Senator Lyn Allison
Parliamentary Leader and Democrats Senator for Victoria
Australian Democrats spokesperson for Treasury
| Dated: 10 May 2005
Portfolio: Treasury
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Tax cut carrots for high income earners, Sticks for single parents & disabled
| The carrots have all been given to high income earners, while the sticks are being used to beat the disabled and single parents, the Australian Democrats said of the 2005-2006 Federal Budget.
"Faced with a looming intergenerational crisis, a skills shortage, and an $8.9 billion surplus next year, the Treasurer Peter Costello could have invested in education and job creation, industry and infrastructure, spread tax cuts much more fairly, and focused less on hitting single parents and disability pensioners," Democrats Leader Senator Lyn Allison said.
"It is the best of times if youre well paid, and the worst of times if youre struggling," Senator Allison said.
"Last Budget the Treasurer told Australians to get procreating. A year later, the poorest parents got punished. Costello is creating a generation of latch key children by forcing the parents of six-year-olds out of the home without enough child care places.
"Mr Costello is keeping billions of dollars of Australians' money for his own election war chest that should have been put into services. A $34 billion surplus over the next 4 years is excessive and should have gone into health, education, childcare and lifting the incomes of the poorest Australians.
"The tax cuts are outrageous. A person on only $10,000 a year gets a tax cut of $80 a year while a person on $125,000 a year gets a tax cut of $4,500 a year, plus a superannuation tax cut of around $1500 a year.
"Instead of $4500 just for a privileged few, we could have given every taxpayer including those on the lowest incomes - $680 a year. The Democrats, who have been campaigning to lift the tax-free threshold to $10,000 to provide fairer tax cuts, oppose the tax cuts for high income earners in both this and last year's Budget.
"Of the $3.6 billion to help welfare recipients get into work, $800 million of it will go into policing and punishing.
"Far from simplifying the welfare system it will become more complicated with two tiers of disability pensioners and two tiers of parenting payments. The problem of Family Tax Benefit debts goes on, but with greater efforts to collect these debts from families.
"Many of the so-called new Employment Programs are just replacing those previously cut. Similarly while we welcome the 50,000 new training opportunities for people with a disability, the Government is only restoring programs it has slashed since 1996.
"It is shameful that the first two measures the Government will use its new Senate majority for, are attacks on the disabled and parents. With the Democrats in the balance of power, we would have stopped them, just as we stopped the 2002 attacks on disability pensioners."
Senator Allison said the attacks on widowed, separated and single parents are ideological. "The Government is forcing these parents into the workforce once their child is 6 years old, but providing financial support to wealthy two parent families for one to stay at home until the child is 18.
"There are simply not enough childcare places despite the provision of an extra 82,000 places. For $2 billion we could give free childcare of 30 hours a week to parents who require it. The Government would reap the rewards in additional tax revenue and poverty alleviation.
"Under greater mutual obligations, extending breaching to parents of young children will have devastating effects on their welfare."
Health
"Costello pays lip service to the problems of an ageing population but yet again, provides no additional aged care beds or reform for the funding system."
"Total health funding is cut by $275m over four years, despite a few small new initiatives such as Cancer programs. More preventative health programs would be a better way of containing costs than letting more Australians fall through the safety net. Theres nothing new for mental health funding despite the Prime Minister acknowledging that the system needs help. Theres $162 million increase in funding over 4 years for Indigenous health, far short of what the AMA has said is needed."
Environment
"Transport funding favours road over rail. With the Greenhouse Office now subsumed under the Department of Environment, the Government has clearly signalled its unwillingness to progress greenhouse issues. While Minister Campbells $100m Renewable Energy Development Initiative may provide some benefits for renewable technologies but there is still no increase in MRET. Big ticket spending on an Antarctic airlink and ongoing Southern Ocean patrols appear misplaced under the environment, and there is no increase in biodiversity hotspot funding."
Iraq
"There is another half billion dollars toward the aftermath of the Iraq war, including $240 million for the additional deployment the Prime Minister promised we wouldnt have," Senator Allison said.
Good News
The Democrats welcome new money for measures the Democrats initiated or lobbied for including:
water efficiency, recycling and reuse of grey water, better management of sewage and improved irrigations and storage systems, as recommended by the Senate Inquiry Senator Allison chaired.
extending the maternity payment for adoptive children up to 2 years.
extension of the solar energy photo-voltaic rebate program.
anti smoking campaigns aimed at young people; and
improved taper rates for Newstart allowance.
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