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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/16/joe-hockey-threatens-to-take-axe-to-other-spending-in-face-of-unruly-senate
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| Joe Hockey threatens to take axe to other spending in face of unruly Senate | Joe Hockey threatens to take axe to other spending in face of unruly Senate |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Abbott government is threatening to cut other, unidentified, government spending if senators make good their threats to block billions in budget savings. | The Abbott government is threatening to cut other, unidentified, government spending if senators make good their threats to block billions in budget savings. |
| Facing Senate resistance to the majority of his budget savings measures, the treasurer, Joe Hockey, said the government would have no choice but to find the savings from other programs if senators carried out threats to block large parts of the budget. | Facing Senate resistance to the majority of his budget savings measures, the treasurer, Joe Hockey, said the government would have no choice but to find the savings from other programs if senators carried out threats to block large parts of the budget. |
| “It’s not retribution if the choices made by other political parties are so flawed,” he told the ABC. “We are not going to step away from the fact that the budget needs to be repaired. | “It’s not retribution if the choices made by other political parties are so flawed,” he told the ABC. “We are not going to step away from the fact that the budget needs to be repaired. |
| “It is something a lot of the senators need to think carefully about … we have got to deal with reality, the budget must be repaired.” | “It is something a lot of the senators need to think carefully about … we have got to deal with reality, the budget must be repaired.” |
| “We are determined to fix the budget and we would hope the Senate would be a partner in that process.” | “We are determined to fix the budget and we would hope the Senate would be a partner in that process.” |
| The opposition treasury spokesman, Chris Bowen, said that if Hockey had alternative budget savings he should explain what they were. | The opposition treasury spokesman, Chris Bowen, said that if Hockey had alternative budget savings he should explain what they were. |
| “Today he’s talking about alternatives. We’ve always been told there are no alternatives … we are happy to talk about values and choices … but our view is this budget is fundamentally unfair,” Bowen said. | “Today he’s talking about alternatives. We’ve always been told there are no alternatives … we are happy to talk about values and choices … but our view is this budget is fundamentally unfair,” Bowen said. |
| “If the treasurer wants to put up alternatives … he should tell us what those alternatives are.” | “If the treasurer wants to put up alternatives … he should tell us what those alternatives are.” |
| Bowen said it was up to the government to manage the parliament and negotiate with the Senate. | Bowen said it was up to the government to manage the parliament and negotiate with the Senate. |
| Based on the currently stated positions of Labor, the Greens and the crossbench senators, the Senate is poised to block savings measures including: | Based on the currently stated positions of Labor, the Greens and the crossbench senators, the Senate is poised to block savings measures including: |
| • The $7 Medicare co-payment and the $5 increase in a co-payment for medicines subsidies by the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. | • The $7 Medicare co-payment and the $5 increase in a co-payment for medicines subsidies by the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. |
| • Increasing the indexation in the aged pension to 70 for those born after 1966. | • Increasing the indexation in the aged pension to 70 for those born after 1966. |
| • Some cuts to family tax benefits. | • Some cuts to family tax benefits. |
| • The repeal of personal income tax cuts legislated by the former government but then deferred. | |
| • Spending “paid for” by the mining tax, including the proposed repeal of the low income superannuation bonus and the low income support bonus. | |
| • The proposed repeal of the schoolkids bonus. | |
| • Re-indexation of fuel excise. | |
| • Denying most job-seekers under 30 unemployment benefits for six months. | |
| The biggest single saving in the May budget was from cuts to projected levels of foreign aid. Forecast foreign aid spending was cut by $7.6bn over the next five years – a saving that did not require legislation. | The biggest single saving in the May budget was from cuts to projected levels of foreign aid. Forecast foreign aid spending was cut by $7.6bn over the next five years – a saving that did not require legislation. |
| Most budget legislation has not been included in the list of bills the government is insisting be considered by the Senate before it rises at the end of the week for a five-week winter recess. | Most budget legislation has not been included in the list of bills the government is insisting be considered by the Senate before it rises at the end of the week for a five-week winter recess. |
| Several measures intended to take effect by July have not been legislated, including the axing of the senior supplement for holders of the commonwealth seniors health card or the veterans' affairs gold card from 20 June; ceasing indexation of the clean energy supplement from 1 July; pausing indexation on certain income- and asset-test-free areas and thresholds for three years from 1 July; and reviewing young disability support pension recipients against revised impairment tables from 1 July. | Several measures intended to take effect by July have not been legislated, including the axing of the senior supplement for holders of the commonwealth seniors health card or the veterans' affairs gold card from 20 June; ceasing indexation of the clean energy supplement from 1 July; pausing indexation on certain income- and asset-test-free areas and thresholds for three years from 1 July; and reviewing young disability support pension recipients against revised impairment tables from 1 July. |
| The government has secured passage of the “debt levy” legislation to collect an extra 2% of income tax on annual income over $180,000 for three years. | The government has secured passage of the “debt levy” legislation to collect an extra 2% of income tax on annual income over $180,000 for three years. |