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Socialist Sarah Hathway elected to the City of Greater Geelong Council

Sue Bull — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 12:15:00 +1000

Sarah Hathway from Socialist Alliance was declared elected to Windermere Ward of the City of Greater Geelong on June 28. Sue Bull reports.

Three budget cuts we should support

Peter Boyle — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 09:30:00 +1100

“Stop the cuts,” is the usual left response at budget time. But on the eve of the first budget to be delivered by the Anthony Albanese Labor government, there are three cuts we should support. Peter Boyle reports.

Scott Morrison must be stopped from downsizing the NDIS

Graham Matthews — Mon, 17 May 2021 12:15:00 +1000

Graham Matthews argues that now that the National Disability Insurance Scheme has matured, the federal government wants to disown it, down-size and destroy it.

Treasurer Frydenberg shuffles back to austerity

Neville Spencer — Thu, 06 May 2021 13:15:00 +1000

After eliminating almost all its generous pandemic spending measures, the federal government has indicated it will soft-peddle on further cuts in the May 11 budget. Neville Spencer reports.

Spain: A budget for an ecological, feminist and socially just recovery?

Dick Nichols — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 17:00:00 +1100

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party/Unidas Podemos coalition government has launched its 2021 draft budget to great fanfare, writes Dick Nichols.

ALP backs Coalition’s gas and guns ‘recovery’ plan in weak budget reply

Peter Boyle — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 12:30:00 +1100

Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s budget reply speech failed to offer an alternative course to the Coalition government’s gas and arms export-based vision, argues Peter Boyle.

All fired up for the budget?

Suzanne James — Sat, 03 Oct 2020 13:15:00 +1000

Tuesday’s budget is on everybody’s mind. Most people will be looking for whatever life buoys Treasury throws, writes Suzanne James.

Unions slam new budget cuts to the ABC

Jim McIlroy — Fri, 25 May 2018 12:15:00 +1000

Unions have condemned the federal government's decision to cut a further $84 million from funding for the ABC in the federal budget announced on May 8.

The budget confirmed the government has frozen the indexation of ABC funding to effectively cut that amount over three years. These latest cuts come on top of the $254 million the Coalition government has already removed from the ABC's revenue since 2014.

WA Labor prepares the ground for austerity, cuts

Chris Jenkins — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 10:00:00 +1000

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan fronted the media on April 6 with the news that the state’s economy is in a turmoil not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The recently elected Labor government has warned that its first budget will be “tough and uncompromising”, though tough and uncompromising to whom is yet to be seen.

Trump’s ‘morally obscene’ budget slammed

Deirdre Fulton — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 11:00:00 +1100

Meals on Wheels. Teacher training, after-school, and summer educational programs. The National Endowment for the Arts. The Appalachian Regional Commission. The National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Labor's proposed budget cuts ought to be slammed

Kamala Emanuel — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 10:00:00 +1000

The Labor Party announced a series of “savings” measures on June 10, including $1 billion worth of Abbott/Turnbull cuts that had previously been blocked in the Senate. It has tried to make the attacks appear palatable by claiming they are directed at higher income families. However the truth is they reaffirm that a future Labor government's direction will be more about cutting government spending than raising revenue from the big end of town. Further, they will have bigger impacts on ordinary workers than appears evident at first glance.

National Security versus national security

Sam Wainwright — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 10:00:00 +1000

Remember last year when federal Treasurer Scott Morrison, picking up where Joe Hockey left off, declared that we had a spending problem not a revenue problem? That seems like a long time ago now. They did try to increase revenues by floating an increase in the GST but soon after came the revelation that 600 of Australia's biggest companies paid no tax and hundreds more pay less that the 30% they could be paying. This is all the more galling when you consider that the rate has been cut from the 48% it had been in the early 1980s. And then came the Panama Papers!

Budget, attacks on unions herald elections

John Rainford — Fri, 22 May 2015 10:00:00 +1000

The May 2015 budget was framed by the Abbott government with one issue in mind — winning the next federal election. Although there are some members of the Coalition keen on an early election, it seems unlikely to be called until sometime next year.

Building the fight against the budget

Susan Price — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 10:00:00 +1000

More than 45,000 people rallied against the federal budget in cities around the country on July 6, with sizeable crowds in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The “Bust the Budget” Sydney rally was organised by Unions NSW. Union flags were prominent in the crowd, which reached more than 10,000, making it one of the bigger union mobilisations in recent times.

Budget 2014: Bad for climate, great for miners

Mel Barnes — Fri, 30 May 2014 10:00:00 +1000

Repealing the carbon tax, abolishing the department of climate change, and getting rid of the Clean Energy Fund were the top three wishes in “75 radical ideas to transform Australia”, released by the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) in 2012. Number six was to repeal the Renewable Energy Target (RET). In the recent federal budget, the Coalition government is aiming to do all four.

New federal budget is 'murder'

Peter Boyle — Fri, 16 May 2014 10:00:00 +1000

I had a heart attack when I was just 55. It was a surprise and a shock. I'd never smoked, was not a big drinker and wasn't carrying too much weight. It was probably a genetic predisposition to heart disease. That was six years ago. Last week I went through the annual tests and consultation with the cardiologist and was told I'm “doing very well” thanks to exercise, a supportive family and the public, universal healthcare system we have in Australia.

