Real action on climate change must be on the agenda at Thursdays summit if Malcolm Turnbull is to be taken seriously on economic reform.
Labor is deeply concerned that Malcolm Turnbulls ability to undertake reform will be compromised by deals he has cut with the hard right and National Party to take Tony Abbotts job. That includes genuine action on climate change.
It is hard to see how Mr Turnbull can promise reform when Finance Minister Mathias Cormann confirmed again only last night all the cuts and tax increases of the past two Budgets are firmly on the table.
If the Liberals summit is to be taken seriously, it must look at Labors plans to make superannuation tax concessions fairer and more sustainable and make multinational companies pay their fair share of tax measures which add more than $21 billion to the Budget bottom line over the next decade. It also includes putting an end to their policy of paying polluters not to pollute saving over $4 billion and which Malcolm Turnbull has described a recipe for fiscal recklessness on a grand scale.
The Liberals must also consider Labors positive plan for a smarter, more prosperous Australia. Our plan for the jobs of the future includes new support for startups and innovation, teaching every child to code, a funding guarantee for our TAFEs, ensuring 20,000 more university graduates each year and offering 100,000 HECS-free places for STEM degrees at university.
Labor is concerned that it doesn't matter if it's Tony Abbott or Malcolm Turnbull, the Liberal Party's first policy answer is always to hurt low and middle income earners with plans to:
- Increase the GST to 15 per cent
- Cut penalty rates
- Impose $100,000 degrees
- Cut family payments
- Cut paid parental leave
If Malcolm Turnbull continues the Liberals policies of targeting families and workers on low and middle incomes, he will prove hes even more out of touch than Tony Abbott.