Tony Abbott’s budget quicksand

*Pic: Corman and Hockey enjoy a quiet pre-Budget night cigar

There is a Biblical parable that tells us when reflecting on our future, we should build our house on stone, not on sand. Tony Abbott’s budget is looking like it will soon disappear into quicksand, because it is built on a foundation of dishonesty and deception, and is proving unacceptable to many Australians.

Australia’s so called ‘budget emergency,’ this government’s key justification for its cruel and unnecessary cuts to our country’s most disadvantaged, is the biggest deception of all. The idea that Australia is now in a ‘debt crisis’ has been debunked by both the International Monetary Fund and again this week by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office.

The myths this budget dishonesty are built on were recently analysed by the Australia Institute in its report “Auditing the Auditors.” They showed that Australia’s present debt levels are historically low and that by international standards the Australian government net debt levels and current budget deficit are amongst the lowest in the developed world (OECD).

Contrary to this governments propaganda, Australia’s current debt levels are the result of tax cuts under the Howard years, rather than from recent supposed runaway government spending on things such as welfare, health and pensions. We are the fourth lowest taxing country in the OECD and our levels of government spending, rather than being out-of-control, are in line with Australia’s average spending over the past 30 years.

The Greens support sensible measures to raise revenue and manage budgets, targeting those who can afford to pay rather than battlers. This includes keeping the current tax on mining super profits, a price on carbon pollution, a new deposit guarantee levy on big bank profits and the removal of billions of dollars in corporate welfare such as mining diesel subsidies. None of these are considered in this budget.

But we have already voiced our opposition to poorly-constructed ideological budget initiatives such as a debt crisis levy. Not only is this bad policy, but we don’t want a bar of this government’s dis-honesty and deception.

Let’s consider this policy in more detail. It will raise less than $3b, only .03% percent of our projected national debt, so for its stated purpose of “reducing debt” or “deficit repair” it is nothing more than a political trick or gimmick. High income earners are already being offered loop holes to avoid paying the tax. At estimates last week the department admitted up to $500m could be avoided under existing loopholes and the possibility that millions of small businesses owners could avoid paying the temporary tax altogether.

It prioritises retiring debt rather than spending on health, education and essential services, and most importantly it is only “temporary.” How is it fair that a tax on the rich is only for a few years but other budget cuts targeting the poor, sick, young and elderly are permanent.

Lastly, the Finance Minister Corman also admitted when I questioned him in Estimates last week the Government’s plan to “cut” personal income taxes in just a few years, most likely the year before an election. So these cruel budget cuts and weak levies are being used as ammunition to set up future tax cuts to the rich and build the government a war chest prior to the next election.

The Greens want to increase the tax rate on high income earners, but it should be structural (permanent) and not done for temporary and cynical political purposes. We will use the budget as an opportunity to fight for this reform in parliament, as we will for the health and prosperity of ordinary, disadvantaged Australians who will suffer the brunt of Tony Abbott’s cruel, and unnecessary budget deceit.

Watch why the rich don’t shoulder the load: