Bill Shorten has ruled out using taxpayer funds to subsidise the wages of aged care workers, saying Labor will pursue pay increases in other sectors using “different paths”.
Arguing that those working in childcare require a “unique” solution to address a market failure, Shorten said the party would not use direct subsidies for other workers.
Labor has announced a $4bn childcare package that will increase the pay of early childhood educators by 20% over eight years, an average increase of $11,300 above any award rises. The full cost over a decade will be $9.9bn.
“Early childhood education is important. We’ve got to keep the talented people in this profession, but the problem is, we can’t ask parents to pay more money, and we shouldn’t,” Shorten told ABC Insiders on Sunday morning.
“I think that we’ll end up doing different paths to lift wages in other sectors. We’ll get wages moving. The solution we’re using for early childhood is unique to early childhood.”
Shorten had previously indicated the childcare sector would be the first industry to be targeted, and had left open the possibility of direct subsidies for other sectors.
He said the Labor party would get “wages moving again” in other sectors by restoring penalty rates, making it easier to run pay equity cases and clamping down on “dodgy” labour hire.
Shorten also said the party was committed to reviewing an increase to the Newstart payment – which was not included in the party’s costings released on Friday – but he would not pre-empt the outcome of a review.
“What we’ve done is said we’re going to review Newstart, but we also have to see in the review, the whole network because there are other benefits that people receive,” Shorten said.
“We want to see exactly what is the best way to deliver unemployment support to encourage people back into work and I’m not going to pre-empt that.
“We don’t know what that number is [to increase the payment] – we’re going to talk to the experts.”
Shorten defended Labor’s proposed plans to curb negative gearing and wind back dividend imputation for retirees, saying the tax changes were needed to reach the “magic trifecta” for the budget. This comprised restoring health and school funding to the level promised under the Gillard government, tax cuts for low and middle-income earners, and bigger surpluses than the Coalition.
He said proposed changes to negative gearing would have a “minimal” impact on house prices, dismissing government attacks as “rubbish and lies”.
Before today’s Coalition campaign launch, the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, was asked to explain why government budget forecasts were more optimistic than the figures predicted by the Reserve Bank.
The RBA has downgraded its growth forecasts for 2019-20 to 2.5%, compared with 2.75% in the April budget.
“It’s slightly swings and roundabouts. The differences are not major,” Frydenberg told Sky News. “The underlying fundamentals of the Australian economy are strong.”
Frydenberg was also spruiking a major Victorian infrastructure announcement, with the Coalition pledging $4bn for the $7bn East-West link in Melbourne, which was dumped by the state Labor government.
The Coalition will also announce a $36m parents’ package aimed at addressing postnatal depression and assisting mothers with newborn care.
Shorten has announced a competing infrastructure project, pledging $10bn for the Suburban Rail Loop, a 90km rail ring around Melbourne with 12 underground stations. “If you don’t back the Suburban Rail Loop, then you’re not backing Melbourne,” he said.
