He says he can.
Peter Dutton has vowed to deliver lower taxes while slashing red and green tape so private enterprise can drive Australia out of the cost-of-living crisis, accusing Anthony Albanese of sidelining key industries and expanding the size of government to “exert more power” on behalf of activists and union bosses.
The Opposition Leader on Sunday outlined his priority policies under his “Get Australia Back on Track” election slogan in the Melbourne electorate of Chisholm. They included expediting gas development, cutting government spending, halving approval times for resources projects, making housing more affordable, cracking down on unions, backing traditional industries, cutting migration and giving more tax incentives for small business owners.
It sounds decent. But is it? More.
Amid uncertainty over whether the Reserve Bank of Australia will deliver an interest rate cut to relieve mortgage holders before polling day, the government is examining further measures to help with the cost of living, including new incentives for doctors to bulk-bill patients and a third round of energy bill subsidies.
…Mr Dutton signalled the Coalition would avoid temporary subsidies. He said energy bill rebates, worth $300 a year to households, and the waiving of about $16 billion in student debt, only provided temporary relief while masking underlying problems.
“When government overspends, interest rates and inflation stay higher for longer. We can only escape the clutches of the cost-of-living crisis by reining in inflationary spending,” he said.
Mr Dutton gave little detail of what spending the Coalition would cut, but took aim at “billions” in subsidies for green hydrogen; funding for start-up PsiQuantum to build the world’s first fault-tolerant quantum computer; hiring an extra 36,000 public servants for $6 billion; and paying $450,000 to Indigenous speakers at welcome-to-country ceremonies.
Mr Dutton said defence, health, the National Disability Insurance Scheme and aged care were areas that his party would seek to spend more on.
…“It means more digging, which means more trucks move, which means more gas flows, which means more tax revenues and royalties,” he said.
Oh dear.
- Cutting the energy rebates will deliver an enormous inflation shock to households just as LNG imports begin. No amount of new gas supply will prevent the gas export cartel from driving prices to import parity, which is double today’s price. There will be no new tax take because gas doesn’t pay any.
- Then there is the nuclear power black hole, which is nothing but coal subsidy program.
- Cutting Labor’s balderdash spending is great, but why would we spend more on the NDIS? It is already completely out of control and devouring the economy with unproductive bullshit jobs.
The better policies are in borders and housing:
Dutton pledged several measures aimed at reducing the price of housing, which has become a bellwether for the cost-of-living crisis. These include a two-year ban on foreign investors and temporary residents buying existing Australian homes; a cut over two years of 25% to the number of people allowed into the country through permanent migration program; stricter caps on international students at metropolitan universities; and a A$5 billion ($3.1 billion) package to support the building of essential infrastructure for new housing.
Cutting immigration from what level, though?
Albo’s got to go, but Dutto’s answers appear richer in symbolism than substance.
