29 October | The Coalition's Budget Reply
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has put cost-of-living pressures at the centre of his first Budget Reply speech, highlighting concerns over rising interest rates and soaring energy prices.
Dutton accused the Albanese Government of failing its first major economic test since the May election by undermining the strong economic fundamentals left in place by the previous administration, while caving in to the union movement on industrial relations.
Faced with the challenges outlined below, Dutton said the Budget failed to outline a credible plan to deal with the source of high inflation or to help families deal with immediate cost of living pressures.
Cost of living is going up
Power prices are going up - by more than 50 percent
Gas prices are going up - by 40 percent
Taxes are going up - with $142 billion more receipts to be collected
Unemployment is forecast to go up
Interest rates are continuing to go up
Real wages are forecast to go down
The Opposition leader narrowed in on Labor’s pre-election pledge to lower household electricity bills by around $275 as a broken promise, while also accusing the Government of laying the groundwork to at least in part abandon the upcoming Stage 3 tax cuts.
Central to his argument are Budget forecasts that wage growth will remain largely stagnant for at least another two years, despite power prices expected to rise by 56 percent in the coming 18 months and gas prices by 44 percent.
He said Australians deserve better from a government that promised so much, but in its first economic test, has delivered very little.
Some themes and sections from Dutton’s speech are below:
“Labor’s Budget was a missed opportunity to help you at a time when you need help,” Dutton said.
“It didn’t address our economic challenges or inspire confidence.
“It’s a Budget which breaks promises, rather than keeps them.
“A Budget which weakens Australia’s financial position, rather than strengthens it.
“And a Budget which adds to, rather than alleviates your cost-of-living pressures.”
“The Budget is failing you: in energy, tax relief, housing, filling job shortages, industrial relations, and infrastructure in our regions.”
“It was only due to our economic management over the seven years prior to the pandemic that we were in a strong position to implement a suite of support measures,” Dutton said.
“With 2020 hindsight, we didn’t get everything right [but] some of the state government lockdowns went on for far too long.
“Australians are still bearing the wounds of those lockdowns today.
“Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s policies kept our nation afloat.
“JobKeeper assisted 1 million businesses and kept 4 million Australians in jobs.
“Our cash-flow boost helped 820,000 businesses.
“On almost every economic and health measure, Australia was either world-leading or performed better than most countries.”
Dutton attributed spiralling energy costs to a combination of factors - the Russian invasion of Ukraine, lingering effects from the pandemic and the nature of the transition to renewables.
He accused Labor of driving the transition too quickly, jeopardising capacity to store energy and ensure all-day reliability.
Dutton said policy settings must ensure affordable electricity, with reliable baseload supply and that the transition to net-zero emissions needs to work effectively for all Australians.
In slamming a “reckless rush to renewables”, he also reiterated previous Coalition bids for a debate on nuclear energy in Australia, citing UK intentions to triple its nuclear power generation by 2050.
The Opposition Leader attacked Labor’s plan to build one million homes from 2024-2029 as lacking detail and direction, labelling the Budget’s $10 billion commitment to the Housing Australia Future Fund unrealistic and ‘Kevin Rudd-esque’.
Instead, Peter Dutton doubled down on committing the Coalition to a Super Home Buyer Scheme, allowing first-home buyers to fund a deposit from their superannuation.
The policy was floated by the Morrison Government in May 2022 just prior to the Federal Election and was seen by some as pitch to younger voters struggling to breach a prohibitive housing market.
“Your super is your money. This Government thinks it’s their money – something we have seen in this Budget. They want your super to invest in someone else’s home – not your own,” Dutton said.
“We support initiatives to increase the supply of housing. But the Government’s initiative has no detail. The Labor Government has promised one million additional homes in five years costing $10 billion dollars. It isn’t realistic.”
Dutton reaffirmed the Coalition’s support for the NDIS but warned the program could become unsustainable without appropriate safeguards.
The Budget forecast annual cost increases of 14 percent for the next 10 years, and the NDIS is becoming the second fastest-growing Government payment behind debt interest payments.
Dutton accused the Government of trying to use the cover of the Federal Budget to introduce its extreme industrial relations agenda, saying proposed workplace changes represent the most radical shake-up of Australia’s industrial relations system in decades.
He said that at a time of growing inflation, businesses struggling with staff shortages and rapidly increasing power costs, Labor and their union mates will make a bad situation worse.
