Bill Shorten will challenge the Turnbull government to adopt $8.1bn in savings over the forward estimates, including measures the Coalition rejected at the recent election campaign, as a downpayment on serious budget repair.
The Labor leader will make the pitch in a speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday which is intended to be a scene setter before new parliament sits next week.
The government has attempted this week to pressure Labor over the fate of a $6.5bn “omnibus” savings bill it intends to bring forward when parliament resumes, but the treasurer, Scott Morrison, has continuing problems within his own ranks. He is trying to broker a compromise with backbenchers concerned about the government’s superannuation policy.
One of the backbench dissidents, Liberal senator Chris Back, said on Tuesday night he would like the government to lift the lifetime superannuation contributions cap from $500,000 to $750,000, but he said the internal conversations with Morrison had not yet hit a landing point.
“The beauty on our side is we can have robust discussions,” Back told Sky News. “We haven’t yet finished where we need to be.”
As both sides gear up for the looming sitting period, Labor has also this week debated whether or not to proceed with a $1.4bn saving it accepted during the election campaign, a saving which would see welfare benefits for new recipients cut courtesy of the abolition of an energy supplement.
While the opposition finance spokesman, Jim Chalmers, has more or less locked Labor in behind that saving, senior figures within Labor remain deeply concerned about that cut, given it affects people living below the poverty line.
Shorten will attempt to reset the budget repair debate on Wednesday by proposing what he characterises as a “genuine solution” for the structural repair of the budget, which would involve the government adopting some of Labor’s ideas from the election campaign.
The Labor leader will tell the press club he is prepared to show leadership to get the budget back on track. “Today, my economic team and I are putting forward a genuine savings package – a practical, achievable plan to deliver an immediate budget improvement of $8bn over the forward estimates and over $80bn over the next 10 years.”
Calling on Malcolm Turnbull to use the new parliament to “set a new tone, and put the nation ahead of partisan politics” – Shorten will nominate several measures he says would get Labor’s support if they were introduced when the sitting begins next week.
These include an increase in tobacco excise, reform of negative gearing and capital gains concessions, and $8,000 cap on Vet Fee-Help loans, changes to the private health insurance rebate, and extending existing freezes on family payments thresholds to 2019-20.
As for the omnibus bill, Shorten will repeat Labor’s holding position. He says Labor’s position on the savings measures will be consistent with the position the party took to the election, but he is also leaving wriggle room.
“As in all cases, we will closely scrutinise the legislation when the government chooses to make it available,” Shorten will say.
Shorten will also use the press club speech to resume pressure on the government about public health.
The Labor leader says until the prime minister “abandons his attacks on bulk-billing, the price-hike for medicine, the new fees and charges for pathology and diagnostic imaging and the privatisation task force” Australians will continue to doubt the Coalition’s bona fides on Medicare.
A new Essential poll released on Tuesday nominated health as the most important issue for the government to address during the first year of the new parliament. Health was followed by national security and terrorism, reducing unemployment and tax avoidance by big companies, and addressing housing affordability.
But the latest poll shows the Coalition has regained some ground on health since June. In response to a question in the survey about which party voters trust most to handle various issues, the government’s rating on ensuring the quality of the health system rose five points, and ensuring a quality education for all children went up six points.
