Friday 17 May 2013

TONY’S BIG TEST



 

SENATOR THE HON PENNY WONG

MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND DEREGULATION

MEDIA RELEASE

 

16 May 2013

TONY’S BIG TEST

 

It’s time for Tony Abbott to tell Australians what he would cut and how he would fund important reforms for our future such as schools reform and DisabilityCare Australia.
Tony Abbott has a responsibility to deliver a Budget Reply speech on Thursday night that clearly outlines his real plans.
Another Tony special full of rhetoric and slogans, as we’ve all seen for the last three years will be nothing more than an attempt to distract from his real plans.
Already, Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey has promised a ‘Commission of Audit’ if elected, which we all know from history means keeping savage cuts secret.
Australians have a choice between a Government that will be upfront with its decisions, and an Opposition that avoids telling Australians what they really stand for.
This week, the Gillard Government laid out its plans for a stronger, smarter, fairer Australia.
We’ve detailed how we will pay for our policies, including the historic reforms for school funding and DisabilityCare Australia to ensure no Australian is left behind.
The annual Budget Reply speech on Thursday night is Tony Abbott’s turn to outline his real plans and come clean on what cuts he would make to pay for them.
As a starting point, assuming that the Opposition would not take any of the responsible decisions this Government is making in the 2013-14 Budget, Tony Abbott is $50 billion in deficit over the forwards.
In addition, Tony Abbott needs to demonstrate how he would pay for a number of commitments and what he would cut to fund them (attached are just some of what he has promised so far).
These include:
  • Tax cuts – at a cost of around $14 billion over the forward estimates;
  • Achieving the 5 per cent carbon reduction target through his direct action policy – at a cost of up to $100 billion to 2020;
  • Removing the private health insurance rebate means test and re-instating the Chronic Dental Disease Scheme – at a cost of over $7 billion over the forward estimates; and,
  • An additional $12 billion in infrastructure funding.
Furthermore, over $15 billion of savings that the Liberals claimed they would make at the 2010 election are no longer available (see attached), which means Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey would need to make even deeper cuts to return the budget to surplus.
We know that it’s in the Liberals’ DNA to cut to the bone, putting at risk jobs, growth and the services Australians rely on.
On Thursday, it’s time that Tony Abbott explains what he will cut.
Australians look forward to hearing what his real plans are.
Please click here to view a PDF version of this media release which contains a table of the 2013-14 Budget underlying cash balance.

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