The Australian Greens have slammed the government’s final budget for making housing more expensive, locking in tax cuts for the wealthy and funding more coal and gas projects rather than acting on the climate crisis.
The Liberals’ final budget contains more than $37.6 bn for coal, oil and gas, gives $13bn of public money to property investors, and has no new money to build affordable housing.
The Greens want government invest to build a million affordable homes.
As stated by Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP:
“Scott Morrison’s Budget makes housing more expensive, locks in tax cuts for the wealthy and funds more coal and gas projects, all with Labor’s support.
“This Budget of election bribes will not keep you safe from the climate crisis and it won’t put a secure roof over your head. It doesn’t have a cent of new money for building new affordable housing, but it gives hundreds of millions to new oil and gas projects.
“Even as floods again threaten the Northern Rivers for the second time in a month, Scott Morrison plans to give more than $38bn in handouts to coal, oil and gas corporations to fuel the climate crisis and Labor backs him in.
“There is $1.6 billion for renewables, $2 billion for disaster recovery, and more than $38 billion in subsidies to coal, oil and gas. It’s an insult to every flood victim that the Prime Minister is spending more than 10 times more on coal, oil and gas as he is on protecting us from climate floods.
“Scott Morrison’s Budget spends $13 billion on unfair tax breaks that will push up the cost of housing and lock people out of the housing market, handouts that Labor will wave through.
“A temporary cut to fuel excise may not even make its way to people’s pockets. There’s every chance that world oil prices or profiteering from oil corporations will wipe out any gains to motorists overnight, at very substantial cost to the budget.
“We need to permanently boost the pension by almost $250 a fortnight, not $250 an election.”
“To tackle cost of living pressures, the Budget should wipe student debt, get dental into Medicare and build 1 million affordable homes that people can rent for 25% of their income or buy for $300,000. That would be much fairer, better and cheaper than proceeding with Stage 3 tax cuts and temporarily cutting fuel excise.
“This Budget shows we need to kick the Liberals out and get the Greens in balance of power to push the next Government to tackle cost of living pressures by taxing the billionaires, getting dental into Medicare, wiping student debt and building affordable housing.”
As stated by Australian Greens Treasury Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim:
“Yet again, this is a budget for the billionaires and big corporations – not people who are struggling,” Senator McKim said.
“Under this budget, cost of living will increase and wages won’t catch up, and the structural holes in our economy will keep on widening the gap between rich and poor. A $420 payment won’t go far for a family that’s stuck spending half their income on housing and the $250 payment would lift a pensioner out of poverty for one pay-packet and then send them back the next.
“We need a budget that ensures the billionaires and the big corporations pay their fair share so we can invest in getting dental and mental health into Medicare, ensuring everyone has a liveable income; abolishing student debt, and starting to build a million homes.
“The Liberals will never deliver the budget the Australian people deserve, and without pressure, Labor’s not going to support the structural changes needed by everyone who’s struggling. With the Greens in balance of power, we’ll tax the billionaires and big corporations, so the 2023 Labor/Greens budget will be one that builds a more equal Australia.”
