Rudd foreshadows budget cuts

as posted on theWest

Kevin Rudd has defended planned spending cuts in next week’s Federal Budget and admitted some decisions will not be popular.

During a visit to Perth today, the Prime Minister told a media conference in the southern suburb of Maddington that spending cuts on “lesser priority government programs” were needed to fight inflation and curb what he described as excessive spending by the previous government.

While Mr Rudd was keen to talk about the Labor Government’s promised tax cuts and plans to fight inflation, he was tight-lipped about what cutbacks will be announced in next Tuesday’s Budget.

“Inflation is the enemy of working families, it’s the enemy of the economy and it’s the enemy of business and that’s why it has got to be front and centre in the focus of our upcoming Budget,” Mr Rudd said.

He also refused to say whether the controversial baby bonus – increasing to $5000 in July - would be scrapped.

“Let’s wait for Budget night on all the details… I am not going into each individual line item,” Mr Rudd said.

Shadow Treasurer Malcolm Turnbull has rejected the idea of the baby bonus being means tested, saying it should be paid regardless of income levels.

But Mr Rudd said it would be “grossly irresponsible” to continue the “excessive government spending of the past government”.

People on lower income brackets and working families under increasing financial pressure from rising costs in housing, mortgages, food, petrol and childcare, were the focus of the Budget, he said.

He was critical of the Liberal Party’s claims that the spending cuts were not needed.

“I don’t understand why you have the Liberals out there saying that there is no economic case for cutting any government spending and at the same time defending welfare payments for the wealthiest Australians,” Mr Rudd said.

“We completely disagree, when we have inflation at 16 year highs as we inherited from the previous government, if you continue to grow government expenditure at the same rate of our predecessors we add to inflation and put further pressure on interest rates and prices in the economy and those prices impact working families.”

Mr Rudd was in Perth to prepare for the upcoming Budget and discuss its impacts on the State with city officials.

Earlier in the day he spoke at a business breakfast.

KAREN HODGE

as posted on theWest