Baby bonus, immunisation allowance to be cut Justine Davies November 29, 2011
Baby bonus ... kids can prove costly. Photo illustration: Simon Bosch
Mini-budget - what you need to know.
Back in 2008, Treasurer Wayne Swan promised to bring the federal budget back into surplus by the 2012/13 financial year. Back then he labelled it a new era of responsible economic management. Of course, that was before the still-ongoing (and likely to be ongoing for a long time) eurozone disasters, before the US economy lost its AAA credit rating and before Australians became a nation of cautious savers rather than carefree shoppers. Advertisement: Story continues below
Nevertheless the government is determined to honour their surplus promise, and hence we have Swan’s “mini-budget”, unveiled today (click here for a full transcript). It outlines around $6.8 billion in savings and while a significant proportion of that will come from increased public service efficiency, there are also several cost-cutting measures that will directly impact families. The main ones are:
* Reduction of the Baby Bonus. From September 2012 the Baby Bonus will be reduced from its current level of $5,400 back down to $5,000. Interestingly, the government made no change to the Paid Parental Leave scheme.
* Freezing indexation. As well as reducing the Baby Bonus by $400, the government will also freeze indexation of this benefit for a further three years. As such the amount of bonus will not increase with inflation. This measure is expected to save the government approximately $320 million.
* Axing of the Maternity Immunisation Allowance: The government has announced that from July 2012 the Maternity Immunization Allowance will cease to exist. This benefit is two non-means tested payments of $129 each, paid for children who meet the immunization requirements at 18 months and again at 4 – 5 years of age.
* Compulsory immunisation for Family Tax Benefit (A) Supplement:From 1st July 2012 families will need to meet immunization requirements to receive the Family Tax Benefit (A) Supplement – currently an amount of $726 for the financial years that each child turns one, two and five years of age. To meet these requirements, children will need to be fully immunised, to be on a recognised immunisation catch up schedule or have an approved exemption. From 1 July 2013, children will also be required to receive vaccines for meningococcal C, pneumococcal and varicella to be assessed as fully immunised. From this date, Priorix-Tetra®, a combination vaccine, will be added to the National Immunisation Program.
The government has also announced that they will defer the “tick and flick” tax returns that were promised in the previous budget. At the time Wayne Swan claimed that 6.4 million taxpayers would each save an average of $192 in tax by opting for the pre-filled tax returns; they now estimate that deferring the introduction of these will instead save them approximately $1.4 billion over the forward estimates period.
On the plus side, childcare operators will receive a small boost, with the government providing an extra $5 million to assist around 1,000 approved Long Day Care services to improve facilities and practices in preparation for implementation of the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care and School Aged Services (NQF).
Earlier this month the Reserve Bank revised our economic growth downwards, from 4% o 3.25%. Employment is expected to rise. So perhaps these are the budget cuts that we had to have.
What do you think of the cuts to the Baby Bonus? Have your say on the Essential Baby forums.
one qualification .. i read someone say there was a loophole on the compulsory immunization of children for family tax benefits .. a loophole for conscientious objectors .. seems to me unconscious objectors could be more appropriate when it comes to not protecting children .. anyway, it's a misguided conscience, imo.
Anyway, it's great to see the compulsory immunization condition in there.
Swan launches second assault on mining billionaires
Alexandra Kirk reported this story on Monday, March 5, 2012 18:10:00
BRENDAN TREMBATH: The Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, has intensified his campaign against some of the biggest names in Australian mining. Last week in an essay he called for a pitched battle against the influence of vested interests.
Today the Treasurer was at the National Press Club in Canberra and he again criticised the big three: Andrew Forrest, Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart. And this time he's drawn the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, into the net.
From Canberra, Alexandra Kirk reports.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: The Treasurer's been in a feisty mood of late. First he took aim at Kevin Rudd. Then in the Monthly magazine last week, he opened fire on wealthy business figures, including Clive Palmer, Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart, warning "the rising power of vested interests" was a "poison" that endangered Australia's success.
