Treasurer also calls for ‘a fair go’ for all people including rich, as Labor accuses Morrison of using the NDIS to justify ‘more savage cuts’ to the social safety net

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Scott Morrison is paving the way for further cuts to welfare payments in order to fund the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS).

The treasurer used a radio interview on Tuesday to foreshadow better targeting of welfare programs, and in broader remarks called for “a fair go” for all people including those with wealth.

But the opposition accused Morrison of a “cynical and dishonest” campaign to use the NDIS as cover for “another round of harsh cuts to vulnerable Australians”, saying the previous increase to the Medicare levy was only ever intended to part-fund the landmark scheme.

In a speech focused on welfare, Morrison said the social safety net was a source of pride for Australians “but few would deny that it could be better targeted and that it needs to be more economically sustainable”.

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He described the NDIS as the country’s next great social reform and said the program “should be the first dollar we spend out of our social services budget” because it was designed to help people to realise their potential and independence.

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“While the government is fully committed to this, the reality is that from 2019–20, the 0.5% increase in the Medicare levy will cover less than half of the commonwealth’s contribution,” Morrison told a Wesley Mission event in Sydney on Monday evening.

“By 2023–24, about $32bn will need to come from consolidated revenue.”

Morrison used different figures during an interview on 3AW on Tuesday. “We’ve got a shortfall of about $5bn at the start, blowing out to about $7.6bn or thereabouts over that 10-year period,” he said.

Guardian Australia sought clarification from Morrison’s office. His spokeswoman said $32bn was a cumulative total, between the beginning of the rollout and 2023-24, of the amounts not covered by the Medicare Levy, commonwealth funding or state contributions.

The $5bn figure was the unfunded amount in the 2019-20 financial year and the $7.6bn was the corresponding amount in 2028-29, the spokeswoman said.

“That means that across the welfare system, across spending more generally, we’re going to have to target things ... [and] better address eligibility issues,” Morrison said on 3AW. “What it’s about is ensuring that the welfare system is fit for purpose.”



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Labor’s disability reform spokeswoman, Jenny Macklin, said the NDIS was being delivered on time and on budget and it should not be used to justify “more savage cuts” to the social safety net.

“In the 2013-14 budget, the Labor government clearly identified how the NDIS would be funded for 10 years,” she said.

“The Medicare levy was always intended to cover some – not all – of the cost of the NDIS. That’s why Labor made responsible budget choices to help fund the NDIS – including means testing the private health insurance rebate, reforming retirement incomes and other long-term, structural savings.”

A fact sheet issued by the former government in 2013 said the commonwealth would provide $11.7bn to the NDIS in 2019-20, or about 53% of the $22.2bn total cost, with the states and territories providing the remaining funding.

Greens senator Rachel Siewert said the Coalition should stop using the vulnerable as a source of budget savings.

“The government is once again sinking so low as to pitch one group needing the community’s support against another,” she said.

The fresh focus on the NDIS coincides with the government’s attempts to secure Senate support for a revamped package to cut family payments.

Last week, Labor announced it would support only $500m of the $4.8bn in proposed savings, forcing the Coalition to return to protracted negotiations with Senate crossbenchers. The Coalition argues the family tax benefit cuts – first announced in its politically disastrous 2014 budget – are necessary for it to proceed with the 2015 budget’s generous $3.5bn childcare package.

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Morrison’s 3AW interview canvassed tax and federation reform options, including increasing the rate or broadening the base of the goods and services tax.

Morrison said the latest Fairfax Ipsos poll – indicating 52% support for increasing the GST if accompanied by other tax cuts and compensation for lower income households – showed Australians were capable of a “mature” discussion.

The treasurer was asked to define fairness – a concept Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister, has promised to uphold in any tax package. “It’s a fair go, that’s what it is,” Morrison said. “In this country it isn’t about having equal incomes for everybody but equal opportunities for everybody.”



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The 3AW broadcaster Neil Mitchell asked whether this included the rich. Morrison replied: “Why don’t they deserve a fair go?”

When pressed on possible changes to superannuation tax concessions targeting the top end, Morrison said the government was yet to put forward any specific proposals and he was mindful of the need for stability and certainty in the system.

The government is not ruling in or ruling out particular options at this stage, prompting Labor to campaign against increasing the GST on the basis that it would have the biggest impact on low-income earners.

The leader of the house, Christopher Pyne, said on Tuesday the Labor party had “manifestly failed in their not-very-scary scare campaign”.

