MEDIA RELEASE: HOCKEY & CORMANN THROW OUT FISCAL RULE BOOK

One year after trashing Peter Costello’s Charter of Budget Honesty in the 2013 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) Joe Hockey and Mathias Cormann have now trashed their own fiscal rule book.

In the 2014 Budget papers Joe Hockey and Mathias Cormann said: “New spending measures will be more than offset by reductions in spending elsewhere in the Budget.”

Inconsistent with this strategy, the recently handed down mini-Budget includes $4 billion in new spending measures not offset by savings elsewhere in the Budget.

Deals with independents and minor parties are responsible for a $7 billion blow-out in Government expenditure, despite the Prime Minister promising before the election:

“There will not be deals done with independents and minor parties under any political movement that I lead,”

(TONY ABBOTT – 4 JULY 2013)

Before the election Tony Abbott promised no deals with independents or minor parties, after the election he’s done the exact opposite and Australians are paying the price.

First Joe Hockey and Mathias Cormann trashed Peter Costello’s Charter of Budget Honesty by doubling the deficit and blaming Labor, now they're trashing  their own Budget rules months after introducing them.

The Government has lost all credibility and control of the Budget - now it's losing control of the economy.

Since the election consumer confidence has fallen 18 per cent according to the Westpac Consumer Sentiment Index and business confidence continues to decline. 

Unemployment has risen to 6.3 per cent since the election and is forecast to rise to 6.5 per cent by the middle of 2015, the highest level since Tony Abbott was Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.

It’s time Joe Hockey and Mathias Cormann started taking responsibility for their actions, apologise to the Australian people for damaging business and consumer confidence, trashed their unfair Budget and started again.