Addressing the National Press Club, Wayne Swan's continued his spray, saying the backlash sparked by his essay proves his point.
WAYNE SWAN: I think we do need a lot of straight talking in this debate because it shines a light on something that everyone of us holds dear to in this country: the notion of a fair go.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: Wayne Swan says it's not an attack on the rich, it's an attack on an imbalance in influence and opportunity.
WAYNE SWAN: In recent years we've seen the emergence of a tiny handful of people, in fact, the Monthly calls them the 0.01 per cent group, who mobilise their considerable wealth against policies designed to benefit the majority.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: Mr Swan argues the billionaires' protest against the mining tax would have been laughed out of town in the Australia he grew up in. But apparently it's a different story now, pointing the finger at a plethora of forces at work.
WAYNE SWAN: The combination of deep pockets, conservative political support and, of course, the ranting of shock jocks more and more brazenly has sought to defend promote the interests of a very narrow section of our economy.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: "Twiggy" Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group took out full page ads today arguing Mr Swan's original attack contained "extreme claims" and was "unfair, untrue and divisive". Mr Swan's hit back.
WAYNE SWAN: For every Andrew Forrest who complains about high company taxes, and then admits to not paying any, there are 100 or more that go about employing Australians and creating wealth in a constructive way.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: As for Mr Forrest's family deciding to share their wealth helping the needy.
WAYNE SWAN: Charity is not a substitute for paying tax.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: Clive Palmer says Mr Swan's trying to divide the country, regretting the debate's taken a nasty turn.
CLIVE PALMER: This is a lot of rubbish really. Everything I've done, Gina Rinehart's done and Mr Forrest has done is in accordance with the laws of Australia, that've been made by the parliament. We're not evil people. I employ 3,000 people nearly in Queensland and Australia.
Maybe the Treasurer needs more love, maybe he's had a hard life. I don't know what's turned him so bitter.
WAYNE SWAN: I was really disturbed, and it made by stomach churn when I read Mr Palmer saying that his only responsibility, his only responsibility was to his shareholders and to his workers and he had no public responsibility whatsoever. What I say about people like Mr Palmer is they don't get rich on their own.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: Gina Rinehart too gets a special mention.
WAYNE SWAN: Just as worrying to us, I think, all, is Ms Rinehart's foray into at least two media companies, reportedly to influence public opinion and to further her commercial interests.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: Labor sources say Mr Swan's attack is about reaffirming what Labor stands for and trying to win back its traditional voters. The Government thinks it's on a winner, noting the Twitter debate this afternoon, which the Treasurer participated in, was quote "the number one trending topic in Australia".
But it's also sparked concern in Labor's ranks. One MP's described the assault as ill disciplined and poor politics, flouting the basic rule of "ignore your enemy".
The Trade Minister, Craig Emerson, says the Treasurer is entitled to disagree with miners' attempts to align their personal interest with the national interest.
CRAIG EMERSON: And in any contest between a national living treasure and a national living Treasurer, I'll back the Treasurer any day.
There is no sharper difference between Labor and the Coalition where Labor wants to spread the benefits of the mining boom to the working men and women of this country. And the Coalition, led my Mr Abbott, the most arrogant man that I think I have ever met, who says that Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart are paying too much tax and he will repeal the mining tax and give the money back to them.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: And Tony Abbott's weighed in, arguing Mr Swan's criticisms are unwarranted.
TONY ABBOTT: These are people who - they attract investment, they create jobs and they build prosperity. They are wealth creators. Wayne Swan has been the greatest wealth waster that this country has ever seen.
Let's put aside for a moment the phoney class war on billionaires, what really concerns me is his real attack on middle Australia.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: It's a case of everyone jostling to have the last word.
WAYNE SWAN: He is of course singing for his supper. We can see that in the donations from the likes of Clive Palmer that have flooded into the Coalition's coffers in recent years. In choosing to kneel down at the feet of vested interests, rather than stand up in the interests of Australian workers, Mr Abbott has encouraged these people at every turn.
BRENDAN TREMBATH: The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, in that report by Alexandra Kirk.
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