Tonight treasurer Joe Hockey stood in federal parliament and handed down the Abbott Government’s first budget.
Wearing a blue tie, Hockey delivered a tough budget with “heavy lifting” measures that he says will reduce the national deficit to $10.6 billion by 2016-17.
However, political pundits are already anticipating that these deep cuts will savagely impact vulnerable groups like low income families, seniors and students.
“We want to replace the age of entitlement with an age of opportunity,” said Hockey. “The days of borrow and spend must come to an end.”
After a half hour speech, the treasurer delivered a budget proposal that will no doubt result in economical winners and losers.
Here is an outline of the budget at a glance:
Families
Paid Parental Leave Scheme to pay new mothers up to $50,000
Family Tax Benefits frozen over two years
Family Tax Benefit Part B income threshold will be reduced to $100,000
Family Tax Benefits- B stops when a child turns six
End of year supplement frozen
Large family supplement limited
Family Tax Benefits- A per child bonus scrapped
Disability Support Pension tied to inflation from 2017
Under 35s disability reviewed
Health
Government to introduce $7 medical co-payment to be invested entirely in medical research fund.
$7 GP co-payment
$5 increase for medicines
$15 billion less on hospitals
Freeze on private health rebate
New $20 billion medical research fund by 2020
Tax
Workers earning over $180,000 will have to pay a 2 per cent temporary budget repair levy for three years.
Two per cent levy on incomes over $180,000
Three-year levy to raise $3.1 billion
Reindexing the petrol excise – $2.2 billion over four years
Additional revenue to roads
Biodiesel grants phased out
Tax measures backlog cleared
Universities
Hockey says: “Australians under 30 years of age should be earning or learning”
No cap on university fees
Government supports diploma courses
HELP repayments from a lower salary at a higher rate
Scholarships for the disadvantaged
Seniors
Pension increased to 70 in 2035
Pension indexed to CPI in 2017
Pension eligibility frozen
Health Card supplement axed
Assets test to include super
Payments to states axed
Aged care supplement axed
Home support reduced funding
Indigenous people
A $500 million cut to indigenous programs over five years
Unemployment
Newstart age lifted to 24
Under 30s denied Newstart or Youth Allowance for six months
Work for the dole returns for 25 hours a week
$10,000 to hire older workers
Infrastructure
Government will cut $84 million from industry assistance programs stating they will refocus on innovation
$11.6 billion infrastructure package
$50 billion by 2019-20
$125 billion with states and PPP’s
Package includes $5 billion
Asset recycling pool for states
$.9 billion for Western Sydney and $3.7 billion infrastructure and investment program
Budget outlook
Hockey says: “This budget’s not about self-interest, it’s about the national interest.”
$29.8 billion deficit in 2014-15
$17.1 billion deficit in 2015-16
$10.6 billion deficit in 2016-17
2.5 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014-15
3 per cent GDP 2015-16
3.5 per cent GDP 2016-17
6.25 per cent unemployment 2014-15
6.25 per cent unemployment 2015-16
6 per cent unemployment 2016-17
MP’s and senior public servants salaries to be frozen for one year and gold pass entitlements to be wound back before eventually being scrapped.
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