Low-income families in Sydney's west, Melbourne's north to suffer most under Coalition budget: NATSEM

Updated

Low-income families in Western Sydney and Melbourne's northern suburbs will suffer the most under new Federal Government budget measures, a study has found.

Low-to-middle income families could be worse off by more than $3,500 a year, the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) study found, while low income families with children could lose more than 6.5 per cent of their disposable income.

A couple with children in the lowest income quintile will, on average, lose 6.6 per cent of their disposable income by 2017-2018 while a top quintile family will actually gain 0.3 per cent.

The study modelled 19 separate budget measures and also included some additional elements outside the Coalition's 2014-2015 budget.

These measures differentiate the trajectory of the previous Labor government and that of the Abbott Government's first budget.

The study identified Broadmeadows, Campbellfield and Coolaroo in Melbourne and Mt Druitt and Whalan in Sydney as the areas hardest hit by the federal budget.

The report said families in Elizabeth and The Parks in Adelaide will also suffer.

Some of the suburbs least affected include Wahroonga in Sydney, Cottesloe in Perth, Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory and Forrest in the national capital.

The research was funded by the Australian Workplace Innovation and Social Research Centre at the

University of Adelaide.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, responding to the study, said the budget burden was falling on those least able to afford it.

"It's all right for senior members [of the Government] to make sure their electorates are paying only a small increase and experiencing small cuts, whereas the rest of Australia has been left to its own devices by the Abbott Government," he said.

Addressing the Tasmanian Liberal conference in Launceston, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the budget contained tough but necessary measures.

"We said before the election that we would bring the budget back under control," he said.

Mr Abbott also told the gathering that while the campaign to get the budget through the Senate had its "ups and downs", the Government would persevere.

"Inch by painful inch, step by difficult step, compromise by hard-negotiated compromise, that's exactly what we're doing," he said.

"So we are getting there. It's not easy. Every single step has to be negotiated through a Senate dominated by our political opponents, but we will never ever give up."

Commentators this week said that while domestic activity is showing signs of improvement, the federal budget is coming under increased pressure from slower global growth and falling commodity prices.

Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia

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