Australian Federal Budget 2014: Treasurer Joe Hockey declares all Australians must endure hip-pocket pain
ALL Australians must endure hip-pocket pain in the national interest, Treasurer Joe Hockey has declared, as the nation contends with a harsh Budget the Government accepts will be deeply unpopular.
Declaring that “the days of borrow and spend must come to an end”, Treasurer Joe Hockey unveiled a barrage of short-term hits, such as the fuel excise that will add up to 3c a litre, a $7 co-payment for GP visits, a reining in of welfare and the debt tax.
What does the Budget mean to you?South Australia has already benefited from infrastructure spending with almost $1 billion for the north-south corridor, but is set to miss out on its share of the $5 billion extra cash that is on offer for those states willing to sell their assets.
Mr Hockey has asked Australia to get behind his first Budget, saying his measures would bring down the deficit from $50 billion to about $30 billion next year, and then to a slender deficit of $2.8 million in 2017-18. The year after that, the Budget should be balanced, with a surplus by the end of the decade.
The Government blames the previous Labor Government for its struggle to fix the Budget.
“The challenge is not of our making, but we … accept responsibility to fix it,” Mr Hockey said.
The headline savings measures in the 2014-15 Budget include:A FUEL excise increase, adding 3c to the price of petrol, with money to go towards infrastructure.
REDUCTIONS in family tax benefits, a push to get people off welfare and into work and indexation freezes for a range of programs, as well as savings from pensioners and the removal of the Seniors Supplement for health card holders.
CUTTING 16,500 public servants and abolishing government bodies and bureaucratic programs for a “smaller, less interfering Government”.
A $7 PAYMENT for a visit to the GP, more expensive medicines and the abolition of Medicare Locals.
A 2 PER CENT tax on people earning more than $180,000 to bring in $3.1 billion.
The spending measures include:AN $11.6 BILLION infrastructure Growth Package for projects including SA’s north-south corridor.
A $20 BILLION Medical Research Future Fund, which Mr Hockey said would be the world’s biggest within six years. Health savings, including $5 from each $7 GP co-payment, to fund new medical research.
PRIME Minister Tony Abbott’s controversial paid parental leave scheme, capped at $50,000 a year instead of the original $75,000.
$820 MILLION in support for more than 80,000 higher education students, and $524.8 million for the Restart program to encourage employers to hire people aged 50 and older.
It is not yet clear which measures will make it through the new Senate, where the Government will need the support of crossbenchers if Labor opposes any of them.
Mr Hockey emphasised the need for the states to do more of the heavy lifting, and figures show that in a decade, they will effectively strip $20 billion a year out of education and health funding.
The Treasurer did not resile from that shift in focus, telling The Advertiser there was “no free lunch out of Canberra for the states”.
“States run schools, states run hospitals. It’s gotta get fixed,” he said.
The emphasis on states taking responsibility sparked questions about whether that would increase pressure for GST changes, and Mr Hockey said the GST would be considered in the Government’s tax reform White Paper as well as a Federation White Paper.
http://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/australian-federal-budget-2014-t...========================================
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