Scott Morrison’s Question Time fury over Budget
TREASURER Scott Morrison has accused those blocking efforts to haul in a ballooning welfare Bill of setting fire to the Budget.
NSW
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TREASURER Scott Morrison has accused those blocking efforts to haul in a ballooning welfare Bill of setting fire to the Budget.
Mr Morrison has linked potential tax rises to protecting Australia’s AAA credit rating as Labor, the Greens and the Senate crossbench stand in the way of $4 billion worth of savings and reform measures.
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Mr Morrison told Question Time on Thursday Australian households knew they had to live within their means, but the Opposition refused to do so.
He said it was a “dog act” from Labor to pursue its own “cynical political objective” of trying to force a downgrade of the AAA credit rating.
The Federal Government warned its yearly welfare spending of $159 billion was forecast to rise to an unsustainable $187 billion by 2019.
“They continue to demand higher and higher spending,” Mr Morrison said.
“We’ve made it crystal clear how this Budget can come back to balance by dealing with the expenditure challenges that we have and to make sure that government lives within its means.
“They (Labor) set fire to that Budget and they pour petrol on it every single day from Opposition ... they need to be accountable for the actions they take.”
South Australian senator Nick Xenophon also faced fierce government criticism for his suggested compromise of increasing the Medicare levy to instead fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme — which could cost families up to an extra $2600 annually.
Senator Xenophon said he was prepared to revisit the package put to the Senate, which included $1.6 billion extra in childcare funding, but could not support the majority of the $8 billion in welfare cuts.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was also forced to quash reports his government was planning to backflip on capital gains tax concessions to repair the Budget.
As the PM continued the attack on Labor by linking rising power prices to renewables, he said the government did not support Labor’s plans to increase capital gains tax or negative gearing.
Several senior government figures denied reports a crackdown on capital gains tax concessions for property investors could provide revenue to help replace blocked Budget cuts.
Originally published as Scott Morrison’s Question Time fury over Budget
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