Budget response 'empty rhetoric'

15 May 2009, 6:47 am   -   Source: AAP/SBS
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Malcolm Turnbull's budget reply speech was full of empty rhetoric, with no solutions to reduce government debt, the Finance Minister says.

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Malcolm Turnbull's budget reply speech was full of empty rhetoric, with no solutions to reduce government debt, Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner says.

In his budget response, the opposition leader attacked the spiralling levels of debt forecast and run up by Labor with its "profligate" spending on two economic stimulus packages.

Mr Turnbull also said the opposition would fight plans to cut the private health insurance rebate, but offered a trade-off.

The opposition is offering to replace the forecast $1.9 billion in savings that would come from paring back access to the private health insurance rebate with a 12.5 per cent increase in the tobacco excise - a tax of three cents per cigarette.

'No savings, no plan, no strategy'

But Mr Tanner said that despite Mr Turnbull's repeated attacks on the budget deficit, he had offered no solutions to reduce debt other than suggesting a tax increase.

"Tonight we've had the budget reply speech from Malcolm Turnbull, and the proposals he's put forward in the budget reply would not reduce our deficit or our debt by one cent," he told the ABC's Q&A program.

"The only savings measure that he has put forward... is a tax increase.

"So for all of their posturing and bluster about these things, not one serious saving, no plan, no strategy to tackle the jobs issue, no strategy to tackle the investing for the future of the nation issue.

"All we had was this empty rhetoric and not one cent off debt or deficit."

 

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