"But we've now had the pre-election economic forecast. We know the triple A credit rating is under threat. So we are taking a very responsible approach with our policies. Families will be better off under Labor, but we will not be able to afford to bring back the Schoolkids Bonus." When the government secured the abolition of the mining tax in September 2014 they also sought to axe related spending, including the welfare policy. As part of a deal struck with Mr Palmer, the last payment will be made in July. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten expanded on Labor's new position, saying they didn't support the government's "ill-conceived" policies and still don't like them but the finances have tied their hands. "We do not believe, looking at the latest set of books that the government has just revealed last week, that we're in a position to restore the changes they've made or reverse the changes they've made to the pension assets test," Mr Shorten said in Darwin. "What we will do is that we will review our pensions income because we're not convinced that meddling with part pensioners is the best way to go."

The government successfully legislated the pensions assets test last year and it will come into effect in 2017, saving the budget $2.4 billion. Shadow ageing spokesman Shayne Neumann also confirmed on Thursday that Labor would not restore the Coalition's $1.2 billion funding cut to aged care services.



Despite previously telling Fairfax Media it was "unacceptable to dump residential aged care subsidies into (the) unnecessary waste bin" Mr Neumann told ABC that Labor was "not in a position to reverse those cuts." However, he said a Labor government would review the Aged Care Funding Instrument, which determines the level of funding paid to aged care providers. The Coalition announced in the May budget that it would change the funding formula, including halving the inflation rate for complex care - including pain management - for elderly residents. It described the amount providers were claiming for this as "unsustainable spending" because it was growing two-and-a-half times faster than the amount they claimed for daily living activities and to help manage residents' cognitive impairments. Families will be better off under Labor, but we will not be able to afford to bring back the Schoolkids Bonus. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen

The opposition has been questioned on its spending commitments following Treasurer Scott Morrison's claim that Labor had a $67 billion budget black hole, which also backfired on Mr Morrison after the numbers were questioned. The Treasurer has swiftly ridiculed Labor's new stance, accusing them of cynical politics and saying they "can't be trusted on the promises they've been making". "They said, 'Labor will stand with Australian families against these cuts every day up to the next election'," he said. "Well what's clear is it clearly wasn't going to apply after the election if they were elected." Labor previously called the government welfare changes as "huge" and "unfair" and said they would "hurt" families.

As recently as January, Labor frontbencher Jenny Macklin defended the Schoolkids Bonus as "the difference for so many struggling families". "It can be the difference between whether or not kids get new school shoes. It can be the difference between paying for extra tuition or watching your child fall behind. It's the difference between being able to afford new technology or your child going without," she said in a statement. "Malcolm Turnbull just doesn't get the cost of living pressures faced by hard-working Australian families." Mr Morrison also labelled the opposition's claim that the PEFO economic figures had changed the landscape a "lame excuse", asserting that the government's policies had been in place since late 2014 and mid-2015. "There has been a [mid-year economic forecast] since that period of time in December of last year with no material change to the budget of this year.

"There was no mention of these things in Bill Shorten's budget in reply and the PEFO confirmed all of those numbers," he said. In a train wreck interview on Wednesday evening, Labor frontbencher David Feeney was unable to state the party's position on the Schoolkids Bonus, confusing it for the Baby Bonus and saying he had been "a little distracted" by the scandal surrounding his failure to declare a $2.3 million negatively geared property. Follow us on Twitter Follow Fergus Hunter on Facebook