Simon Birmingham accuses Labor of ‘nod and wink’ to budget blowout

Simon Birmingham has accused Labor of giving a ‘nod and a wink’ to massively ­increasing the education and health budgets without taking costings to voters.

Simon Birmingham claims the budget could be more than $60bn worse off over a decade if Labor gives into state demands on schools and ­hospitals. Picture: Jason Edwards

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham has accused Labor of giving a “nod and a wink” to massively ­increasing the education and health budgets without taking costings to voters ahead of the May 21 election.

In the Coalition’s next major attack on Anthony Albanese’s lack of policy detail, Senator Birmingham is claiming the budget could be more than $60bn worse off over a decade if Labor gives into state demands on schools and ­hospitals. But a Labor spokesman said the Coalition’s claim was “more desperate attempts from the Liberals, whose idea of financial responsibility is running up a trillion dollars of debt”.

“Anthony Albanese has been clear that he’ll work together with state and territory governments, not pick political fights like Scott Morrison has done,” the spokesman said.

On Sunday, opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said Labor would seek to renegotiate a school funding agreement with states and territories next year, confirming an Albanese government would increase spending on public schools.

“We need the states and territories to increase their effort, as we would increase our effort, to get every school up to 100 per cent of its fair funding level,” Ms Plibersek said.

“The agreement that the commonwealth has signed with the states at the moment bakes in ­inequality to our system, where Catholic and independent schools will get to 100 per cent of their fair funding level … public schools never will.”

The Victorian Labor government is arguing public schools will only be “fully and fairly funded” if the commonwealth ­increases its schooling resource standard contribution from 20 per cent to 25 per cent.

The Coalition argues this would blow out the education budget by $18bn to 2029 and $31bn over the decade.

Last week, Mr Albanese left the door open to negotiating with the state governments on their demands for the commonwealth to increase its funding split for public hospitals from 45 per cent to 50 per cent.

State governments are also pushing for the removal of the 6.5 per cent funding growth cap.

“What we will do is sit down with premiers constructively and work these issues through. We know that pressure that’s there on the hospital systems,” Mr ­Albanese said.

“I’m aware that the premiers would like increased funding. Premier (Annastacia) Palaszczuk, raised it with me. All of the state premiers, Labor and Liberal, wrote to the government.”

The Morrison government claims the state government ­demands would increase ­commonwealth health spending by $4bn over the forward ­estimates and by $30bn over a decade.

Ms Palaszczuk, the Queensland Premier, said she was ­confident Mr Albanese would “listen” to the premiers on health funding.

“He will conduct a listening exercise and look at those gaps. And we’ll be able to work with him,” she said.

Senator Birmingham said Labor was “giving a nod and a wink to stakeholders now, but will only crystallise the budget hit post-election”.

“These polices are reminiscent of the Gillard era when Labor baked in huge structural spending that took years to begin to control,” Senator Birmingham said.

“When Anthony Albanese is asked about his plans he ducks and weaves, too scared to stand firm. We know that weak ­leadership will lead to a weak economy.

“Voters deserve to know just how much an Albanese Labor government would increase debt and deficit, deteriorating the budget bottom line.

“Bill Shorten was at least honest about his big-spending and taxing plans.”

At the last election, Labor committed to an extra $14bn funding on public schools and vowed to increase commonwealth funding of hospitals to 50 per cent.

To pay for this, Mr Shorten proposed unpopular revenue-raising policies, including a clampdown on negative gearing for property investors and cash refunds for franking credits.