Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says government handouts are out of control. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Australians have become too dependent on welfare and handouts, according to Sussan Ley, who says Labor is being less than responsible with taxpayers’ money.
In her first major economic speech as Opposition Leader, Ms Ley pushed the Coalition’s conservative economic values, stressing that government subsidies were out of control and becoming a threat to future generations.
Addressing the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) on Wednesday (17 September), Ms Ley suggested the Federal Government should discourage an attitude of dependency and entitlement.
“By dependency, I mean the growing expectation that government will provide for every need and solve every problem by spending more,” she said.
“My message is that we must put guard rails 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 that the next generation inherits opportunity, not debt, because debt is an issue of intergenerational fairness.
“Many governments have become reluctant to wind back programs because it’s not popular to take something away from voters. But ultimately, the fiscal reality of paying for it must be confronted.”
Ms Ley said governments should encourage ‘empowerment’ over ‘dependency’, but Labor has fostered a growing reliance on handouts and universal government subsidies.
Empowerment is about restoring the right balance between what citizens provide for themselves and what taxpayers provide as a safety net, she said.
And it’s about reaffirming that while government can do a lot of good, it cannot and should not do everything.
Citing research from the Centre for Independent Studies, the Opposition Leader said more than half of adults rely on the government for most of their income, while just 10 per cent of taxpayers pay two-thirds of all income tax.
In the last two years, 80 per cent of new employment has been in the non-market sector, which accounts for just 30 per cent of employment.
“If we stay on this path, it will mean fewer opportunities for young Australians to buy a home, a weaker safety net, and a diminished capacity to respond when the next crisis hits,” she said.
“Now, none of this is about blaming individuals for taking up government programs that are offered.
“But the time of reflexively looking to Canberra to solve every problem with a blank cheque must give way to a time of empowerment, personal responsibility, and fiscal commonsense.”
Ms Ley said a fundamental Liberal value is that people’s hard work and enterprise should be rewarded, not penalised.
She said government policies need to incentivise Australians, which means winding back disincentives to work and save.
It also means targeting welfare to those who truly need it, while encouraging those who are able to work or study to do so.
A government’s goal should be to help people off welfare and into self-reliance, not to add more people onto government support unnecessarily.
Australia is a compassionate nation, she said, but if the safety net is to remain strong, the government must ensure it is financially sustainable and targeted to genuine need.
Trying to give everyone a slice of the government pie, regardless of need, is a recipe for fiscal failure, she said, adding that while “universal free everything” might sound nice, in reality, it drains resources from those who need help most.
Government support should be a safety net, not a hammock.
“Unfortunately, in the past few years, the pendulum has swung too far towards dependency,” Ms Ley said.
“It has become almost taboo in politics to suggest that not everyone is entitled to a government benefit.
“But I ask: is it fair to pile up debts that our children will have to pay off?
“Ultimately, the best form of welfare is a job and a thriving private economy.
“We must never lose sight of that.”
Asked to comment on Ms Ley’s speech, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said it sounded like the “same old Liberal Party” with the same failed approach it took to this year’s federal election.
Senator Gallagher said Labor had cleaned up the waste and rorts from the former Coalition government.
She said she and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have implemented strong fiscal guardrails and have made savings in each federal budget.
“The budget has to serve a purpose, but certainly the approach Jim and I have taken is one of very tight budget responsibility.”
