This week the Coalition Government delivered their budget and last night Labor Leader Bill Shorten outlined Labor’s alternative plan for Australia. The difference between the two visions for Australia could not be starker. The Coalition’s budget is fundamentally unfair and will make working and middle class Australians pay for tax cuts to the big end of town.

Under a Coalition Government –

- Corporations receive a $80 billion tax cut
- A cleaner on $40,000 will pay the same rate of tax as an executive on $200,000
- $270 million more is cut from TAFE
- $17 billion is cut from schools
- $2.2 billion is cut from universities
- More than $80 million is cut from the ABC
- $1.5 billion is cut from remote housing by ending the national partnership agreement
- The energy supplement is cut leaving pensioners $14 worse off a fortnight
- Hospital funding is cut and the freeze on Medicare rebates remains on specialists for more than one year

In contrast, a Labor Government will scrap the Coalition’s $80 billion tax cut and give this money back to working Australians through -

- Permanently cutting taxes for 10 million working and middle class Australians, not the big end of town. Under Labor, every Australian earning under $125,000 will receive a bigger tax cut than under the Coalition. Under Labor, a teacher on $65,000 will be $928 better off each year and a couple earning $90,000 and $50,000 respectively will be $1,855 better off every year.
- Investing an additional $2.8 billion into public hospitals to provide more beds and shorter surgery waiting times
- Investing $80 million for more MRI machines and 500,000 more scans under Medicare
- Introducing an additional 200,000 more university places for our children
- Scraping upfront fees for 100,000 TAFE courses, providing an additional 10,000 apprentice programs for young Australians and 20,000 apprentice programs for older Australians looking to retrain, and ensuring that 1 in every 10 jobs on Commonwealth priority projects goes to an Australian apprentice

The Coalition’s budget takes money out of the pockets of working Australians and gives it to the big end of town. This is something Labor will never support. A Labor Government will ensure that big business pays its fair share of tax and working Australians get the services they deserve. Labor will properly fund our hospitals, schools, TAFEs and universities to support working families and equip the next generation for the future nature of work. Labor will take serious action on climate change so that our grandchildren have a prosperous future to enjoy.

The difference between Labor and the Government couldn’t be clearer. If we want Australia to be a place that provides opportunity to train for a good job, access world class health services and values the contribution of working people before the interests of big corporations, it is clear we need to change the Government.  I hope you will join us in this fight.

You can watch Bill’s full budget reply here.