One chart in the 2011-12 federal Budget papers that caught my eye shows the big hit to coal production caused by our Summer of natural disasters:

The Treasury explains:

The direct negative impact of the recent natural disasters is expected to be largely confined to the first half of 2011— reducing real production by $9 billion and real GDP growth by 1⁄2 of a percentage point in 2010-11, and leading to temporary price rises for affected rural and non-rural commodities.

Reduced coal production from Queensland is the largest direct impact, with production losses estimated to be around 25 million tonnes (around $6 billion in real terms — Chart B).

The Budget itself was ok, and it was good to see $3.4 billion in cuts to the bloated defence and federal public service budgets (Swan aims for budget surplus by a thousand cuts). And the boost in funding for mental health services was long overdue.