The Hon Joe Hockey MP

Shadow Treasurer
The Hon Andrew Robb AO MP
Shadow Minister for Finance, Deregulation and Debt Reduction
Chairman of the Coalition Policy Development Committee
Wednesday 28 August 2013
The Coalition is committed to living within its means and ending Labor's waste and reckless
spending.
Only the Coalition can be trusted to get the Budget back under control and start paying back
Labor's record debt.
Ten of the last eleven Budgets brought down by the Coalition were all surpluses - including
the four biggest surpluses in Australian history.
By contrast, every single one of Labor's last eleven Budgets have been deficits - including
the biggest deficit in modern Australian history under Kevin Rudd. Labor last delivered a
surplus Budget in 1989, almost 25 years ago.
Every time the Labor Party announces tax changes, the Budget, incredibly, ends up
financially worse off. This is because the Labor Party spends all the new tax and more whilst
hitting the economy with new costs.
The Carbon Tax Package announced and legislated by Labor has been terrible for the
economy and terrible for the Budget. Spending exceeds revenue by around $7V2 billion over
the forward estimates. The Coalition will abolish the Carbon Tax and associated spending
measures apart from the compensation to households in the form of lower taxes and
fortnightly pension increases.
The Mining Tax package has been a disaster for the mining industry and a disaster for the
Budget. The MRRT has raised $40 billion less than originally forecast and the package of
spending measures has left the Budget at least $18 billion worse off.
Accordingly the Coalition will abolish the Mining Tax and most of the associated spending
measures. This will leave the Budget in a significantly better fiscal position.
When the Coalition makes new spending commitments we more than fully offset new
spending with savings. This is reflected immediately in our Paid Parental Leave policy which
modestly improves the Budget bottom line.
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As part of the Coalition's commitment to living within its means the Coalition will more
than fully fund its overall package of policy commitments b announcing more than
sufficient savings measures to pay for them.
In addition the Coalition accepts that whilst we do not like many of he savings initiatives
announced by the Government on Friday 2 August 2013 we must pr ceed with the Budget
bottom line savings as presented in the Pre -Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook (PEFO),
given the budgetary mess created by Labor.
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This applies to all savings other than those specifically identified b1the Coalition as
unacceptable such as the changes announced by the Government on Fringe Benefits Tax for
motor vehicles. The Coalition will not proceed with this flawed tax ion change.
Further savings
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The Coalition is today providing an update on further savings.
Labor has been running an unprecedented misinformation campaign about Coalition Budget
plans. Our statement today goes further than any previous Oppositi n and is far more
comprehensive than what Labor has provided prior to the final day 1 f the election campaigns
in 2007 and 2010.
The Coalition has put in place the most rigorous and comprehensive! process for the costing
of our policies and savings ever undertaken by an Opposition in Au,tralia.
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This has involved a process of systematic internal scrutiny, wide co sultation with
stakeholders, rigorous assessment by the Parliamentary Budget Offi e (PBO), and a panel of
review comprising three of Australia's most eminent experts in pubic finance and
administration. The Review Panel members are:
Mr Geoff Carmody, co-founder of Access Economics and c rrent Director of Geoff
Carmody & Associates;
Mr Len Scanlan, former Queensland Auditor-General;
Professor Peter Shergold AC, former Secretar.y of the Dep ment ofPrime Minister
and Cabinet, and Chancellor of the University of WesternS dney.
The Coalition continues to prepare its costings in a methodical, and prudent
manner. I
The further savings set out today will come as no surprise to the Au tralian people, and build
on the over $17 billion of savings already announced by the Coaliti
These additional savings primarily involve:
The abolition of further Mining Tax Package measures- be ause these are currently
being paid for with borrowed money, since Labor's failed m ning tax is only raising a
tiny fraction of the originally forecast revenue. This is not a ustainable situation.
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The abolition of Labor's Carbon Tax Package, not just the carbon tax itself, while
retaining the personal tax cuts and fortnightly pension and benefit increases provided
as part of the package.
