Topics: Federal Budget

 

E&OE  

 

SARAH ABO:

So, the Federal Budget has everyone talking this morning with many wondering why Jim Chalmers is choosing to spend $17 billion that Australia doesn't necessarily have on such modest tax cuts. What is clear, this budget is all about winning your vote come election time. Joining us to discuss today's headlines is Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor and Nine News and 3AW's Heidi Murphy. Good morning to you both. Angus let's start with you. These tax cuts might be a brazen pitch for votes and who doesn't love a tax cut, right? So, has it taken the wind out of your sails a bit?  

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well can I say Sarah, this is a budget for the next five weeks, not for the next five years.

 

SARAH ABO:

How many times have you said that, Angus?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, it is and it's an election bribe. I mean you said it up front, that's exactly what it is. It's a cruel hoax because if you're an Australian family with a mortgage, typical mortgage, you've paid an extra $50,000 that you didn't expect to pay in after-tax income and the notion that this even begins to deal with the real challenges that Australian families are facing and hard-working families who have got a mortgage is just nonsense and Jim Chalmers doesn't get that you've got to manage the economy. At the end of the day, if the economy doesn’t deliver for hard-working Australians, there's no amount of this sort of stuff that can make up for it and that's the fundamental problem, and it's why what we saw in the budget, we're not going to get back to the standard of living we had when Labor came to power until the end of the decade. And that's simply not good enough for Australians. They can't afford another three years of this.  

 

HEIDI MURPHY:

You must be tempted to come up with a much bigger bribe for us, I mean, sweetener for us?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, you know, the big bribe is an economy that works for Australians and it's not a bribe. It's actually the right answer for our economy. It's the right answer for Australians and it's what we haven't seen in the last two and a half years. If you can't manage the economy, then people go backwards and we've never gone backwards like we have in the last two and a half, three years.

 

SARAH ABO:

The issue is Angus, I mean it will help, everything is helping right now and it's modest enough to not stoke inflation either. By not backing it, you guys are just...mean, you're bullies, aren't you?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Sorry Sarah, I was going to say we are absolutely focused on making sure that we raise the standard of living for Australians, beat inflation, put downward pressure on costs. We'll have more to say about this on Thursday night at the Budget in Reply. We need to make sure we've got an economy that works for Australians and the best answer is that it does it without the government having to do this sort of thing.

 

SARAH ABO:

It nullifies your inflation argument though.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

In what sense Sarah?

 

SARAH ABO:

Because it's not going to add to inflation.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, you know inflation…

 

HEIDI MURPHY:

Stop saying modest It's minuscule.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Yeah, look this this is 70 cents a day starting in a year's time. I mean, seriously this is not even going to touch the sides for the economic pain that Australian families are feeling and it's not a solution to the underlying problem. It's a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. It doesn't do the job.

 

SARAH ABO:

Alright well, I mean Heidi over two years it's going to be about ten bucks a week but it's far less than what the pandas are getting in Adelaide.

 

HEIDI MURPHY:

Well, what are the pandas getting? About $14,000 a week, something like that. The money has to be spent around, yes, I think it's an extremely small tax break that's been announced. I think Labor just wants you to walk away from this budget going, oh, we're getting a tax cut, we're getting a tax cut, we're getting something tiny, we're getting the equivalent of a loaf of bread, genuinely, at the supermarket in a year's time, maybe two loaves of bread in two years' time. It's so small, I don't think it's an election winner.

 

SARAH ABO:

The other issue Angus that you'll face too is that this debt issue, I mean we're going to surpass a trillion dollars for the first time next financial year, but it is an eye-watering sum and debt is something that neither they or you, if elected, will be able to avoid. So how do you plan to pay for it?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, we've made it very clear that we'll re-establish the fiscal disciplines, all the discipline around the budget that was thrown out by Jim Chalmers as soon as he came into the role that Peter Costello put into place back in the 90s. We'll put that back in place. We've opposed over $100 billion of spending that is not necessary at a time like this, not in essential services. We've seen a growth of the Canberra-based public service of 41,000 now.

 

SARAH ABO:

Are you going to cut those $41,000 back?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, we are going to get back to the size of the public service that we had when we were last in government.

 

HEIDI MURPHY:

But that’s by taking 41,000 jobs away, by taking 41,000...

 

SARAH ABO:

And you haven't said where either?

 

HEIDI MURPHY:

Your telling $41,000 people right now they're going to lose their jobs in couple of months' time…

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Look no, attrition will play a very significant role. There's such a big public service now, there's a natural attrition anyway, but let's be clear, at the end of the day we've got small businesses out there working as hard as I have ever seen, Sarah, and their margins are being crunched, their incomes have dropped by 18%, 29,000 insolvencies. We've never seen anything like it. For them to even put someone on is a real struggle and many are having to work weekends themselves because they can't afford to pay overtime and so on. It's a desperate situation and meanwhile this government says, no let's add 41,000 Canberra-based public servants and worse, public services have gone backwards. We've seen bulk billing rates collapse and yet the health departments have grown by 40%. I mean, this is just insane stuff, and it can't go on.

 

SARAH ABO:

It is keeping up with population growth as well though. I mean, we need these people on the front lines, Angus, as you well know and you keep people in jobs that keeps the economy ticking over, especially at a time where there is so much global uncertainty. We don't know what Trump's going to hand down next week with his next round of tariffs. We need to protect ourselves.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, Sarah, you know, what grows the economy and ensures Australians have rising incomes, not falling incomes in real terms, as we've seen, is a private sector that's healthy, robust, investing, creating jobs. The public sector is paid for by the hard work of the private sector. Now we've got great people in our public sector, don't get me wrong. But at the end of the day, we need to back small businesses, we need to back private sector investment. That's how the taxes get paid, that’s how we make sure that we make ends meet, not just for households but for the government budget as well.

 

HEIDI MURPHY:

So, tomorrow night your focus is small business?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, we'll have a strong focus on a strong economy, delivering affordable, reliable energy, fixing the housing crisis we've got, balancing immigration - it is out of control.

 

HEIDI MURPHY:

But no gifts for us? No gifts for the taxpayer?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, you know, the gift for all Australians is an economy that works for them.

 

SARAH ABO:

Ok, look, we do have to go, but Heidi, I'm sure this debate will rage on for the next five weeks, given this budget is only for those five weeks. Alright, thank you both so much for joining us this morning.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Good to be with you.