Federal budget fails those most in need

Tasmanian Labor
  • Budget ignores most vulnerable
  • Pensioners, unemployed, housing, health all miss out
  • Liberals miss opportunity to build a better Australia
  • The Federal Budget has failed those most in need, missing a prime opportunity to build a better and fairer Australia.

    Tasmanian Labor Leader Rebecca White said the Morrison government’s failure to provide ongoing support to our aged population, the unemployed and other vulnerable Tasmanians is bitterly disappointing.

    “With Tasmania’s economy hanging by a thread, this was the most important Federal Budget since the Second World War,” Ms White said.

    “But, instead of a vision to build a better and fairer society, the Liberals have stuck to their tired formula, while abandoning people and businesses that really need support.

    “Infrastructure spending is all well and good but the state and federal Liberals have an appalling record of building anything. They are good at making announcements and then re-announcing them again and again but they never deliver.

    “Once again, we have tax cuts that benefit those on higher incomes but nothing for the 11,000 Tasmanians who remain out of work as a result of COVID-19. What good are tax cuts for people in desperate need of a job?

    “While one-off payments to people on age and disability pensions will be welcome, they are not nearly enough to provide real support to deal with the cost-of-living pressures they face.

    “Other big losers from this budget are critical essential services including health, housing and education.

    “There is no commitment from the Federal Government to build new social housing. This would have helped create jobs in the construction sector and assist some of the nearly 3,600 households on the waiting list and in desperate need of housing security, with some at risk of homelessness.

    “There is barely any additional funding to help our health system, which was already at crisis point before COVID-19 hit the state, and little additional support for education at a time when students and teachers have faced significant disruption to their learning.

    “With this budget, the Morrison Government had a unique opportunity to address inequity and build back a better and fairer Australia.

    “The Liberals are behaving as though the crisis is behind us when, in reality, we are still in the middle of it.

    “These are unprecedented times. For the Liberals to deliver a ‘business-as-usual’ budget is beyond belief and it lets down all Australians.”

    “All eyes are now on Peter Gutwein as he prepares to hand down his budget on 12 November to see if he can plug the holes left by his Liberal colleagues in Canberra.”

    Rebecca White MP

    Labor Leader

    /Public Release. View in full here.