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nero_bolt · ‎02-08-2013

In May Labor’s then Treasurer said he’d found the “savings” to pay for Labor promises for the next decade:

What I’m most proud of in this budget is our ability as a consequence of taking those savings to fully and sustainably fund critical investments in schools and disability care over the next 10 years and beyond.

Instead, Labor has stuffed up the books again - and dreadfully.

Not three months later new Treasurer Chris Bowen admits the Budget has developed a $33 billion hole.

That’s right. In three months the Government admits its already out by $33 billion.

The balanced Budget it promised two years from now will be yet another Labor deficit - of more than $4 billion.

The $6.6 surplus it promised from 2016 will be $4.7 billion.

Unemployment this financial year will rise to 6.2 per cent, rather than the originally predicted 5.75 per cent.

Growth will fall to 2.5 per cent, rather than the originally predicted 2.75 per cent.

Taxes go up. Smokers will be asked to pay $6.8 billion more.

The public service faces a cut of nearly $2 billion.

The cost of the PNG deal in aid, infrastructure and running costs is around $1.5 billion - the latest bill for Labor’s failure.

Labor claims there will be more than $400 million in savings from no longer having to process boat people here - but those savings are only real if the deal works.

Labor claimed the deficit this financial year would be $18 billion, and $10.9 billion the year after..

Wrong ahead. Both have blown out big time. From Bowen’s speech today:

With the impacts of the terms of trade and economic transition expected to fall most strongly in the next two years the expected deficit in 2013-14 is now $30.1 billion, and the expected deficit in 2014?15 is now $24 billion.

The $800 million surplus promised for 2015/16 is now a deficit, too - another $4 billion.

That’s another $29 billion added to the nation’s credit card above what Labor promised just three months ago.

This is a scandal.

More here

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/budget-takes-33bn-revenue-hit/story-fn59niix-122669...

nero_bolt · ‎02-08-2013

Labor's mini budget is fiddling the books

LET'S not try to pretend that this mini budget is anything but a political quick fix.

Rudd, Bowen and Wong needed to break the news now of their budget blow out or risk being put on the spot when Treasury released its own reckoning within 10 days of the election being called.

Budgets are supposed to be boring events, outlining the tax and spend policies of government.

They are not supposed to be exercises in paper shuffling and fiddling the books to get to be able to predict a slim surplus in four years' time.

But this is exactly what we got today.

The shadow of an election is no place to be reworking the budget. All this is a quick patch job to see Labor through the election.

Bring it on.

Budget Update: Jobless rate to rise

Rudd Government's new tax on bank deposits to hit you

Bowen and Wong have successfully tinkered and fiddled their way to a political fig leaf of a surplus in 2016-17 - four years later than their original goal.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/jessica-irvine/jessica-irvine-labor8217s-mini-budget-is-fiddlin...