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PM pretending to be 'poor man's Keating'

Bill Shorten says Malcolm Turnbull is pretending to be a "poor man's Paul Keating" with his company tax cut plan.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is pretending to be a "poor man's Paul Keating". Source: AAP

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has rejected the federal government's economic plan as a mirage, accusing Malcolm Turnbull of pretending to be a "poor man's Paul Keating".

He's also defended Labor's Medicare scare campaign, insisting coalition cuts to health were taking Australia toward an Americanised health system.

In an interview on the ABC's 7.30 on Thursday, Mr Shorten accused the government of artificially pumping up its budget with "zombie" measures that would never see the light of day.

He said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was handing $50 billion in tax cuts to big business at the expense of Medicare and schools and rejected any comparison with the company tax cuts delivered by former Labor prime minister Paul Keating.

"Mr Turnbull keeps trying to pretend he's some sort of poor man's Paul Keating.

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"He's not.

"The revenue the budget was forgoing from corporate tax was replaced by new taxes - Mr Turnbull has only picked up half of the lesson from the Labor Party."

Mr Shorten said the July 2 election would determine the future of Medicare.

He also took a swipe at the new Australian Medical Association president Michael Gannon, who has dismissed Labor's claims that outsourcing the Medicare payments system amounts to privatisation.

Mr Shorten said the previous head of the doctors' lobby expressed concerns about outsourcing earlier this year.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion," he said.

"People may care to fall for what Malcolm's saying but I won't give up on Medicare."

Labor is refusing to back down on claims the government harbours a secret plan to privatise Medicare, despite the prime minister vowing no part of Medicare will be outsourced.


2 min read

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Updated

Source: AAP



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