MARK RILEY:
Scott Morrison, thanks for joining us.
TREASURER:
Thanks Mark.
RILEY:
You say with this Budget that we're going to do what we can afford; so we can afford ten years of business tax cuts but none for people earning between $37,000 and $87,000. Why?
TREASURER:
Well, we are doing something for people in that tax bracket, we're expanding that tax bracket, the middle income tax bracket so we'll go from $37,000 to $87,000 a year and that means that people who are on average full time earnings will stay in that middle income tax bracket. But this is just not another Budget, Mark, this is a national economic plan for jobs and growth and so that's the benchmark by which we're assessing this 1 per cent increase in our economy as a result of the tax changes we're making in this Budget.
RILEY:
But people above $87,000 will get the benefit of an increase in this threshold, they'll also get the removal of the two per cent budget repair levy if they earn above $180,000 when can people in that middle income level between $37,000 and $87,000 expect to get some relief?
TREASURER:
Well, the deficit levy was temporary it will still be there for the next year but what we're focusing on, where we can afford to make changes – which we can by expanding that middle income tax bracket for middle income earners – then we will do that. Where we can support small and medium enterprises, who employ all Australians, then that's what we're doing as well, because that's what drives jobs and growth.
RILEY:
Now, let's move to carbon compensation. It's unnecessary for people who are moving in to welfare or moving in to pensions, why is it necessary to compensate people for a carbon tax that doesn't exist at all.
TREASURER:
We're just trying to be fair about it, Mark. People already have that income in their fortnightly payments and it's not indexed so over time it diminishes. Patrick McClure who did an excellent report last year when I was Social Services Minister recommended that this was the way that you transition those payments and that the way we've chosen to do it but all of those saving go in to paying for the NDIS – the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
RILEY:
The Youth Jobs PaTH that's a very good measure – do you hope to break the cycle of welfare dependency with this?
TREASURER:
If you can get young people in to work, particularly by the age of 25, then they're not going to spend a life on welfare, and that's of course great for the long term budget but it's more important for those young families. Every young person that we don't get in to a job and we resign to that sort of a life of no choices is not the right call and we want to ensure that young people benefit from our jobs and growth plan.
RILEY:
Treasurer, the big question quickly – have you done enough to be re-elected in ten weeks?
TREASURER:
Well, the voting people of Australia will make that decision. What we've put forward is the National economic plan to ensure that our economy successfully transitions for them.
RILEY:
Alright Treasurer, thanks very much for your time.
TREASURER:
Thanks Mark.