Labor backflips on their own savings measures

In a deeply hypocritical move, Labor has announced they will no longer support their own savings measures for higher education.

Labor announced $2.8 billion of cuts back in April this year and placed them in the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook (PEFO) prior to the election.

Their higher education savings measures were to go into general revenue to help deal with the overall fiscal mess that Labor itself created.

Since forming government the Coalition has already reversed the cap on self-education expenses, meaning students and higher education providers are already better off than they would have been under Labor’s plan.

The Coalition was forced to retain the remaining savings proposed by Labor due to Labor’s reckless mismanagement of the Budget, with spiralling debt and record deficits.

In PEFO Labor intended to go ahead  with the higher cuts despite the fact that they were also ripping $1.2 billion out of their own school funding envelope as another Budget saving.

The idea that this funding was a straight swap into schools is a complete furphy and ripping $1.2 billion out of the schools Budget is the proof. This $1.2 billion was not returned to higher education.

The Coalition has put back the $1.2 billion for schools and delivered more funding for higher education than Labor would have by scrapping the cap on self education.

Labor’s actions will add to the deficit and to the national debt – making their opposing the debt ceiling all the more hypocritical.

3 December 2013