2011 Budget impacts
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10th May, 2011 AGRICULTURE • A further $32.8 million to be cut from the Department’s Budget over the next four years • CSIRO Budget spending on agriculture cut by 8.3% BORDER PROTECTION, CUSTOMS, QUARANTINE • Cost of Labor’s offshore asylum seeker management has increased by $1.75 billion since last year’s Budget. Labor’s “Malaysian Solution” will cost $292 million • Another $34 million cut to Customs and Border Protection staff at international airports over four years COMMUNICATIONS • Government to borrow another $18.2 billion to pay for its NBN which is expected to run at a loss of $4.3 billion over the next four years • Voluntary Internet Filtering Grants Program axed ending Labor’s promises to provide mandatory internet filtering DEFENCE • 1,497 more public servants in Department of Defence including 960 bureaucrats ECONOMY • 2011-12 Budget deficit revised to $49.4 billion ($8 billion worse than earlier projection) • 2011-12 Budget deficit projected to be $22.6 billion ($9.6 billion worse than predicted) Wayne Swan has now produced Australia’s three worst Budget deficits ever • Government net debt climbs to $107 billion (biggest number ever) — more than $4,700 for every Australian. Taxpayers will have to find $20 million every day just for interest. This financial year the Government will need to borrow $135 million every day to pay for its spending. Net savings are only $5.2 billion over four years EDUCATION • Cost of Labor’s Computers in Schools program has blown out by another $200 million to $1.4 billion even though the number of computers promised has halved CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENT, WATER • Green Car Innovation Fund axed, saving $432 million • Carbon Capture and Storage Flagship Program axed, saving $671 million • $64 million to be spent to administer $15 million of programs to influence international climate change • National Rainwater and Greywater Initiative terminated saving $15 million • Promised tax breaks for green buildings deferred saving Government $295 million • Budget announces fuel excise will be imposed on LPG (0-12.5 cents per litre over five years) encouraging increased emissions FAMILIES • People under 18 years of age no longer able to access low income tax offset on income like dividends, interest and rent • Dependent children in full time study aged between 16 and 19 become eligible for FTB-Part A payments. However, dependent children aged over 21 will be ineligible for the benefit FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE • Foreign Aid to increase from 0.33% of GNI in 2010-11 to 0.5% by 2015 - $4.15 billion in 2011-12 to $6.84 billion in 2014-15. Massive increases required have been deferred until the end of the commitment. • $10.5 million over two years to continue Labor’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council with extra funding to be provided through other departmental programs • Austrade funding to decline every year until 2013-14 from $372 million to $357 million with staff numbers reduced by 30 GOVERNANCE • The federal bureaucracy has grown by more than 20,000 public servants since the election of the Labor Government HEALTH • Government announces a mental health package totalling $2.2 billion over five years but most of the money is at the end of the program and not provided for in the Budget. Actual expenditure on mental health in 2011-12 is reduced. New expenditure on mental health is only $583 million over four years • Limits placed on the Better Access Program’s number of services for people with mild or moderate mental illness — the Medicare rebates for doctors were reduced in the Budget, saving $582 million • $550 million in cuts to pathology services over the next five years • $613 million for new PBS listings over five years but still a long list of unfunded approved new medicines • Labor Government will try again to close down the previous Government’s Chronic Disease Dental program by 31-12-2011 • Government commits again to break its election promise and means test Private Health Insurance Rebates costing consumers $1.9 billion directly • Savings of $212 million in provision of high level residential care of aged Australia IMMIGRATION • $216 million to increase the number of refugee places in Australia by 4000 over four years INDUSTRY & SCIENCE • Small Business Entrepreneur’s Tax Offset abolished from 1-6-2012 • National Medical Cyclotron decommissioned saving $8.7 million • $33.4 million cut from Cooperative Research Centre Program meaning many centres will be forced to close LOCAL GOVERNMENT • $536 million of Local Government Financial Assistance Grants to be brought forward from 2011-12 to 2010-11 (repeat of earlier advances) REGIONAL AUSTRALIA • 113 extra public servants and $70 million in funding for Department of Regional Australia • $350 million taken from Regional Development Australia fund for flood repair projects • $100 million cut from the Building Better Regional Cities initiative SOCIAL SECURITY • From 1-7-12 all Disability Support Pension recipients under 35 with a capacity to work 8 hours or more per week will be required to attend Centrelink interviews and to create a community interaction employment plan • National Rental Affordability Scheme cut by $345 million TAXES • For the first time in eight Budgets there are no personal income tax cuts • A special one year flood tax levy imposed (1% on incomes above $100,000 — 0.5% on incomes from $50,000 to $100,000) • Government announces a new 20% statutory rate for fringe benefits tax hurting local tradesmen and people in regional and remote areas who make greater use of their cars- to be phased in from 10-5-2011 to 1-4-2014 • Dependent spouse tax offset abolished for most spouses under 40 years of age • Up front HECS / HELP payment discount halved from 20% to 10% • Family Tax Benefit A and B supplements frozen for three years at $726.35 per child and $354.05 per child respectively for three years. Higher income thresholds for Family Tax Benefit A and B, dependency tax offsets, baby bonus, and paid parental leave, all frozen for three years. Cost to families will be more than $2 billion • The Budget provides no detail of the carbon tax even though it is to commence from 1-7-2012 (the same date as the mining super profits tax which the Budget expects to raise $3.7 billion in 2012-13 and $4 billion in 2013-14 TRAINING • $909 million slashed from the Productivity Places Program • New National Workforce Development Fund costing $359 million ($200 million of which was provided last year) with industry required to make a co-contribution • Quality Skills Incentive Scheme cut, saving $172.8 million • $103 million cut from trade Training Centres program by reducing the number of centres further and delaying projects until 2015 or later TRANSPORT • No new money for roads and rail. Any new announcements (mostly planning) funded from at $1.1 billion in cuts to other projects • The Budget announces$1.02 billion for Pacific Highway reconstruction but this includes $700 million previously announced and $270 million redirected from other projects in NSW • $325 million stripped from the Ipswich Road and Bruce Highway (Cooroy to Curra Section B) existing projects even though Labor said these were priority projects and the Bruce Highway (Cooroy to Curra) has been identified as Queensland worst section of Highway • The Government confirms axing of regional air services enroute regulation charges subsidy scheme costing regional carriers $5 million per annum from 1-6-2012 |
