Below are the Coalition Election 2016 policies
Climate Change and Renewable Energy
We are on track to meet and beat Australia’s 2020 emissions reduction target of five per cent below 2000 levels by 78 million tonnes.
At last year’s Paris climate change conference, the Coalition Government committed to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
The Coalition Government’s renewable energy policies will ensure 23.5 per cent of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020. This will see a doubling of large scale renewable projects.
The Government is continuing to help households install rooftop solar panels and solar hot water systems through rebates under the Renewable Energy Target.
The Government has established a $1 billion Clean Energy Innovation Fund, which will help emerging clean energy technologies make the leap from demonstration to commercial deployment.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) are driving innovation in clean energy technologies and creating the jobs of the future, including a $350 million solar programme.
At the local level, we are also helping community organisations go solar through our Solar Communities commitment.
Immigration
The Turnbull Coalition Government has a strong record of respecting human rights worldwide. This reflects our underlying values and our commitment to promoting and protecting human rights internationally.
Manus and Nauru Detention Centres
The refugee determination process in Papua New Guinea is managed and administered by the Papua New Guinea Government according to their domestic laws and processes. If a transferee is found to be a refugee, they are permitted to permanently settle in PNG.
The refugee status determination process in Nauru is managed and administered by the Government of Nauru, in accordance with their domestic laws and processes. If a transferee is found to be a refugee, they may settle in Nauru for up to ten years or settle in Cambodia.
Retirement Income
Assets Test for Age Pension
From 1 January 2017, changes to the assets test will provide more support to people who do not own their home and those who have modest assets. At the same time, it will provide less taxpayer support to those who can support themselves because of the significant assets they own.
More than 90 per cent of pensioners will either be better off or have no change to their pension. Those most affected pensioners will only have to draw down a maximum of about 1.8 per cent of their assets to make up for the loss of their part pension.
More than 170,000 pensioners with modest assets will have their pensions increased by an average of more than $30 per fortnight as part of the Government’s plans for fairer access to a more sustainable pension that will come into effect in January 2017. Around 50,000 part pensioners will now qualify for a full pension.
Retirement Age
In July 2025, the Government will continue to lift the Age Pension age by six months every two years, in line with reforms that commenced under the previous Labor Government. These reforms mean by 2035, the qualification age for the Age Pension will have continued to rise to 70 years.
Superannuation
The Turnbull Coalition team is better targeting superannuation tax concessions to ensure our superannuation system is meeting its objective of providing income in retirement to substitute or supplement the Age Pension.
As the population ages and fiscal pressures increase, it is important to ensure that the tax concessions for superannuation are affordable and well-targeted. The changes that we’re making will allow many more Australians to save for their retirements, including women, older Australians and those with interrupted work patterns.
The Turnbull Coalition team is better targeting tax concessions to ensure that the superannuation system is sustainable, affordable and equitable by having:
• a $25,000 annual cap on concessional contributions, which include amounts paid by your employer and additional ‘salary sacrificed’ amounts;
• a $500,000 lifetime cap per person on non-concessional contributions, such as money you contribute to superannuation from your take home pay;
• a 30 per cent tax rate on concessional superannuation contributions for individuals with an income (including super) of above $250,000, as currently applies to those whose income is above $300,000; and
• a limit of $1.6 million per person on amounts moving into the tax-free retirement phase (amounts above $1.6 million can continue to be held in superannuation and will continue to attract generous tax concessions).
Those above the $500,000 lifetime non-concessional cap as of Budget night will not be required to withdraw amounts from superannuation and will not be subject to any penalty.
If an individual’s retirement phase account balance is greater than $1.6 million, the excess amount can be transferred into a concessionally taxed accumulation account prior to 1 July 2017, or withdrawn from superannuation tax-free.
We will ensure that the superannuation system is more flexible to help people save and prepare for retirement by:
• helping people on $37,000 or less (including around 2 million women), with a Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset, providing a refund of the tax paid on contributions (up to $500);
• encouraging partners to make contributions to low-income spouses, by extending eligibility to claim a tax offset for these contributions;
• helping people with interrupted careers- e.g. women and carers- by introducing catch-up contributions (for up to 5 years, for those with account balances up to $500,000);
• simplifying contributions rules for older Australians by lifting restrictions on their ability to contribute; and
• removing the current restrictions for the partially self-employed and those whose employers don’t offer salary sacrificing arrangements.
