“The contrast at this election between the economic plans of the Coalition and Labor is greater than it has been for 40 years,” he will say.
“There was broad recognition that the modernisation of Australia’s economy rested on some key pillars – balanced budgets over the cycle, competitive tax rates, low inflation, competition reform, enterprise bargaining, open trade and playing to our economic strengths.
“The dividend for Australian households from this economic modernisation has been substantial.
“Between 1960 and 1991 the Australian economy had six recessions. Since 1991, Australia has enjoyed 27 years of uninterrupted economic growth.”
Diverging philosophies
In a separate speech in Melbourne today, shadow finance minister Jim Chalmers will underscore the diverging philosophies by warning the government is at a “fork in the road” on economic and fiscal strategy.
“Any budget handed down in less than four weeks’ time that doesn’t deal with the anxiety that permeates our suburbs isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” he will say.
He will say there is an unfair redistribution of wealth which gives “the most generous tax concessions to those who need them least”.
“Unsustainable tax loopholes which are eating the budget from within”, such as cash refunds for excess franking credits, and negative gearing, need to be closed.
Mr Morrison will also announce $328 million for programs for the prevention of domestic violence and support for victims.
This money will come from the budget whereas Labor on Monday promised $60 million for domestic violence victim support to be funded by a levy on banks.
“It is making sure the banks give back to us and that is the attitude you’ll see from a Shorten Labor government,” warned shadow financial services minister Clare O’Neil.
New results from a survey of business leaders for the Summit showed 84 per cent say a change of government in May is likely or highly likely, while 73 per cent said trust had decreased in Australian business following the banking royal commission.
Participants in the 6000-strong Financial Review Business Leaders panel were divided on the impact of a new government for Australia’s prosperity, with only quarter saying a change would be good for prosperity.
With trust a key theme of the two-day Summit, Mr Morrison will acknowledge that big business finds itself under unprecedented scrutiny and needs to restore trust with customers, employees, suppliers and the wider community.
There was an “unmistakable” economic imperative to rebuild trust in the corporate sector because “low levels of trust generate pressure for more laws to regulate business activities and practices”.
Mr Morrison will tell the Summit that the next election, due in May, “will be the most important election in decades”.
“It’s a choice between enterprise and envy.”
On the differences with Labor on tax, he will reaffirm that the budget will return to surplus in 2019-20 and that net debt can be paid down by the end of next decade. He said the Coalition could do all this, plus fund its promises, without increasing the tax burden above its self-imposed speed limit of 23.9 per cent of GDP. By contrast, Labor has proposed revenue increases worth $200 billion over a decade while also vowing to wind back stages two and three of already legislated income tax cuts for higher income earners.
Mr Morrison will also focus on industrial relations and trade “where the contrast at the next election when it comes to our economic policies and direction is stark”.
Enterprise bargaining
On industrial relations he will pledge ongoing support for enterprise bargaining. Labor is promising to reintroduce sector-wide bargaining, or pattern bargaining, for low-paid industries such as childcare and cleaning where it and the union movement say enterprise bargaining has failed.
“Enterprise bargaining remains the mechanism for wage and condition setting for the highest proportion of workers. At the firm level, it provides a platform to maximise outcomes for businesses and workers by taking account of their unique circumstances,” Mr Morrison will say.
“By sharing these benefits, it incentivises parties to innovate and seek out more efficient and effective ways of working.”
He says returning to pattern bargaining and sector-wide strikes was turning back the clock more than a quarter of a century.
On trade, Mr Morrison will note Labor’s opposition to free trade deals which allow the importation of foreign workers and involve investor-state dispute settlement clauses. On Monday the government finally signed the FTA with Indonesia but Labor will renegotiate it, if elected, to remove or soften these two provisions.
Mr Morrison said Labor Leader Bill Shorten was “in full retreat from the Asia opportunity”.
He cites Labor’s turmoil over supporting the FTA with China and its declaration the Trans-Pacific Partnership was dead before Malcolm Turnbull and Japan’s Shinzo Abe helped revive it.
Mr Chalmers will challenge Mr Morrison’s theory that the budget is able to fund the challenges ahead.
Wage growth forecasts in the last budget update were unrealistic and “any surplus announced in April will only be a forecast in itself, and is currently expected to be about 0.2 per cent of GDP”.
“The truth is, we won’t know until a surplus is achieved in 2018-19 until the Final Budget Outcome in September; or a 2019-20 surplus until September 2020, a year-and-a-half away,” he will say.
“Any projected surplus could easily be blown over by a downturn in the global economy, as history has shown us. And any surplus that might eventuate is being driven by strong revenue upgrades.”
from Credence news https://ift.tt/2HdH0eO
0 Comments