Coalition to fight Labor’s universal childcare plan as Ley signals ‘unrelenting’ pursuit of efficiency
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Version 0 of 1. Liberal leader to deliver speech arguing against ‘permanent dependency on government’ and pledging to means-test welfare payments Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Sussan Ley has signalled the Coalition plans to ramp up means-testing of welfare payments and fight Anthony Albanese’s pitch for a universal childcare system at the next election, warning government assistance to high-income households is hurting the budget. Attempting to reset after a messy fortnight of Liberal infighting over immigration policy and net zero by 2050 plans, the opposition leader will use her first set piece speech on the economy on Wednesday to argue against “a permanent dependency on government”. Ley will promise “unrelenting” pursuit of efficiencies in government, cutting programs she views as duplicating services or providing poor value for money. Labor successfully weaponised similar threats of cuts against Peter Dutton ahead of the May election, likening the former opposition leader’s plans to Donald Trump’s slash and burn policies. Ley will tell a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event in Melbourne that lax fiscal management by the Albanese government has created a growing expectation government will pay for everything. She will hit out at government assistance for wealthy households and call for “sustainable compassion” in the welfare system. Sign up: AU Breaking News email “Universal free everything might sound nice, but in reality it drains resources from those who need help most,” she will say. “We believe government support should be a safety net, not a blanket. That means, for example, we should not be paying welfare benefits to high-income households.” An extract of the speech shows Ley will argue that since the Covid-19 pandemic “it has become almost taboo in politics to suggest that not everyone is entitled to every government benefit”. “The mindset of ‘government will take care of everything’ has been actively encouraged.” Ley will cite research by the Centre for Independent Studies thinktank, which found more than 30% of the Australian workforce was employed in the public sector or activities heavily dependent on government payments. Adding so-called “quasi-public employment” brought the total to about 50%. “We owe it to taxpayers to squeeze maximum value from each dollar the government spends,” Ley says. “We will be unrelenting in pursuing efficiencies, eliminating duplicative or low-value programs.” Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The comments suggest a fight with Labor over big-spending programs like the national disability insurance scheme, tax concessions for electric vehicles and Albanese’s plans to introduce universal childcare. Labor has commissioned consulting giant Deloitte to help design a plan for universal childcare, something the prime minister views as a potential lasting political legacy. A possible flat-fee model has been mooted, which could see families pay $10 a day for care. The childcare subsidy will cost the federal budget about $16.2bn this financial year, and is slated to rise to $18.4bn by 2028-29. With growth of about 5.5%, it is one of the budget measures growing faster than nominal GDP. Labor’s policy to boost EV uptake is set to cost more than $23bn over the coming decade, as drivers get exemptions from fringe benefits tax. The Productivity Commission called for the concession to be axed earlier this year. The Coalition looks increasingly scrappy under Ley’s leadership. She sacked Jacinta Nampijinpa Price last week for refusing to support her leadership or apologise for inflammatory claims about immigration, and growing debate over net zero by 2050 policies risks drowning out the opposition leader’s message. The frontbencher Andrew Hastie said this week he would quit if the Coalition remains committed to net zero, fuelling internal posturing led by the Nationals and conservative Liberal MPs. |