Election promises have also been made by Labor, pledging to reduce plastic waste and appoint more women to high positions.
Ahead of Tuesday's budget, the government announced a one-off payment to help with the cost of power bills. An Energy Assistance Payment - $75 for singles and $125 for couples - will be paid into the bank accounts of 3.9 million veterans, carers, single parents, aged pensioners and people receiving the disability support pension, before July. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told the Nine Network the government is taking action on reducing power prices.
This is money that's going to go into people's pockets to help meet the costs of their next power bill. At the same time we're taking action on a number of fronts to reduce energy prices. Last year we saw prices come down in July. On the 1st of January we saw standing offers come down by around 15 per cent and from the 1st July we're putting into place a default price which can see (Reporter : But wholesale prices continue to rise and so eventually will retail prices) We we're actually seeing prices come down as a result of the actions we've taken.
But opposition leader Bill Shorten said it shows that the government knows that it doesn't have an energy policy.
Today the government rushed out an election con. $75 for pensioners - that's nice. But that doesn't make up for six years of rising electricity prices. It doesn't make up for increases in the cost of living - it doesn't make up for an increase in the cost of seeing a doctor or a specialist
Politicians on Sunday did the rounds of the political talk shows with upbeat assessments of their parties' achievements as well as promises. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the budget that will be delivered in two days is based on realistic forecasts including a surplus.
The most recent update in terms of 2018/19 was in the half yearly budget update. That showed that the deficit had reduced all the way down to $5.2 billion - the lowest deficit in a very very long time and as we've forecast for some time now, we are forecasting a surplus for 2019/20 and the specific numbers in terms of this financial year and next financial year and beyond will be delivered on Tuesday.
Labor, meanwhile, said it will deliver its own budget just months after the federal election, expected in May - if the party wins power. Opposition Treasurer Chris Bowen told the ABC's Insiders program that Labor will release a major economic statement in the first quarter of the next financial year.
He said his party has taken tough policy decisions under Bill Shorten's leadership.
But we recognise the need particularly in the era of low wages growth and cost of living pressures, everything going up, except for people's wage, carefully targeted tax relief for low- and middle-income earners is important for the economy.
Labor had announcements of its own - including a pledge to appoint a woman as the next governor-general and introduce gender-neutral applications so employers do not know an applicant's gender before their interview. It also pledged to introduce a national ban on lightweight, single-use plastic bags and microbeads from 2021 under a strategy to slash waste and promote recycling. Labor Environment spokesperson Tony Burke said federal leadership on the environment issue will ensure Australia plays its critical role.
In short, we end up with a situation where we play our role in recycling, where we have a waste commissioner providing federal leadership, getting around the problem that's plagued us for years where it was always someone else's fault and where, on the world stage, Australia becomes a nation, instead of relying on someone else to solve it, we are playing our role to ensuring we don't continue down this path, to where, in 2050, the plastic in the ocean weighs more than the fish.
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