Royal Commission into Banking
The Coalition does not support a Royal Commission into the banking sector. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has powers as strong as or stronger than the powers of a Royal Commission. ASIC can compel anybody to attend and give information under oath, and they must answer all questions put to them, even questions that may incriminate themselves or others. To ensure our financial system is strong, the Coalition Government has focused on strengthening ASIC and the powers available to it.
Health
The Coalition is committed to the systems which underpin our world-class health care system; Medicare, public hospitals and private health care.
Medicare- Bulk Billing
Bulk bulking rates continue to reach historic highs under the Coalition despite Labor’s scare campaign. This includes GP bulk billing rates hitting nearly 85 per cent bulk billing, compared to average of 79 per cent during Labor’s six years in office.
We are undertaking reforms recommended and led by doctors and patients themselves to build a Healthier Medicare. The Coalition is increasing Medicare investment each year, from nearly $23 billion in 2016-17 to $26 billion per year by 2020-21 to ensure we build a Healthier Medicare.
Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) Benefits
The Coalition will increase spending on the PBS to $10.4 billion in 2016-17. This is a sensible and sustainable 3.4% increase on 2015-16. Overall, the Coalition has increased investment in medicines by 10%, or about $1 billion, since Labor was last in office.
Minister for Ageing
The Hon Sussan Ley MP is the Minister for Health, Minister for Ageing and the Minister for Sport. The Hon Ken Wyatt MP is Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care.
The Coalition is committed to supporting older people to be independent and have more choice in regards to services they receive. The 2016-17 Budget continues to support this commitment, with an overall investment of more than $17 billion in aged care- an increase of $1 billion on last year. Aged care funding continues to grow each year by 7 per cent.
While many older Australians will live out their lives independently in their own homes, others will require services and support as they age. When services are required, older Australians want more choice and control to be able to remain as independent as they can for as long as possible. The Coalition is committed to developing a consumer driven aged care system that can meet the demands of an ageing population and their expectations of quality and service delivery.
Housing Affordability
The Government is focused on ensuring Australia has a tax system that can support the economic aspirations of all Australians- helping them to work, save and invest.
The Coalition will not support Labor’s negative gearing policy which would impose a big restriction on the economic freedom of Australians.
Taxation
Company Tax
The Turnbull Government announced it will cut the company tax rate to 27.5 per cent and make it available to all companies with an annual turnover of less than $10 million from 1 July 2016. Around 870,000 companies will gain access to the lower rate. Over the next decade, the lower tax rate will be extended to all companies and be progressively reduced to 25 per cent by 1 July 2026.
Furthermore, the Coalition will ease the burden on small business by increasing access to a range of tax concessions for businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million.
Personal Income Tax Relief
From 1 July this year, a re-elected Turnbull Government will increase the upper limit for the middle income tax bracket from $80,000 to $87,000 per year.
This will stop around 500,000 taxpayers in each and every year from paying more than the 32.5 per cent marginal tax rate. They will be in the middle income tax bracket with all other average wage earners.
National Broadband Network
Under the Coalition, the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) is on budget and on track to meet its corporate plan target of 2.632 million premises ready for service this financial year.
In April this year, rural and remote Australia began to connect to NBN’s Sky Muster Satellite Service, delivering internet speeds that are faster than many urban areas.
Mature Workers’ Assistance
The Coalition Government believes that we cannot afford to waste the talent and skills of mature age workers by excluding them from the workplace.
Under Restart, eligible employers may receive up to $10,000 (GST inclusive) if an employer hires a full-time job seeker aged 50 years of age or older who has been unemployed and on income support for six months. The programme’s intent is to move mature age job seekers off income support and into paid employment.
The Government is also working to change employer and community attitudes towards older workers through the ‘Power of Old ness’ campaign. The campaign highlights the benefits which mature age people bring to the workplace, including reliability, experience, a strong work ethic and leadership.
What do you think of the above policies?
