Treasurer Chris Bowen has given a scathing analysis of the coalition’s election policy costings, which he says treat people “like mugs”.
The coalition on Thursday revealed its much-anticipated costings, which lay out plans for a budget bottom line $ 6 billion better than Labor’s by 2016/17 if it wins government, along with paying $ 16 billion off national debt.
But Mr Bowen wrote off the opposition’s fiscal forecast as a vote winner.
“We saw a squib … no details, no analysis, no real well-thought out policies … but rather a squib to get through the election, arrogantly treating the Australian people like mugs in order to win office and then to cut later,” Mr Bowen told ABC TV late on Thursday.
He said the coalition is not being up front about the cuts to services it will have to introduce, which would impact education, health and jobs.
Mr Bowen said Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey had offered “a distraction” with coalition plans to increase the efficiency dividend.
“(Mr Hockey is) talking about $ 100,000 here and $ 100,000 there, when he’s still got major gaps in his costings and funding,” the treasurer said.
While admitting the value of the efficiency dividend, Mr Bowen said that an increase in conjunction with reducing public sector jobs, meant “a very significant cutback” that would have flow-on effects right through the economy.
Mr Bowen said Labor deserves to be re-elected because of its “positive plan to ensure investment, not cuts”.
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