Scott Morrison and Mathias Cormann increase pressure on the budget and super
In the lead up to the start of parliament next week, the Treasurer Scott Morrison has ruled out placating a restive backbench with further big concessions on superannuation.
And Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has challenged Labor leader Bill Shorten to “step up to the plate on budget repair in this parliament.”
Mr Morrison, who will meet with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and cabinet colleagues in Canberra today ahead of the 45th parliament opening next week, is now negotiating with the backbench.
Backbenchers such as George Christensen and Jason Wood want to increase the divisive $500,000 lifetime cap on after-tax super contributions in the Treasurer’s super reform package to $1 million.
But Mr Morrison said he could not face his own children if he took a softer line on wealthy superannuants.
“If someone wants to put a million bucks after tax into their super so they can pay 15 per cent on it rather than their marginal tax rate and they had already cleared the $1.6 million then I would find it pretty hard to look my kids in the eye and tell them they have got to saddle a higher debt because someone who had a very big income wanted to pay less tax,” Mr Morrison told reporters.
Mr Morrison, who has put on the table compromises like lifting the cap to $750,000 and putting in lifetime event exemptions like windfalls from say a divorce settlement, eligibility for a trust or a lottery win, says those pushing for change have not come up with matching savings.
In a speech to the Sydney Institute yesterday, Senator Cormann said it was time for Bill Shorten to declare his position on fixing the budget.
“Will Bill Shorten step up to the plate on budget repair in this parliament?” Senator Cormann said.
“Or will he be like jelly on that plate, the wibble wobble, wibble wobble jelly on a plate, first opposing, then supporting, then not knowing what to do?”
The government has flagged introducing early in the new parliament an omnibus bill that pulls together $6.5 billion of budget cuts that Labor said it would support during the election campaign. That will help the government reduce the budget deficit by billions of dollars.
Labor’s position is that it will honour its election commitments but it wants to see the legislation first.
“We should not even have to have a conversation about those,” Senator Cormann said.
“In fact that should only be the absolute minimum starting position.”
by Leon Gettler, August 23rd 2016
