Economy
Labor’s cowardice and cruelty. September 7 Poll? Wilkie, Milne, Eslake. Nauru …
Labor’s cowardice and refusal to raise money from those who can afford it has led to cutting a billion dollars from the world’s poorest to spend on cruelty.
“Labor will spend over a billion dollars on its cruel and inhumane PNG ‘solution’ while hitting the aid budget and Australia’s public service,” Australian Greens Leader Senator Milne said.
“We shouldn’t be slashing money from the aid budget or the public service in a rush back to surplus.
“Kevin Rudd’s attack on the public service has been dressed up as an “efficiency dividend. But what it really means is significant job losses and the axing of vital programs and services.
“This is another example of Kevin Rudd adopting Tony Abbott’s attack on the public service rather than having courage to take on the big mining companies or the fossil fuel sector who can afford to contribute more.
“After another billion dollar write down in its mining tax, when will Labor finally admit that it is time to fix this tax and make the big mining companies pay their fair share.
“Why should the world’s poor and Australia’s public servants pay while the mining companies are laughing all the way to the bank.
“The glaring absence in this statement is Labor’s refusal to reverse the cuts to single parents and universities or increase Newstart by $50 a week to help people out of poverty.
“The Greens would immediately save the $3.8 billion cost of rushing to flexible pricing under the ETS which would simply making it cheaper for big polluters to pollute.
“Labor’s economic statement fails to care for people, protect the environment or drive the transition to a clean economy.
“Only the Greens can be trusted to stand up for what matters and raise the revenue to invest in a caring society.”
Use the TT NEWS Dropdown Menu (top nav bar) for breaking news/comment on Labor’s economic statement
• Andrew Wilkie: Some aspects of the Government’s economic statement are cruel, ill-considered and a missed opportunity for needed tax reform. Cruel because the cut to foreign aid, effectively over $1bn, is inhumane and ultimately not in Australia’s national interest. We should be stabilising and strengthening regional countries, not abandoning them. And cruel that disadvantaged Australians, and in particular those on Newstart, will not see any extra money flowing their way. The statement was in part also ill-considered because it did not include a revision of past poor decisions, in particular the cuts to the tertiary education sector in the May budget.
• ABC: Economic update, policy changes clear deck for possible September 7 election
By political correspondent Louise Yaxley, staff
A five-week official election campaign is expected to begin within days, culminating in voters going to the polls on September 7.
The Federal Government’s mini-budget and recent policy changes have cleared the way for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to visit the Governor-General to ask for an election.
The Opposition has been demanding Mr Rudd announce the polling day, arguing business confidence has suffered because of the wait.
Mr Rudd made it clear when he returned to the Labor leadership in June that he was not committed to sticking to the September 14 poll date set by former prime minister Julia Gillard.
A federal election on September 7 would mean a referendum on recognising local government in the constitution on the same day.
The Government has been preparing for an election campaign with recent policy changes on immigration, carbon pricing and yesterday’s economic statement.
• RN Saturday Extra: Wilkie, Milne, Eslake on Tasmania into the future
In the lead up to the 2013 Federal election, we discuss the possibilities on offer to produce a thriving Tasmania.
There are some terrible statistics in Tasmania, including high unemployment and low school retention rates.
But there’s also some very bright spots: the arts revival led by MONA, tourism and a big scientific research sector, with some of Australia’s most innovative thinkers.
Listen to the audio (which will be added soon) here
• Christine Milne: Children and families will suffer the most in Rudd’s latest cruel and absurd Nauru proposition Australian Greens Leader Senator Christine Milne said: “The Prime Minister is caught out by his own rush to cruelty. “Kevin Rudd said there would be no exceptions, but when it became clear he couldn’t send children under seven or pregnant women because of malaria, he had to hurriedly cobble together a new cruel punishment for them. “Kevin Rudd has come up with Nauru not only as a place of punishment, but as a place of resettlement. It is cruel and absurd. “A five minute assessment of the logistics will tell you that a 21 square kilometre island with a population of 10,000, that has no food, an insecure water supply and inadequate services cannot resettle thousands of refugees. “Exactly how many millions of dollars does he expect Australia will spend flying food, water and fuel to Nauru indefinitely?