What do we want from government?
A service provider with a focus on the poorest, the most needy and on programs of value to the community?
Or a small bureaucracy who provide minimal services, minimal regulation, at minimal levels of taxation, with a focus on the individual?
The evidence tells us that people want more services and less tax. And even to the innumerate among us (such as Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott), that just doesn't add up. And in recent weeks we have had analysis from the Grattan Institute which suggests that the structural deficit in our budget needs to be addressed before the problem grows to a point which is unmanageable. And consultancy group Macroeconomics have indicated that the blame for the current situation lies with both the Howard and Rudd governments. A shift to sustainability is now overdue.
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Sustainability for government will come in one of two ways... tax more or spend less (or both). Simple... if it was more emotive and less factual it would make a good slogan for Abbott.
It is also important to note that this is not just about policies which will be released for the September poll. There are long term drivers for the need to finds the funds to support ongoing increases in government spending. This is the case with important productivity drivers such as the NDIS, Gonski, and the NBN.
It is also the case with Health expenditure. The short-sighted approach of Lawrence Springborg in Qld of withdrawing and reducing community services is applying acute stresses to 'frontline services', but this is not the main problem within Health. There has been both an increasing demand and increasingly costly treatment options required over time. In part, this does need to be addressed with a focus on Primary over Secondary or Tertiary health care. But it will also require more resources and more funding over time. Who bears the burden of that cost is the key question.
While there has been a great deal of rhetoric suggesting that Julia Gilliard has been engaging in class warfare, the truth is that the real class warrior is Abbott. He has been over-seeing the release of policies which will see a significant redistribution of funds from poor to rich. He also plans to reverse a number of changes initiated by Labor which will have the same effect.
The bottom line is: the Coalition want to reduce government costs (and services), and mask this with a tax cut which won't nearly cover the additional cost burden you will be required to bear. In significant areas like health, that is currently estimated at over $1000 per year. As the Coalition 'balance the books' with their policies, that burden will increase in health and other areas.
Labor have been the architects of the NDIS, Gonski reforms, the NBN, and they support appropriate levels of government funded health care. Labor is Community.
The difference is quite clear.