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Bill Shorten squirms as Leigh Sales grills him over Budget reply

May 11, 2018

Leigh Sales grilled Bill Shorten over his Budget reply on Thursday's '7:30'. Image source: ABC

Opposition leader Bill Shorten issued a stinging reply to the new budget on Thursday night, but commentators have pointed out a gaping hole in his economic plan.

Shorten made it clear after the Budget was released on Tuesday that he’s not happy with the current level of Newstart allowance, but failed to offer a solution in his own reply.

Appearing on Thursday night’s episode of 7:30 with leigh Sales, Shorten struggled to explain why he hadn’t raised the allowance, given he criticised the government for failing to boost the welfare fund.

“Since Budget night, a number of senators have raised concerns about the fact that the Government didn’t raise the Newstart allowance,” Sales said. “Even John Howard, who started Work for the Dole, said that Newstart should be raised. Why is Labor hiding behind a (previously announced review of the allowance) given they have money to spend?”

“I like that John Howard says he cares about Newstart now. He had a chance for 12 years, didn’t he?” Shorten responded. “The issue of Newstart is real. Unlike the Government, I don’t pretend that you could live on $40 a day.”

Bill Shorten: “The deal I’m offering Australia is we’ll reduce the national debt more quickly because we are not giving a lot of money away to the top end of town.” #budgetreply #abc730 #Budget2018 #auspol pic.twitter.com/OzQQSyGlOa

— abc730 (@abc730) May 10, 2018

Not satisfied with his reply, Sales kept pushing.

“So why haven’t you lifted (Newstart) tonight?” she asked.

“One, we are not the Government and, two, we need to review the payment system to work out what is adequate,” Shorten replied. “But I certainly agree with a lot of the people who are saying it’s an issue. You probably didn’t notice in my speech I deliberately sent a message saying that job seekers living in poverty is an unacceptable set of circumstances.”

He also couldn’t answer when asked if Labor was planning to spend millions on Newstart in the pre-election.

“I’m not about to spend a billion dollars on your show,” he added. “But I do think it’s an issue. What we’re going to do is get the evidence, there’s plenty there, and look at what we can do.”

Shorten says a Labor government would return the budget to surplus by 2019 or 2020, the same dates promised by the current government. He’s also promised to double the tax cut proposed by Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison.

During his tax reply, Shorten said he would introduce a Working Australians Tax Refund, which would cost $6 billion over four years, noting four million people would get $400 more a year under the Labor plan. In addition, he promised $2.8 billion for hospitals and plans to scrap upfront TAFE fees for students.

During his 7:30 interview, he also faced questions over the ongoing dual citizenship scandal and questioned if it put a dent in his credibility.

“The best legal advice that we had said that our people would survive what we thought to be the existing law,” he said. “I am very sorry that things have got to where they are — no question.”