Election 2022: Moderate Liberal Andrew Bragg submits 10-point manifesto

NSW Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, one of the party’s leading moderate voices, has put forward a 10-point reform plan.

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

NSW Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, one of the party’s leading moderate voices, has put forward a 10-point reform plan including proposals to pause the superannuation guarantee to boost wages and reduce reliance on income tax.

Other proposals include the provision of one year’s shared parental leave to families, the establishment of an Indigenous voice within the Constitution and the creation of a new small business award.

Senator Bragg’s policy manifesto is the first considered blueprint for how the Liberals should rebuild following the shattering election defeat that saw a teal revolution claim up to six seats from the party in the inner cities.

The plan is based on the principles of “enterprise and fairness” and comes as the Coalition debates how to respond to the election result, including what position to adopt on climate change and the creation of an anti-corruption commission.

While Scott Morrison in the final week of the campaign unveiled a policy allowing first-home buyers to access 40 per cent of their superannuation to buy a property, Senator Bragg has gone further by proposing further changes to “liberate Australians from superannuation.”

He said super was a “significant failure of economic policy” because it had not succeeded in moving many Australians off the pension while costing the budget more than it had saved.

Senator Bragg said there should be an immediate pause to the superannuation guarantee to increase wages and the creation of a “permanent system which allows Australians to take superannuation as wages/income during certain periods”.

He backed in other changes allowing first-home buyers to access superannuation without heavy restrictions, giving all Australians access to the Future Fund as a default option and the prevention of uncommercial payments from industry super funds to unions.

Senator Bragg has also pushed for broader changes to ensure young people can access the “Australian dream” of home ownership, including introduction of incentives to increase density policies in cities.

He said greater efforts should be made to encourage state governments to replace stamp duty with land tax.

In his 10-point plan, Senator Bragg has urged the Coalition to do more on childcare and argued for the opposition to pursue a paid parental leave scheme that provides a year of leave to be shared within a family.

He also favoured the introduction of a new system of childcare for three and four year olds that is “largely free” as well as a review into the tax settings for in-home care.

Senator Bragg pushed the Liberal Party to examine ways to reduce reliance on income taxes “with a view to considering improving the mix of taxation and balance between income and indirect taxation.”

He said state income tax should be considered to “replace a large part of federal income tax.” He also reaffirmed the call for a lower corporate tax rate for all Australian businesses.

To improve the budget bottom line, Senator Bragg has called for a significant reduction in the size of federal departments and a re-examination of super tax concessions.