Because the Coalition has already separately identified how it will pay for retaining
these tax cuts and fortnightly pension/benefit increases, scrapping the carbon tax
package will yield a significant net saving to the Budget despite the loss of carbon tax
revenue.
These savings bring the total of savings announced to date to over $31 billion, which
represents the great bulk of the savings the Coalition will announce.
These savings confirm that:
There are no cuts to spending on hospitals or schools - Labor's claims that the
Coalition would slash such funding are just more Labor lies;
There are no cuts to spending on defence or medical research - Labor's claims that
the Coalition would slash funding to these areas are just more Labor lies;
Total Coalition savings will be vastly below the $70 billion figure routinely touted by
Labor. That figure had already been discredited as false by various fact-checking
organisations, and this announcement confirms that it is a complete fiction; and
There is no change to the GST- which the Coalition will not alter, full stop, end of
story.
It is only the Labor Party which solemnly promises not to introduce a great big new tax, the
carbon tax, before an election, and then breaks its word and does so after the election.
The costings released today reflect the latest economic updates provided by the Government
and the Departments of Treasury and Finance.
The Coalition is continuing to receive updated information from the Parliamentary Budget
Office. We are continuing to work methodically with our Independent Expert Panel of
Review, comprised of three of Australia's foremost experts in public finance and
administration.
The Coalition has not released all of its policies. But unlike Labor, which has not even
launched its campaign yet, the Coalition has now released the great bulk of its policies and
co stings. The remainder will be released prior to the end of the campaign.
The Coalition's Paid Parental Leave Scheme
Today, the Coalition provides further information on the costing of our Paid Parental Leave
Scheme.
The total gross cost of the Coalition's Paid Parental Leave Scheme including administration
expenses is $9.8 billion over the forward estimates.
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The scheme will replace Labor's existing inadequate Governments heme, the abolition of
which will save $3.7 billion over the forward estimates.
Further offsets to the costs of the scheme will arise from:
Some increase in tax receipts and decrease in benefit payme ts owing to the higher
remuneration mothers receive as a result of the Coalition's s heme. Under the existing
Labor scheme there is obviously less income tax paid by rec pients overall and a
modestly greater call on FTB payments.
This will reduce the cost of the scheme by $1.6 billion over he forward estimates
period.
Preventing "double-dipping" by public servants.
Commonwealth and State public sector employees will be g"ven a choice of using
their existing schemes or using the new Coalition scheme. he overwhelming
majority are expected to choose the new Coalition scheme, ith the savings of
$1.2 billion to the Commonwealth and State Governments b ing applied to offset the
cost of the Coalition scheme.
No state Government will lose a dollar.
The net cost of the Coalition's Paid Parental Leave scheme after the e offsets is $3.3 billion.
This is fully covered by a levy of 1.5 per cent on companies with ta able income above
$5 million a year raising $4 4 billion over the forward estimates
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The Coalition's PPL scheme is fully funded on an ongoing basis, an d results in a small net
benefit to the Budget of just over $1 billion over the forward estima es.
Coalition Paid Parental Leave Scheme
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$
billion
Gross cost of the Coalition PPL 9.8
Less
- Existing Government scheme 3.7
-Existing Commonwealth and state Government schemes 1.2
-Automatic adjustments to Government spending and revenue 1.6
Remaining Cost 3.3
Levy of 1.5% on company taxable income above $5 million 4.4
Positive impact on Budget bottom lin 1.1
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Additional Coalition Savings
Today, the Coalition announces further savings.
Additional savings from the abolition of the MRRT
The Coalition today confirms that it will abolish a range of further spending measures from
the mining tax package- because, with the mining tax hardly raising any revenue, they are
currently being paid for with borrowed money. This will deliver nearly $5 billion in savings
over the forward estimates.
