Usually, Budgets are all-or-nothing affairs. The trouble is that defeat of a Budget means the Government must resign. This is troubling in a polity of perpetual minority government.
Independent Paul Osborne objects to being a rubber stamp when it comes to the Budget. Because the Budget pervades so much of Government he argues that he should be able to have some input into the Budget without bringing down the Government.
Fine, but the Government has to carry the ultimate responsibility for the Budget, and wears blame in the electorate, both short-term and long-term. So minority government should not degenerate to the farce of the Opposition and minor parties being able to put up pet projects or to object to new revenue measures while the Government has to deal with the deficit which might result in later severe corrective measures.
It is for the Government to set the underlying deficit or surplus (or in the new language operating loss or profit). Any input from the minor parties or Opposition should fit that figure. If the Government cannot hold that figure on the floor of the Assembly it should resign.
So for effective input without bringing down the Government (as Mr Osborne wants) he, and the other minor-party MLAs and Opposition must offset their pet projects or anguished cries against new revenue measures with a revenue measure to fully finance their desire.
It is not totally satisfactory, but it is better than what happened last term when Michael Moore held the Government ransom to no reduction in education spending without himself offering the hard decision of how to fund this desire. Not that he would do such a thing now, of course.