On Monday Treasurer Joe Hockey effectively told them Canberra would be doing less.

As expected the mid-year review of the state of the nation’s finances revealed the deficit had ballooned and any tax relief would be put off until at least 2019-2020.

Apart from a substantial cut to foreign aid Mr Hockey also flagged spending cuts and substantial job losses in the public service as the Coalition moves to cut spending as falling mineral and commodity prices wipe $32 billion from commonwealth tax receipts over the next four years.

It is not the sort of political climate where supporters of the St Vincent de Paul Society can expect the federal government to heed a call for more to be done for those relying on welfare and charity groups.

Father Paul Devitt told an annual lunch for Vinnies supporters that a $7 Medicare co-payment would have had a huge impact on many of the families his volunteers had helped throughout the year.

Volunteers who operate the fortnightly Vinnies food van know that in off-pension weeks the number of families relying on the charity to provide a meal is growing.

Groups like Vinnies are increasingly providing the safety net to stop the most disadvantaged falling through the gaps but Mr Hockey’s focus on spending cuts rather than tax increases make it extremely unlikely there will be more support for the unemployed and the working poor.

Charity groups can also expect unemployment to increase with some 16,500 federal public servants to be retrenched and a tightening of family tax benefits and family allowances.

The reality of the collapse in revenue from exports like iron ore and coal will not be lost on most Australians but neither will be the Abbott Government’s reluctance to look for more tax income from companies and those Australians who are not paying their fair share.