These additional savings consist of:
Discontinuing the instant asset write-off ($2.9 billion);
Removing accelerated depreciation for motor vehicles ($0.4 billion)
Discontinuing the phasing down of interest withholding tax on financial institutions
($0.4 billion);
Discontinuing the Government's tax loss carry-back measure, which was introduced in
the 2012-13 Budget as an inadequate substitute for Labor's scrapping of its
long-promised company tax cut ($0.9 billion); and
Savings resulting from a reduction in administrative expenses incurred for running the
failed MRRT ($0.1 billion).
Additional savings from the abolition ofthe Carbon Tax
The Coalition has been consistent from day one in our promise to abolish the Carbon Tax,
and the measures linked to it, except for the personal income tax cuts and fortnightly pension
benefit increases.
Abolishing the remaining spending linked to the carbon tax will deliver savings of
$7.5 billion.
Discontinuing the business compensation measures introduced to provide partial relief to
selected sectors and industries for the hit from the carbon tax ($5.1 billion)- including:
o Removal of the increase in the instant asset write-off threshold to $6,500 ($0.2
billion);
o Discontinuing the Jobs and Competitiveness Program ($4.0 billion);
o Discontinuing the Steel Transformation Plan ($0.1 billion);
o Discontinuing the Clean Technology Program ($0.4 billion);
o Discontinuing the Coal Sector Jobs Package ($0.3 billion); and
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o Discontinuing other small Clean Energy Future business compensation measures
including the Energy Efficiency Information Grants, the Clean Energy Skills
package, and the Clean Technology Focus for Supply C ain programs;
Discontinuing energy market compensation measures which wil no longer be needed
once the carbon tax has been scrapped ($0.5 billion);
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Discontinuing various land sector initiatives which Labor has slashed, as well as
bureaucracies like the Climate Change Authority ($0.4 billion); rnd
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Abolishing other measures linked to the carbon tax that are or will no longer be
required once the carbon tax is abolished ($1.5 billion). !
Other Coalition Savings
Further savings totalling $0.8 billion over the forward estimates wil be realised from:
Redirection of funding from the Carbon Capture and Storage F agships Program (saving
$0.3 billion); and 1
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Reduction in funding for the Automotive Transformation Sche e (saving $0.5 billion)
(announced in February 2011).
These savings take the total of prudent and fully casted Coalition sa ings to over $31 billion
across the forward estimates period.
All Coalition policies are fully casted and fully funded.
A full final castings analysis with four year itemised numbers toget er with a certification of
integrity from the Independent Expert Panel of Review will be rele sed prior to the election,
after all policies have been released.
Unlike Labor, whose Budget position has been deteriorating by $3 illion a week since the
May Budget, the Coalition will live within its means.
In 2007 and 2010 Labor waited to release their full castings less
day. The Coalition will do better than this.
24 hours before polling
Prudent budget management. That's our pledge.
[ENDS]
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APPENDIX A: Coalition Savings
Savings over the
Forward Estimates
Period
$billion
1 (MRRT) Re-phase Superannuation Guarantee increase 1.6
2 (MRRT) Not proceed with low income super guarantee 3.7
3 (MRRT) Abolish twice yearly mining tax supplementary allowance 1.1
4 (MRRT) Abolish Schoolkids Bonus 4.6
5 Reduce humanitarian refugee intake 1.3
6 Reduce public service by 12,000 5.2
7 Coalition PPL (net budget impact) 1.1
Further mining tax measures
8 (MRRT) Discontinue instant asset write-off 2.9
9 (MRRT) Discontinue phase-down of interest withholding tax 0.4
10 (MRRT) Discontinue tax loss carry back 0.9
11 (MRRT) Remove accelerated depreciation for motor vehicles 0.4
12 (MRRT) Reduced administrative expenses from scrapping the MRRT 0.1
Carbon tax measures
13 Discontinue business compensation measures 5.1
14 Discontinue energy market compensation measures 0.5
15 Discontinue land initiatives and unnecessary bureaucracies 0.4
16 Abolish other carbon tax measures no longer needed 1.5
Other savings
17 Redirect Carbon Capture and Storage Flagships funding 0.3
18 Reduce Automotive Transformation Scheme funding 0.5
TOTAL 31.6
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