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Scott’s priorities

Scott Morrison has produced one fiscal document in December last year. It gives a very clear picture of his priorities. These are some of the additional changes since the Budget that he introduced in MYEFO.

Targeting more people who incorrectly claim welfare payments will save $2 billion over four years to 2018-19.

A range of changes to bulk billing incentives for pathology services, diagnostic imaging and MRI services will save $650 million over four years.

Health workforce programs will be cut by $595m over four years.

The Government will cut $472 million from aged care services over three years by “better aligning” funding claimed by providers to the level of care actually provided.

The previously announced change to the childcare subsidy, to reduce the payment for families earning more than $250,000 will contribute to savings of $441 million over four years.

A total of $52.5 million is being cut from arts funding, while Green Army projects are to be capped at 500 a year, saving $317.5 million from the program.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection was one of the winners out of MYEFO, gaining more than $1 billion in additional funding over four years.

Counter-terror measures have also been allocated additional funding, with the Department of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney-General’s Department to get an extra $20 million for counter-terrorism prosecutions.

The Government has also increased the funding allocated for the establishment of the National Wind Farm Commissioner and the Independent Scientific Committee on Wind Turbines, up $600,000 over four years to a total of $2.5 million.

MYEFO also reveals the China-Australia free trade agreement will cost the budget $4.2bn over four years as a result of reductions in tariff revenue.

I offer no further comment.

26 comments

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  1. Peter F

    What wonderful plans: the ‘budget emergency’ will be over before we realise – wait a minute, it already is.

  2. Glenn K

    obscene.

    more money to create fear in the populace and less to take care of their health and well-being.

    obscene.

  3. Kaye Lee

    I would love someone to add up how much this government has cost us by axing the carbon tax (but leaving the compensation in place) and then paying polluters instead, and their trade liberalisation agenda. We can see already the writedowns in tariff revenue due to the FTAs but how do we quantify the cost of the death of an industry?

    Trade liberalisation is a con that can only hurt this country both in the short and long term. When we signed our previous FTA with the US we ended up much worse off.

  4. Jaquix

    Disgraceful. Some just guessing, all hitting ordinary people, tragic waste on wind commissioner nonsense, and not one new initiative of any kind.

  5. guest

    Of course a deeply entrenched Coalition mantra is the idea of ‘small government’. Basically, to get out of the way and let private enterprise take over, riding on market forces. We see it demonstrated in the idea of no increase in revenue, but reduction in spending. We see it in the way the government is ruled by big business and vested interest. We see it in the way the Coalition directs the money flow upwards towards the wealthy at the expense of the poor and underprivileged. We see it is the way priority is given to shibboleths to do with national security in the form of military and personnel being used as means of control within the country. We see it in the way that policy development has been concentrated on destroying anything which resembles Labor policy, especially in areas of science and climate change. We see it in the lack of policy which leads anywhere, even after several years in opposition and two and a half years in government.

    So we hear that 2.5m people are in poverty in Oz, yet we are told now is a wonderful time to be living in Oz. We are told that a handful of wealthy people own as much wealth as half the rest of the world. We have 50m people displaced around the world.

    In the C19th there was the Utilitarian philosophy of Self Help. It did not work well. Dickens tells us of the philosopher who fed less and less to his horse until he got it down to a straw a day. The whole experiment was destroyed when the horse died.

    Are we getting towards being fed a straw a day?

  6. Ricardo29

    How can it be possible that welfare fraud is costing 500 million a year? MoMoMo is bereft of both ideas and conscience. It’s all ‘punish the vulnerable’.

  7. kerri

    It will takes this country decades to recover from the fiscal vandalism of the idealogues at the helm.

  8. Kaye Lee

    They are very tough on fraud by the poor but very soft on fraud by the rich. Welfare fraud is not a scratch on tax evasion. And fraud by politicians misclaiming entitlements only exists if you are Peter Slipper.

  9. Geoff Andrews

    And is it possible that people on more than $250,000 a year actually hold their hands out for childcare subsidy?

  10. Geoff Andrews

    C.J Dennis wisely observed 100 years ago in “The Stones of Gosh”

    …………………………..
    They fined the Glug with the cast in his eye
    For looking both ways – which he did not deny –
    And for having no visible precedent, which
    Is a crime in the poor and a fault in the rich.

  11. Lawrence S. Roberts

    I doubt the Labor back room people can do the arithmetic on the loss of tax revenue from the carbon tax . I really don’t think they are in it to win it.

  12. Glenn K

    Lawrence, I think you underestimate Labor. Watch as they slowly but surely take over the initiative and “wedge” the LNP through having the policies whereas the LNP have a policy vacuum. Gunna Morrison fell perfectly into the trap today, calling Labor policies a “unicorn”. He just ruled out another option for the LNP. Turnbull runs a risk calling an election too early because he has too little to crow about as achievements, and runs a risk by calling too late and giving time to allow Labor to wedge the LNP. Though the LNP are too cocky to think they can get wedged…….

