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Opposition leader Bill Shorten has addressed parliament in reply to the Abbott government's first federal Budget.
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Labor's Budget reply
16 May 2014
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In his first Budget-reply speech, Mr Shorten said the Labor Party will do what it can to block the Budget, describing it as based on "myth” and a “manufactured crisis”.
Mr Shorten attacked the government for breaking election promises, saying the Australian people have witnessed the prime minister repeatedly promising one thing before an election then doing something completely different afterwards.
“Say what you like, prime minister. Spin as hard as you can. Australians know a lie when they hear one. They can spot a phoney when they see one. And they know when they’ve been deceived,” he said.
Mr Shorten said he could not support a Budget that shows no understanding or respect for around 9 million family budgets across Australia.
“NATSEM (National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling) modelling shows that a couple with a single income of $65,000 and two kids in school will have over $1,700 cut from their family budget,” he said.
“Add in health costs, and the prime minister is cutting nearly $40 from their weekly budget, every week.
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“And under this Budget, the cuts will get deeper and deeper, more than tripling to almost $120 a week by the time of the next election. In 2016, this family will suffer cuts of over $6,000 per year,” he said.
Aside from broad statements such as “Labor invests in our people to make our country stronger”, Mr Shorten gave little detail of alternative policies.
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