Bill Shorten's Super Gaffe Diverts Attention from Coalition Claims | Australia news



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Scott Morrison relied on Bill Shorten's request not to introduce new taxes on the retirement pension, saying he "must have forgotten" the Labor Party's plan for changes generating revenue of $ 34 billion .

The hiccups of the shortcut campaign Tuesday distracted the Labor Party, saying the coalition will have to cut social spending by $ 40 billion a year to pay for its tax cuts.

The Labor campaign is focused on its promise to increase social spending and generate more sustainable budget surpluses through revenue measures such as its plan to raise $ 34 billion from the retirement pension.

Labor policy promises to reverse the coalition's changes by lowering the high income threshold to $ 200,000 and capping the non-concessional contribution ceiling to $ 75,000 as of July 1, 2019.

On Tuesday, Shorten was asked to clarify whether he could "rule out new taxes or higher taxes on retirement pensions".

He replied that the Labor Party had "no plans to raise taxes on the retirement pension", apparently taking the issue to mention any subsequent changes after the project to raise 34 billion dollars.

"We do not plan to introduce new taxes on pensions," Shorten told the press in Adelaide. When asked to exclude him, he replied, "Of course."

Morrison said that the Coalition's changes have allowed small businesses to pay pension contributions at the same concessional rates as paid employees, warning that "work wants to change all that".

"I do not know at all what Bill Shorten talked about today when he says he's not going to raise taxes on the retirement pension," Morrison told reporters in Torquay, Victoria.

"It's his policy. In his own policy, the pension tax has increased by $ 34 billion.

"He's lying about this today or he just forgot about the last person he inflicted higher taxes on."

Workers on Tuesday attacked the government with the help of the Grattan Institute, suggesting that the Coalition will have to reduce its social spending by $ 40 billion a year to fund its package of tax breaks for middle-income people. high, starting in 2022 and 2024.

Phantom Treasurer Chris Bowen said last Wednesday that the Coalition's 2019 budget "miraculously" badumed that the ratio of payments to GDP would rise from 25 percent to about 23.6 percent by the end of the decade. unexplained reduction of public services.

An badysis by the Grattan Institute warned that "achieve such a reduction [in spending] would require significant reductions in spending growth in almost all major spending areas, as we knew that an aging population would increase spending pressures, particularly in the areas of health and social well-being "

On Tuesday, Morrison rejected the badysis, calling it "absolute waste", but did not explain the expected decline in government payments.

He also rejected Tony Abbott's remarks at a candidates' forum on Monday that the former prime minister was willing to take over the leadership of the Liberal Party if his fellow parliamentarians drafted it.

"I think Tony was answering a very hypothetical question," Morrison said.

Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos told ABC TV that the ratio of payments to GDP would decrease because the coalition had reduced spending growth to "about 1.9 percent" in real terms.

"Spending can decrease as a share of GDP, partly because the economy continues to grow more and a stronger economy means more of the pie," he said.

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