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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-05-20 Daily Xml
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Federal Budget

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:06): I seek leave to make a further ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Last Tuesday night the federal Treasurer handed down his first budget under the Abbott Liberal Coalition government. As the Treasurer spoke and outlined his government's agenda I, like many people, was eager to hear what the changes would mean for ordinary South Australians. What unfolded was the most cruel and blatant ideological assault by the Liberal Party on the Australian way of life; a betrayal of our nation's core principle of fairness.

While cuts to Medicare, pensioners, the unemployed and working families were outlined, it would not be until after the budget speech was delivered that the most devastating cut would be uncovered. After receiving a preliminary briefing from our state's Treasurer, it was revealed the budget included an unprecedented assault on South Australian schools and hospitals and an attack on our federation as we know it.

The termination of national partnership agreements, particularly those with regard to health and education, will have a devastating impact on our state's capacity to deliver these vital services. These cuts, worth in the order of $80 billion across Australia, equate to an impact of approximately $5.5 billion in South Australia alone. The cuts to health in the year 2017-18 alone are the equivalent of nearly 600 beds or an entire Flinders Medical Centre. The cuts to our education system equate to approximately $1,200 per student across 2018-19 or nearly 3,000 teachers. These cuts will be felt in the electorates of all members of this house.

The termination of these agreements was forced upon the states with no consultation despite all state and territory leaders coming together for a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments on Friday 2 May—11 days before the budget was handed down. Whilst on budget night our own opposition leader heaped praise on the Abbott government's cruel budget, the response from Liberal premiers was considerably more forthright.

In speaking with the Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman, on Wednesday, I proposed that state and territory leaders should meet to discuss our response to these cuts. Last Sunday I, along with the premiers of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania and the chief ministers of the ACT and the Northern Territory, met to confirm our opposition to this federal budget. At this meeting the Council for the Australian Federation resolved as follows:

1. CAF expressed grave concern that, contrary to the Prime Minister's remarks, there are immediate impacts on frontline services and cost of living for Australians.

2. CAF rejects the proposed $80 billion of cuts to health and education, highlighting the massive impact on front-line services for all Australians and the significant impact on fiscal sustainability of all states and territories.

3. We called for an urgent COAG meeting to address these concerns before 1 July.

4. We agreed that the white papers on the reform of the federation must be accelerated and progressed as a true partnership with the states and territories.

In just 41 days South Australians, whether they reside in Adelaide or the regions, whether they are young or old, will feel the impact of this cruel federal budget. I went into the recent state election vowing to stand up to the Abbott government in the interests of all South Australians. That is exactly what I intended to do in warning that these cuts were on the way. South Australians are cynical of secret audit commission processes used by those who seek to hide their true agenda.

Today I advise the house that I have written to all federal senators, asking them to consider the consequences that will be met by ordinary South Australians for the sake of implementing the Liberal Party ideology. I condemn the Abbott government's federal budget and the termination of these national partnership agreements and I ask all members of this house to join me in the campaign to resist these cuts.

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