The Coalition’s 2014/2015 Federal Budget, released last night, will negatively impact almost every area of life. Pirate Party Australia believes proposed changes to welfare, taxation, education, energy and health, as well as the abolition of important government agencies and funds, will take Australia in the wrong direction. In addition, the Pirate Party notes that there will be an inevitable and dramatic increase in the cost of living, the reduction of which was a key promise made by the Coalition prior to the 2013 Federal Election.

Pirate Party Australia is deeply concerned about the significant changes to welfare, which will make it difficult for unemployed young people to simply survive. Decreased payments for those under 25 and the unavailability of Newstart for six months of the year for those under 30 raise questions about the impacts of these changes on homelessness and crime rates. The Pirate Party believes that both will increase if the proposed changes go through. The Pirate Party also has concerns with regard to increases in the cost of health.

“People under 30 will initially have to wait six months before receiving payments, and will have those payments cut off for six months of the year. That is more than enough time for someone to go from housed to homeless,” said Simon Frew, President of Pirate Party Australia. “The government has not announced any contingency plans to prevent increases in homelessness and crime which will inevitably occur as the unemployed become increasingly impoverished. Costs will increase, yet welfare will decrease. This is a recipe for disaster.

“While we agree that increased funding of medical research is a positive step for Australia, placing a cost on seeing a doctor or having a test performed will predominantly affect those who cannot afford it, adding to the already increasing cost of living. Combined with increases in costs of medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the potential for bill of emergency room visits, this will predominantly affect the aged and the disabled, as well as families who will also be hit with other rising costs.”

Pirate Party Australia is critical of the debt levy, which will not affect those who use “tax minimisation strategies” and as a result will not raise anywhere near as much as it could, while acting like a penalty for those who pay their taxes honestly. Changes to education will increase costs for students and families, but the Pirate Party believes quality of education will decrease given the Federal Government intends to abandon the Gonski school funding plan in 2017 and reduce funding to universities.

The abolition of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency will have a detrimental effect on the growth of renewable energy in Australia, having enormous economic and environmental impacts. Pirate Party Australia’s own policy would see Australia become totally reliant on renewable energy within ten years, while the budget takes Australia further away from that goal. The Government’s Emissions Reductions Fund will now be given $2.55 billion over ten years instead of four years as initially planned. The mining sector will however benefit from funding and an exemption from the increase in diesel prices.

“This Government is more preoccupied with ‘cutting the green tape’ than actually moving Australia towards sustainable, renewable energy production. Action needs to be taken now. Not ‘direct action’ over ten years, but actual action to shift away from fossil fuel energy production to the establishment of a vibrant renewable energy industry as soon as possible. The ball needs to start rolling today,” Mr Frew continued.

The Australian Government is also abolishing several other government agencies and funds of significance, including the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and the Australian Interactive Games Fund. The loss of these and others are short-sighted, the Pirate Party believes.

“You cannot abolish government agencies and funds simply to save money at the expense of the important functions they perform. There is nothing wrong with reducing government expenditure, but the Coalition seems to be stripping out anything they consider to represent a ‘loss.’ The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner provides a vital function in ensuring transparency in Government is maintained, and of course it costs money to run that Office. This is a cost that the Australian Government must incur to make sure Australians remain informed of what the Government is doing. It’s not something that can be axed simply because it costs money to run. Cutting funding sources like the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Australian Interactive Games Fund means a loss of potential economic growth in those industries, both of which need encouragement.

“Overall, the Government is not thinking about the long-term damage this budget will cause to our society. They have aimed at short-term reductions and revenue raising, without thinking about building sustainable economic growth and a progressive, educated society,” Mr Frew concluded.

The Pirate Party notes that Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in his campaign launch speech in August 2013: “The worst deficit is not the budget deficit but the trust deficit. This election is about trust.” The Pirate Party puts it to Mr Abbott and the Coalition that they have chosen to take the trust of Australia and abuse it under the guise of austerity which only serves as a detriment to most Australians. The Pirate Party is committed to holding the Government to account by lobbying it and the Senate to ensure ordinary Australians are not impacted to the extent proposed.