Garfield Clinton Reynolds
Prime
Minister Malcolm Turnbull promised to hand down a prudent budget next
month, speaking less than a week after a major opinion poll showed the
government trailing the opposition for the first time since he deposed
Tony Abbott seven months ago.
“This budget will not be about a fistful of dollars, it will
be about prudence, fairness and responsibility to our future
generations,” Turnbull said in a speech to the Victorian Liberal Party
conference in Melbourne on Saturday. It will “include changes to our tax
system designed to generate jobs and growth; promote investment,
innovation and enterprise.”
Malcolm Turnbull
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| Photographer: Mark Graham/Bloomberg |
The latest
Newspoll survey published in The Australian newspaper on April 5
showed the Liberal-National coalition falling behind the Labor Party on a
two-party preferred basis, 49 percent to 51 percent. Turnbull’s
personal approval rating also slipped to a new low of 38 percent, down
from a high of 60 percent last November. The poll is a blow for
Turnbull, who used poor opinion polls as a reason for ousting his
predecessor.
Since then Turnbull has been destabilized by policy setbacks
including the shelving of tax reform, plus a string of ministerial
resignations. Constant sniping over the government’s perceived lack of
direction from an unforgiving Abbott also hasn’t helped matters, with
Turnbull now facing the challenge of
jump starting momentum for his government ahead of a possible early election.
Turnbull, 61, has vowed to hold a double-dissolution
election for July 2 -- in which both houses of parliament are up for
grabs -- if the Senate refuses to pass legislation aimed at curbing
trade union influence.
Within Means
The prime minister said Saturday that federal and state
governments need to live within their means, after regional leaders
recently rejected a suggestion from Turnbull that they levy income taxes
to fund education and healthcare outlays.
The premiers don’t want to raise taxes to pay for their spending, “well neither do we,” Turnbull said.
“The only way to ensure we have great jobs in the future, to
ensure we have the revenues that will enable us to deliver great
schools and great hospitals, is to have a strong and successful
economy,” he said. “Excessive taxes, excessive debt, serve as a
handbrake on economic growth.
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