Deficits as far as the eye can see but not a solution in sight

Joint media release with
The Hon Angus Taylor MP
Shadow Treasurer

24 August 2023

After an absurd five-day drip feed strategy, the Treasurer’s Intergenerational Report shows Labor’s true plan for a big Australia with higher taxes, higher spending and deficits for the next 40 years.

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said Jim Chalmers is more interested in forecasts and commentary than delivering solutions for the problems Australians are facing today.

“This report paints a picture of Labor’s bleak future. Deficits as far as the eye can see but not a solution in sight,” Mr Taylor said.

“40 years couldn’t be further from the minds of Australians suffering under Labor’s cost of living crisis.

“Australians are worried about what their lives are going to be like in 40 days not in 40 years.

“Community support groups are seeing unprecedented numbers of Australians in jobs with mortgages who simply cannot afford to live.

“This needs to be the government’s first, second and third priority but unfortunately that’s not what we’re seeing.

“Today’s report highlights the need for a responsible government that spends taxpayers' money wisely, incentivises investment and commits to deregulation to drive down the cost of living. Instead, Labor is promising more spending, more tax and more migration that will only make cost of living pressures worse.”  

Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume said the Treasurer has decided to release an Intergenerational Report three years early to tell him something he already knows.

"Like a frog in slowly boiling water, the Albanese Labor Government has spent the last 12 months getting us ready for more and higher taxes. The IGR is just the latest in a series of government announcements that lament higher government expenditure without ever offering a solution other than higher taxes.

"This is yet another example of a government that likes to review, rather than do.

“The Coalition is committed to productivity reforms that will grow the economy, driving more effective government and supporting lower taxes so the next generation experiences a better quality of life.

“But more government, more taxes, more red tape will only make the challenges in this report worse.”