E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
CANBERRA
TUESDAY, 2 APRIL 2019
 
SUBJECT/S: 2019-20 Budget
 
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Tonight's Budget will be an election con to try and distract from six years of cuts and chaos. No amount of tax cuts in tonight's Budget will make the Australian people forgive or forget six years of division and dysfunction, cuts to schools and hospitals and Medicare, or prioritising the top end of town at the expense of middle Australia. The Budget tonight will be all about Scott Morrison's political interests, and not about the interests of the Australian people. Australians aren't stupid, they know that this is an election strategy; they know it's about the next six weeks and not about the future of the country or the future of their families.
 
There is a story on the front of The Australian today about debt; the Government again promising to pay down debt. It's important to note something about that: net debt in this country under the Liberal Party has doubled. The Liberal Party has added more debt in favourable global conditions than Labor did during the Global Financial Crisis. Scott Morrison has added $100 million in debt a day since he became the Prime Minister of this country. 
 
So Australians will judge Scott Morrison on his record and not what he says six weeks before an election. They will judge Scott Morrison on his cuts to schools and hospitals and TAFE and Medicare. They will judge him on his attempt to give $80 billion to the top end of town, to multinationals and the big banks in this country. Australians will not be fooled by an election Budget six weeks before an election. They will judge Scott Morrison on six years of cuts and chaos, division and dysfunction, always prioritising the top end of town against their interests.
 
We're told that there will be tax cuts in the Budget tonight. What we know so far is the Liberal Party is not just playing catch up with Labor on tax cuts; they are copying Labor's tax cuts. We will see the detail of what's in the Budget tonight, but already we know that Labor has led the charge for low- and middle-income earners in this country. The Liberal Party is pretending now to all of a sudden care about people of modest means. People will see through that in the Budget tonight. No amount of tax cuts in the Budget tonight can make up for those six years of cuts and chaos. No amount of tax cuts in the Budget tonight can make up for Scott Morrison's record as Treasurer or his three budgets, which took money out of hospitals and schools and Medicare and TAFE to give an $80 billion tax cut to millionaires and multinationals.
 
The difference between the Liberal Party and the Labor Party is the Labor Party cares about people on low and middle incomes every day. Scott Morrison just pretends to care when an election is six weeks away. The Australian people aren't stupid. They will see through this election Budget tonight. The Budget tonight is an election con, not a plan for the future, and Australians will judge it accordingly.
 
JOURNALIST: Don't you think people will welcome an extra $1000 (inaudible)?
 
CHALMERS: We will always do the right and responsible thing by people on low and middle incomes in the Labor Party. We've had a policy on the table for almost a year now to give substantial relief via bigger, fairer tax cuts for people on low and middle incomes. Of course they are the people who should be prioritised when there is tax relief to go around. We've been saying that for some time. The Liberal Party's not just playing catch up with Labor on tax cuts for people on low and middle incomes, they're copying Labor's policy. Australians will see through it. Australians know that the Liberal and National parties couldn't give a toss about people on low and middle incomes. They know this is about Scott Morrison's political interests and not about the interests of people of modest means.
 
Thank you.
 
ENDS