Budget 2017: Shorten’s reply speech shows dangerous new political reality

Shorten prepares to deliver his budget reply address in the House of Representatives. Picture: Getty

Australian politics is now a race to the bottom of the economic canyon.

Bill Shorten’s budget reply speech tonight crystallised the dangerous new political reality in Australia.

The political battle is now between a Coalition government who have made clear that they will increase spending money that the nation doesn’t have and a Labor Party who will spend even more money that the nation doesn’t have.

As political theatre, Bill Shorten’s speech was well delivered and well crafted.

But it is now clear that neither side of Australian politics is prepared to tackle the elephant in the room — our growing indebtedness.

Bill Shorten tonight made the argument that if you want Labor Party policies it makes more sense to vote for the real Labor Party than the Turnbull government.

There is a real danger here for the Coalition government — if you want Labor Party policies, or quasi Labor Party policies, then why not vote for the real thing?

Mr Shorten made clear that he will continue prosecuting the policies which helped make up ground at the last election.

In his budget reply, he restated his party’s commitment to call a Royal Commission into the banks, abolish negative gearing and would “always protect Medicare.”

With the Coalition bringing down a budget this week which could have been delivered by the Labor Party, Mr Shorten is clearly attempting to demonstrate one thing: that Labor’s Labor credentials are more authentic than the Turnbull government’s “Labor credentials.”

The speech confirmed how Australia’s political debate is being turned on its head.

If the Turnbull government had brought down a Labor-lite budget, then Bill Shorten tonight tried to turn the tables on the Liberals with his rhetoric.

He made accusations of the Coalition which have traditionally been made of Labor.

This week’s budget, he said, was one of big government, higher tax and more debt.

It’s been a long time since a Labor leader has attacked the Coalition for that trifecta — and been largely accurate.

Shorten tried to portray the Coalition as “frozen” in the past while Labor provided the way to the future.

His speech began with this theme: “This is a budget and a government that wants to bury its past and rewrite its history.”

The Coalition was engaged in “a war on young people”; the government had “cooked up” policies in a panic; “brickies and nurses” were being told to work until they were 70.

Despite the government’s attempts with this week’s “Medicare Guarantee” to put an end to the political damage it has suffered on Medicare, Mr Shorten returned to the theme.

“A Labor budget will always protect Medicare,” he said.

“Which means reversing the unfair Medicare freeze immediately.”

Mr Shorten restated his party’s policy to call a Royal Commission into Australia’s banks.

Of the Turnbull government’s $6.2 billion tax on banks, Mr Shorten said: “We are worried the weakness of this government will turn a $6 billion tax on the banks into a $6 billion charge on every Australian with a bank account or a mortgage.”

He added: “And let me make this clear — if the banks pass on a single dollar of this tax to Australian families then that should be the end of this Treasurer, this Prime Minister and this whole government.”

Mr Shorten restated his party’s policy to abolish negative gearing and to provide more public housing.

Mr Shorten said there were some government announcements that Labor would support — including the changes to the Family Court.

He rejected the Turnbull government’s budget announcement this week that it was, for the first time, fully funding the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

He claimed that Labor had fully funded the NDIS — a claim that few economists accept.

He committed a Labor government to restore the $22 billion that he said the government had cut from Australian schools.