Bill Shorten election pitch 2016: Budget promises fewer jobs, lower growth

LAST week’s Budget was meant to demonstrate, at last, that Malcolm Turnbull was different to Tony Abbott. But it contains the same $80 billion cut to schools and hospitals and the same cuts to working and middle class families.

“Labor is being honest with Australians about what the Budget can truly afford,” Opposition Leader Bill Shorten writes. Picture: AAP / SCOTT GELSTON

FROM Tony’s tradies to Malcolm’s millionaires: this is a Government for big business over the battlers.

Last week’s Budget was meant to demonstrate, at last, that Malcolm Turnbull was different to Tony Abbott.

But it contains the same $80 billion cut to schools and hospitals and the same cuts to working and middle class families.

The same cuts to Medicare, to childcare, to aged care, to carers and pensioners.

It’s brought to you by the same Government that ran the car industry out of South Australia and saw thousands of South Australian shipbuilding and manufacturing jobs disappear because of its dithering on where to build our future submarines.

This Budget fails the test of fiscal responsibility too.

Having banged the drum of ‘budget emergencies’ for so long - and despite all their cuts and broken promises, in the past three years the Liberals have tripled the deficit and added $100 billion to Australia’s national debt.

At a time of falling incomes, flat wages and declining living standards, this Budget promises fewer jobs and lower growth.

By contrast, Labor is being honest with Australians about what the Budget can truly afford.

We’re making the hard choices to fully-fund our investments in Australia’s future, to deliver Budget repair that is fair.

If there’s one fact that defines the unfairness of the Government’s Budget it is this:

A working Mum on $65,000 with two kids in high school will be over $4700 a year worse off.

But someone on a million dollars, will be almost $17,000 better off every year.

And not only are these measures unfair, they are unaffordable.

Labor will do the right thing – by the Budget and by families.

Labor will support a tax cut for small business – but unlike the Prime Minister – we will not use this as camouflage for a massive tax cut to big multinationals.

Especially when the Government did not trust the Australian people with the truth of the ten year cost of their ten year plan.

The Turnbull Budget is built on a fraud of a grand scale.

The Prime Minister knew full well what his big-business tax cut would costs all taxpayers – but for days he looked them in the eye and told them he did not.

It was simply a lie.

Labor will not support Mr Turnbull’s ten year tax cut for big business and now is not the time to reduce the marginal rate for individuals who earn more than $180,000 a year.

These two decisions will deliver $65 billion in budget improvements.

Labor has been putting forward our positive plans for the future.

For a growing economy where opportunity belongs to everyone.

Securing Australian jobs today and creating jobs tomorrow.

Preparing for our transition to a knowledge economy, by investing in education - from early childhood and schools to TAFE and university.

A health system where your Medicare card, not your credit card guarantees you access to the treatment you need.

For real action on climate change – and the new jobs and new industries created by renewable energy.

Putting the great Australian dream of home ownership back in reach of working and middle class families who have been priced out of the market by taxpayer funded subsidised speculators.

And championing the march of women to equality: closing the gender pay gap, properly-funding childcare and not cutting paid parental leave.

We hear so much talk from this Prime Minister about ‘innovation’.

But Australia cannot be an innovation nation, unless we are an education nation.

You can’t build an ideas boom when you’re sacking CSIRO scientists.

We will not get smarter by charging university students $100,000 for a degree.

Unlike the Liberal-Nationals, who have cut $2.5 billion from Vocational Education, Labor will make training and skills a national priority.

We reject the false choice between growth and fairness – each is essential to each other.

In my Budget Reply I outlined $71 billion of additional Budget improvements over the decade.

By contrast, this Liberal Budget punishes people who can’t afford it and rewards those who don’t need it.

Labor is proud to offer the Australian people a better alternative.

We have learned the hard lessons of the past.

We have put forward our positive plans.

We are united.

We are ready.

A Labor Government will always put people first.

Originally published as Bill Shorten election pitch 2016: Budget promises fewer jobs, lower growth