  13. Antilog book

    Joseph got a few giggles with the picture of his cigar suck with cormann, then with his brain snaps like ” the poor don’t drive” and “if you want a house get a high paying job”.
    Morrisun showed he is a worthy successor with a bumbling:
    “The only only way to have lower taxes is to have lower taxation”
    Can’t wait to see the picture of the treasurer and kelly o’dwyer vaping after the budget writing struggle.
    ps kaye the boys from the west know what shorten is about and their slipping into obscurity shows there is no chance that labor will assess the government waste on the price of carbon fiasco. There is no chance that the women will attack robb’s fta bungles. There is no chance anyone will remind us that the subs will go to japan because of robb’s dribbling mouth mistakes or realise that
    I met the aptly named gary gray when he was a pimple on albo’s bum in the local government days and it was obvious there was no guts there. Presumably, he had his 3 elections so cut and run (like tanner in 2010).

  14. Lawrence S. Roberts

    Thanks Glenn K. I am sure Labor could win from here. A promise of a Federal ICAC would do it.

  15. Truffles

    Welfare cutbacks to the needy, yet Arrium pleads poverty, threatens to cut jobs, and the SA government gives ‘industry assistance’ and urges the Commonwealth to chip in too!

  16. stephengb2014

    Agree Lawrence

    A Federal ICAC, would definately secure a Labor lead,

    Another policy that would help would be proper rules for polie allowances

    Another would be a rejection of the bulldust surrounding the idea that taxation pays for government spending. (I think I dream for that one)

    S

  17. eirik01

    We’re so lucky, we’re the only country in the world that has a National Wind Farm Commissioner and an Independent Scientific Committee on Wind Turbines and it only costs us 2.5million. What an insightful and caring government we have!

  18. Michael Taylor

    And we’re also lucky to have the worlds best minister. Gosh, we’re kicking a lot of goals.

  19. Deanna Jones

    How much is their corruption and rorting costing us?

  20. Michael Taylor

    What’s it costing us, Deanna? Our democracy.

  21. jimhaz

    In the SMH someone said

    [The only reason you would allow negative gearing is to encourage investment in an area that is high risk with a shortage of available capital]

    In other words a responsible government would transfer negative gearing from housing to mid-scale renewable energy production.

    ie a non-rort based policy

  22. jimhaz

    [The Government has also increased the funding allocated for the establishment of the National Wind Farm Commissioner and the Independent Scientific Committee on Wind Turbines, up $600,000 over four years to a total of $2.5 million]

    Turnbull would consider this a waste of money. Allowing this to continue post Abbott is a fine example of how pathetic he is under the silver tongue facade.

    [The Department of Immigration and Border Protection was one of the winners out of MYEFO, gaining more than $1 billion in additional funding over four years]

    No economic sense there either. A billion spend on housing would probably save 1000 lives over 10 years and make 22 million happier via indirect advantages. Are we going to lose 1000 lives to terrorism over 10 years – highly unlikely. Of course this money will all go to private industry and like many charities after their profit making take only a small amount will probably go to improving the quality of life at detention centres.

  23. Deanna Jones

    Agree, Michael.

  24. Bronte ALLAN

    And all of this crap from the mouth of one of the obscenely over-paid politicians trying–& failing to run our country properly–why don’t we scrap ALL state governments, reduce drastically ALL politicians salaries & perks as a starting point? Then, perhaps, a lot of these inept & almost criminal cutbacks in funding etc may not actually have to be done, or at least lessened somewhat. This (lucky?) country of our currently pays our politicians more in salaries & perks than almost every other Western world country! President Obama does not even get as large a salary as does our incompetent blood Talkbull does, & this also, is reflected in the wages of all the other members of the American government! If this inept right wing, tea party, flat earth, conservative mob of so-called politicians were half way concerned with reducing debts etc, then how about making it an enforceable law that ALL companies here in Australia pay the tax rates they are “supposed” to pay, & also ensuring that ALL wealthy Australians, whether through a “family trust” or whatever, actually pays the tax rate that they are supposed too, not some accountant/lawyers “figures” (designed to almost eliminate any taxes paid). This alone would go some way to “assisting” this bankrupt bloody mob trying to run our country.

  25. Sadenile

    Good one bronte.
    Let’s expose gillard’s cleverdick independent tribunal and her abrogation of the politician’s raison d’etre ie to vote. This hides the excesses of politician’s pay.
    Sorry, Glenn, Lawrence, as shown by the boys of WA, was right. Labor is in it for the 2019/22 election because should billy make too much of a move, the loonies will make sure they ruin his pitch.
    The greens are prepared to risk the coalition repeating 2004 when little johnnie announced he would not abuse his powers. Well blow me down no more blocking in the senate and bingo telstra, gold, ports and who can remember that as abuse?? This lot has done great damage with loonie help under the rabbott but wow what they could do with a senate majority is frightening.

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