Carlo's Corner: Stop complaining, the budget only hits the young, old and inbetween

Carlo Sands — Fri, 16 May 2014 10:00:00 +1000

There is a lot of hype about so-called pain in this budget, and sure, not everyone comes out a winner. But, basically, as long as you are not a young person or an old person, you should be fine. Or a middle-aged person who plans on getting old. Or a public servant. Or a farmer. Or someone who wants to study at university, or who owes money from past study.

Budget 2014: Radical changes to education funding

Ellie Thomas — Fri, 16 May 2014 10:00:00 +1000

Radical changes to university and TAFE education were announced in the federal budget on May 13. These changes include removing the cap on university fees and changes to welfare payments. People under 25 are no longer eligible for the Newstart allowance. Treasurer Joe Hockey said the theme of the budget was "contribution and building" and "sharing the pain", but it will make it even tougher for struggling families.

Unions react to budget: slam cuts to welfare, public service jobs

Stuart Munckton — Wed, 14 May 2014 10:00:00 +1000

Unions have slammed many aspects of the Coalition budget, released on May 13. Below, leaders of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Community and Public Sector Union respond. *** GED KEARNEY, PRESIDENT OF THE AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF TRADE UNIONS "The Abbott government's assault on welfare, Medicare, education and the public sector represents the end of the fair go and the biggest attack on the social wage this country has ever seen.

Budget 2014: Co-payment undoing universal health care

Jim McIlroy — Wed, 14 May 2014 10:00:00 +1000

"The Abbott government's proposed $7 co-payment for visits to the doctor, and for other medical services, will effectively destroy Medicare as a universal, bulk-billed health service for the community," Erima Dall, spokesperson for the Sydney Save Medicare Committee said on May 14. "The government is also opening the way for the states to charge an up-front fee for previously free treatment at public hospitals, in the expectation that people will be forced to turn to the emergency departments because of the GP co-payment.

Audit Commission declares open class war

Jim McIlroy — Fri, 02 May 2014 10:00:00 +1000

The Commission of Audit report is a declaration of open class war by the corporate ruling class against Australia's working people and the poor. Released symbolically on May 1, the international workers' day, it is a clear challenge to the labour movement and social organisations. If its 86 recommendations are implemented, it would be a wholesale destruction of the welfare state, hard fought for over a century or more by working people, and a huge victory for big business in shifting wealth from the poor to the rich.

Greens MLC: How to block supply and bust the budget

David Shoebridge — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:00:00 +1000

Much of the public debate on the Senate “blocking supply” suggests that it is an all or nothing tactic. However this is not the case. The Senate can carefully cherry-pick the elements in the budget that it demands be amended and force the Abbott government to either accept those amendments or see its budget fail. This is a short explanation of the Senate’s powers and its ability to force a budget debate on its terms with the government-dominated House of Representatives. THE BILLS The Federal budget contains two main pieces of legislation:

Time to stand united and block the budget

Farida Iqbal — Fri, 23 May 2014 10:00:00 +1000

Farida Iqbal gave this speech on behalf of the March Australia committee in Perth on May 18. *** This is a budget founded on lies. There is no budget emergency. The whole thing is a complete fabrication. The budget deficit is 34.5% of GDP, compared to the average of 117% among OECD countries. But that wasn’t the only lie. Treasurer Joe Hockey told us we have to cut back the safety net because we are a nation of lifters, not leaners. When he said that, he lied to us about who is doing the lifting and who is doing the leaning in this country.

Unions protest over Tas Liberal government’s budget

Susan Austin — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 10:00:00 +1000

The Tasmanian Liberal government released its first budget on August 28. About 1500 people protested outside Parliament House on the same day to voice their opposition to the government’s plans. The budget will cut 700 full-time jobs from the public sector and freeze public sector wages for at least one year. School attendant and United Voice member Ken Martindale addressed the rally about the impact the pay freeze will have on low-income families in Tasmania, saying that bills will go up each year even if pay does not.

What a socialist budget would look like

Jay Fletcher — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:00:00 +1000

The Socialist Alliance estimated in 2010 that its key policies for social justice and environmental sustainability would cost a minimum of $81-140 billion a year. Any budget devised by a party focused on putting people and the planet before profits would look significantly different to the “safe” yet largely austere budget the federal Labor government released last week.

Britain: Student march angry, but party-like

Simon Augustus — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 11:00:00 +1100

At first glance, you might have mistaken London’s packed streets on November 10 for a Mardi Gras carnival. There young faces and large grins, combined with incessant whistle-blowing, trumpet-blasting and drum-beating. All mixed together to form the din of student protest. The noise took shape and all of a sudden burst from the centre of the crowd, picked up by everyone else: “No ifs, no buts, no education cuts” — the main chants of the 50,000 students marching forward from Westminster to the destination of the Milbank headquarters of the Conservative Party.

Britain: Millionaires’ government declares class war

Liam Mac Uaid — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 11:00:00 +1100

The Conservative Party, or Tories, has never really forgiven the British working class for demanding and winning the creation of the “welfare state”. Gains won included such things as free health care, council homes at affordable rents, and care for the elderly and vulnerable. From the Tories’ point of view, these are all things individuals should sort out for themselves. The modern state should provide the same level of social protection as was available to Queen Victoria’s subjects in the 19th century.

Swan’s budget: continuing Howard’s way

Graham Matthews — Sat, 15 May 2010 10:00:00 +1000

Labor Treasurer Wayne Swan’s third budget, delivered on May 11, continued the neoliberal austerity agenda of the previous Howard government. Delivered in the shadow of the Henry tax review, released by the government on May 2, Labor’s budget continues to grind away at social and environmental spending in the name of fiscal conservatism.

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