy to collect GST from Amazon as it is to collect GST from Netflix and Apple."

- Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman on GST extending to digital economy.

"Retailers are particularly pleased to see action on addressing the integrity of the GST on services purchased online from overseas. Intangibles are just one aspect however and goods also need attention to address tax integrity fully."

- Australian National Retailers Association CEO Anna McPhee.

WELFARE

"The lack of attention to investing in disadvantaged people, and to exploring more substantial social and fiscal reform is a missed opportunity for the one million Australians who live in chronic, entrenched disadvantage."

- Lin Hatfield Dodds, Uniting Care Australia who welcomed some of the measures in the government's welfare measures.

"As Australia's largest education-focused children's charity, our biggest concern is that disadvantaged families could miss out on access to vital early childhood support due to changes in activity testing."

- Smith Family CEO Dr Lisa O'Brien, who nevertheless said the budget was a good starting point for improving the future of disadvantaged families.

"The overall package retains many harsh cuts from last year's budget and will leave many people on the lowest incomes worse off. On the whole people on low incomes are still left to do most of the heavy lifting."

- Australian Council of Social Services CEO Cassandra Goldie

"We are pleased that the government has listened to the millions of pensioners who were going to take a hit to their pocket."

- Amelia Christie from the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association

FOREIGN AID

"If this budget is a test of fairness it totally fails the poorest in the world."

- World Vision chief Tim Costello

"The government's desperate gouging of the aid budget has created a lose-lose scenario that will cut vital programs helping some of the world's poorest and also harm Australia's interests."

- Oxfam chief executive Helen Szoke.

"This budget is mean-spirited to the world's refugees, it continues to demonise asylum seekers who are Australia's responsibility, it will inflame tensions with the region and continues to undermine our global reputation as a generous global citizen."

- Refugee Council of Australia chief executive Paul Power.

EDUCATION

"The Abbott government has confirmed they have no vision to improve schools, and no commitment to equity in education."

- Australian Education Union national president Correna Haythorpe.

"Christopher Pyne's surprise fix has turned out not to be a surprise at all with the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy funded through $150 million in cuts to the Sustainable Research Excellence initiative."

- National Tertiary Education Union national president Jeannie Rea.

OTHERS

"This budget is a continued assault on climate and clean energy programs and institutions."

- Climate Institute CEO John Connor.

"Tonight's budget has some positive aspects in terms of health but unfortunately does not go anywhere near addressing the devastating cuts that were made to health, particularly to public hospital funding, in the 2014 budget."

- Australian Medical Association president Brian Owler

"If the government is really serious about addressing domestic and family violence, it needs to go back to the drawing board on this."

- Women's Electoral Lobby spokeswoman Emma Davidson