Opposition Leader Sussan Ley attacks Labor’s spending spree and culture of ‘dependency’, makes tax ‘handbrake’ promise

A Coalition government would put a “handbrake” on new taxes, and complete a forensic audit on government spending, Sussan Ley said in a key speech outlining the Coalition’s economic policy. The Opposition Leader said the government must make unpopular decisions to wind back universal subsidies, and tighten welfare payments as a way to fix the building budget deficits in a speech to CEDA on Wednesday. However, while she urged budget “discipline”, and creating spending “guard rails” to reduce national debt, she said a Coalition government would pause taxes. “We would have a clear handbrake on the amount of tax collected, because Australians deserve certainty that the government won’t take a bigger and bigger slice of their income,” she told audiences in Melbourne. Ms Ley also shared her “intergenerational” concern on growing debt levels, with the budget forecast to remain in deficit until 2034-35. She said future Coalition policy would be guided by a “set of quantifiable fiscal rules” with a “focus on private sector-led growth, on driving investment and job creation, and on ensuring that Australia is resilient enough to withstand future shocks”. To deliver her promise to “turn the tide on debt”, she said a Coalition government would “undertake an audit of government programs” where “every dollar would be tested” to ensure it was delivering results efficiently. “This is not about mindless cuts. It is about smart choices and hard priorities,” she said. “That doesn’t mean attacking the welfare safety net or health or school funding as Labor will of course scare Australians with. “It is about reducing waste and low-value programs allowing us to strengthen essential services like Medicare and deliver tax relief for families who are under pressure.” ‘Cookers and crackpots’ Jim Chalmers seized on Ms Ley’s comments and said it was the “exact same speech that (former treasurer) Joe Hockey gave before the Liberals last came after pensions and Medicare”. His reference was to a budget address where Mr Hockey, under the former Abbott government, said Australia was a nation of “lifters, not leaners,” and froze welfare rates and put in higher GP costs. “These Liberals haven’t learned a thing. They haven’t changed a bit, they are as divided and divisive as they have ever been,” the Treasurer said. “You see that in their approach to net zero and you see that in the Opposition Leader’s speech today … Their party is run by cookers and crackpots and I think they are the real audience of Sussan Ley’s speech today.” Ms Ley’s CEDA address sought to reset the opposition’s agenda following a week of bitter party infighting which resulted in the demotion of Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to the backbench. She also challenged Labor’s increased spending which is tipped to reach 27 per cent of GDP, the highest outside of a recession. She said Australia must “move from a time of dependency to empowerment”, and said government should not be expected to “provide for every need and solve every problem by spending more”. “My message is that we must put guardrails around government spending, not as an end in itself, but so that we can strengthen our economy, preserve our capacity to help those truly in need and ensure the next generation inherits opportunity, not debt,” she said. “Because debt is an issue of intergenerational fairness.” The Liberal leader also argued that while government must create a “fair social safety net”, the welfare system has “swung too far toward dependence,” with an entrenched “"mindset of ‘government will take care of everything’”. According to May budget papers, federal coffers are forecast to return steady deficits until 2034-35. Gross debt is also expected to hit $1.22 trillion in the 2028-29 financial year. “We are essentially running a peacetime economy on emergency fiscal settings. That is obviously not sustainable,” she warmed “Yet the current government appears in no hurry to adjust. In fact, they proudly tout any new spending as evidence of their generosity. The problem is they are being generous with borrowed money.” While the next federal election doesn’t need to be held until May 20, 2028, Ms Ley says a Coalition government would restrain spending growth” and not rely on “volatile revenue booms (like iron ore exports) that may not last. Welfare programs would also be targeted, with Ms Ley saying that “as a government, we cannot, and should not, shield everyone from every cost of living pressure by writing a cheque”. She also flagged cuts to programs that were not means-tested, saying that while “universal free everything might sound nice … in reality it drains resources from those who need help most”. Ms Ley will use the fringe benefit tax exemptions for EVs as an example which has exceeded budget modelling from $55m to $560m a year, and primarily benefits high-income earners. “We owe it to taxpayers to squeeze maximum value from each dollar the government spends,” she said. “Waste and mismanagement are the enemies of sustainability and they all add up.” Ahead of the speech, Ms Ley announced a reshuffle of her shadow ministry, which included promoting finance spokesman James Paterson to the senior leadership team to help develop the party’s economic agenda. Simon Kennedy, MP for Scott Morrison’s former seat of Cook in Sydney, was also promoted to the newly created assistant spokesman position for scrutiny of government waste and the digital economy.