The Coalition has tax cuts, investment in infrastructure and moderate spending on healthcare in mind.
The Opposition has declared war on cancer, plans to get the NDIS sorted and promises greater tax relief for low- and middle-income workers.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the electioneering phase of Federal Election 2019 – expected to be called at any minute by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
It is believed the election will be called on or around 18 May. The PM wants to pick a date to make sure that his budget isn’t grilled in Senate estimates hearings.
In elections past, votes from older Australians have been seen as low hanging fruit. This time around, it seems they are being ignored. In fact, older Australians have very little to gain from either party’s policies.
Too often in the past, retirement savings have been used as a cash cow to subsidise government spending. Now that eyes are off your nest eggs, though, there is not much to chew on for older Australians looking for a party that will help them have a comfortable retirement.
Sure, the Coalition’s super changes will help some pre-retirees, as will both parties’ pledges to give you better access to medicines, diagnostic services and scans. In fact, with health being such a big concern for older people, the money measures may not factor in as highly as many would initially assume. Besides, cheap or free medical services – promised by both parties – means money in your pocket, as will a $75 ‘rebate’ on energy bills, so there is that …
The Coalition also has the advantage, or disadvantage – depending how you look at it – of having a full budget presented, whereas Labor has so far only presented the ‘sweeteners’ without costings to prove it can do what they say.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann believes Labor would simply raise taxes when in office to pay for its measures.
“You can’t trust anything that Labor is saying because they are not giving you any details,” he said. “There is no details in costings.”
Mr Cormann has also skirted his party’s ability to back up its claims with numbers. When asked the hard questions by journalists in the Federal Budget 2019 lockup on Tuesday about the perceived surplus and how tax cuts would eventually only really favour high-income earners, he chose rhetoric rather than actual answers. He mostly reverted to replies containing the phrase “who do you trust?” It seems the Coalition is hanging its hopes on recent economic records that put the Opposition in the seat of power during the GFC – which many say we may have largely avoided due to Labor’s economic savvy.
So, now that both parties have hinted at their intentions for future government, and just ahead of an election being called, we want to know which party is ‘doing it’ for you right now.
Why not take part in our Friday Flash Poll and let us know?
Which party will be better for older Australians? Why? We welcome your opinion in the comments section below.
