Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor are being pressured to release the Coalition’s full policy costings. Photo: Peter Dutton Facebook.
It’s that time of the campaign when the Federal Government jumps up and down about the Federal Opposition not yet having released its full election costings.
In the 2022 federal election, Labor in opposition didn’t release its costings until the Thursday before polling day, much to the frustration and feigned outrage of the then-Morrison Coalition government.
Holding off didn’t hurt Anthony Albanese’s chances of becoming PM, and now it seems Peter Dutton is hoping for the same.
It has almost become convention for an opposition to wait until the last minute to release all its policy costings for a campaign.
This election is somewhat unique, however, in that the Coalition has made some significant promises that, on the face of it, don’t seem to stack up.
The Opposition Leader has repeatedly emphasised cuts and savings, yet his election promises appear to outweigh those savings.
The Coalition’s most expensive policy is its nuclear energy plan, which Labour claims could cost up to $600 billion, although the opposition disputes this figure.
So far, Australians have only been told that nuclear plants would be funded by borrowed money.
Mr Dutton also says he would pay for an $8.5 billion boost to Medicare by cutting thousands of public servant jobs – 41,000 in fact.
And he’s pledged to increase Australia’s defence spending over the next five years by an additional $21 billion if he’s elected on 3 May.
The Coalition has made a string of big-ticket spending and tax promises throughout the campaign, but has not delivered the goods with regard to their full budget outcomes and implications.
This has allowed Labor, on the day it released all of its election costings (28 April), to do its own calculations based on the Coalition’s commitments.
By tallying the Liberals’ announced policies and “cost blow-outs and policy backflips” that allow mortgage tax deductions and fuel excise cuts, Labor says the Coalition’s election commitments have conservatively reached more than $62 billion.
But, Labor says, the Coalition’s identified list of cuts amount to $27 billion, which is less than half of what is required to offset their spending commitments.
The $62 billion tally does not include the Coalition’s nuclear plan.
The government says the only way the Coalition can achieve the level of spending it is pledging is to “cut and gut” from health and Medicare, pensions and payments, support for veterans and education.
Labor can say that and more because the Coalition isn’t providing any numbers to the contrary.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers appeared to enjoy goading Mr Dutton over the lack of transparency.
“We call on the Coalition to release their costs and cuts immediately,” he said.
“It is long past time for the Coalition to come clean on their secret cuts to pay for nuclear reactors.
“We’ve made it very clear what our costs are and how we will pay for the commitments that we have made in this election campaign.”
Dr Chalmers said because Labor’s election commitments are offset in each year over the forward estimates, the underlying cash balance position is slightly better in all four years and cumulatively more than $1 billion stronger than the 2025 Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
And Labor’s election costings include two new additional savings:
- $6.4 billion from further reducing spending on consultants, contractors and labour hire, and non-wage expenses like travel, hospitality and property, continuing similar measures committed in previous budgets, and
- $760 million from increasing the visa application charge for primary student visa applicants to $2,000 from 1 July 2025. (The arrangements for Pacific Island and Timor-Leste primary applicants will remain the same.)
There is a contrast here, and it will remain so until the Coalition comes clean on its full election costings.
Until it does – and it’s fast running out of time – we’ll just keep hearing shadow treasurer Angus Taylor repeating phrases like he did after Labor released its costings.
“No plan for the budget and no plan for the economy,” was one line.
“There is a better way. We can get this country back on track, and that means we need to beat inflation by cutting waste and slashing red tape,” was another.
Maybe the phrase Mr Dutton and/or Mr Taylor should be uttering as a matter of priority is: “Here are our policies costed in full.”
That might help those Australians yet to vote make a more informed decision.
