In 2007 the federal government had zero net debt and a robust economy. After six prime ministers and zero economic reform (but much deform), we are now on track for over one trillion dollars in debt in the coming years. Stimulus spending is a fool’s errand – a cowardly leader’s quick fix which kicks the can down the road and magnifies pain. Governments that can't balance their budgets turn to inflation to hide the problem, but this only makes it worse.
Debt and inflation imperceptibly bogs a nation down. Our current trajectory means that by 2030 the Commonwealth will pay $65 billion a year in interest. Australia will stagnate unless we show real leadership by taking strong action. Before COVID, around one in eight nations were forced to spend more on debt repayment then social services. That’s crippling, and it’s our future unless we bring back fiscal responsibility.
Debt needs to be repaid and it’s a foul dereliction of duty to pass it on to the next generation. Future taxpayers are subsidising current waste. The major parties just ignore the debt and hope the citizens don’t think about it.
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Cut 10% to all federal departments (besides Defence). There is waste and luxury in every department, and it will be eliminated if the departments are given the right incentives. A one-off immediate 10% cut to all federal departments must be achieved.
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Cut a further 1% per year to all federal departments (besides Defence). This should be pursued each year until net debt is entirely eliminated.
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Abolish duplicate departments. The federal government does not run any hospitals or schools, yet still runs bloated Departments of Health and Education, staffed with bureaucrats. State-run services should be left to the states.
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Defund the ABC & SBS. Let the ABC & SBS pay their own way through advertising, subscriptions and donations from their adoring fans.
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Abolish all nanny state advertising. The role of government should be to protect people’s liberty, not mould their behaviour at their own cost.
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Abolish subsidies for renewable energy. Renewable energy companies had over a decade of taxpayer funds in an effort to deliver low cost energy – it’s time for them to compete in the free market.
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Remove the pointless tax/welfare churn. The current system (state and federal) involves hundreds of billions of churn where money is taxed from middle-class families and then given back to the exact same families as direct and indirect handouts. This sort of churn is inefficient, immoral, and a drain on growth and prosperity. Middle-class welfare should be abolished, and the middle-class should instead receive significant tax cuts, so that they can control their own money.
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Reduce politicians pay by 10%. Wasteful decisions by irresponsible politicians have created our debt problem, and politicians should share the pain in helping to pay down that debt.
- Abolish taxpayer funding of political parties. This is a scheme created for major parties, by major parties. It not only contributes to debt, it also gives incumbent politicians an unfair advantage and entrenches the status quo.