MAY 4, 2016: THE New England candidates were lining up to take a swing at the government’s budget, with independent Tony Windsor saying the “short-term” budget was clearly designed to set up the Coalition’s election campaign.
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“This is only a funding band-aid to get past the election,” Mr Windsor said.
He said the budget had little in it other than small-business tax cuts and top-end superannuation revenue measures.
It failed to address key issues for the future, such as improving the National Broadband Network, committing to the Gonski public school funding, the backpacker tax and the long-term implications of climate change.
“At some point, Australians need to recognise the downside of a below-standard approach to these critical issues of the future,” Mr Windsor said.
Fellow New England independent candidate Rob Taber said besides the government’s plan for a youth employment pathway, the budget was “pretty soft”.
He said reducing the tax rate for small business from 30 per cent to 27.5 per cent was “really a nothing gesture”.
“I think the Reserve Bank dropping the interest rate will do more than the decreases in taxes,” Mr Taber said.
While the $540 million towards the Brisbane to Melbourne Inland Rail was “a good start”, it was “really just a drop in the ocean”.
“The government will eventually have to bite the bullet and make a major investment in the inland rail to get it off the ground,” he said.
Greens candidate Mercurius Goldstein said the budget was “for the bankers” and ignored “the needs of rural communities”.
“It is disappointing that Barnaby Joyce could not convince his Liberal partners to support fair needs-based Gonski funding of our public schools, when New England includes five of Australia’s 10 lowest-income postcodes,” Mr Goldstein said.
“We also have no certainty for students about the future costs of university degrees. For students looking to enrol in years to come, they are still under the cloud of $100,000 degrees.”
Country Labor candidate for New England David Ewings slammed the budget, which was “all about the re-election of Barnaby Joyce”.
“This disgraceful budget also confirmed that the Liberals and their acolytes the National Party are pushing ahead with the privatisation of the Medicare payments system,” Mr Ewings said.
“From 1 July this year, people across the New England and Upper Hunter will be forced to reach for their credit card rather than their Medicare card when they visit the GP.”