Whatever happened to all those Abbott policies?
20 April 2016 | A few weeks out from the 2016 Budget, take a look back at the policies the Government still hasn't made law.
Pickled policies
Seven months after taking the top job and only two and a half months until a double dissolution election, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his Treasurer Scott Morrison are preparing to deliver their first Budget.
However, with the parliamentary term soon to come to a close, billions in savings measures introduced since 2013 are yet to become law. With that in mind, it's worth taking a look back at some of the policy announcements from the first term of the Abbott-Turnbull government which are still on the cards.
Policy | What happened? |
---|---|
Retirees | |
|
Not yet passed |
Higher education | |
|
Voted down in the Senate. Government reintroduced the bill without the interest charges on student debt, but this was also rejected in the Senate. |
Pause indexation income-free and means-test thresholds for Youth Allowance, Austudy, and Abstudy | Not yet passed |
Abolish Pensioner Education Supplement and Education Entry Payment | Not yet passed |
Family benefits |
|
Paid Parental Leave (PPL) payment rates determined according to income of recipient | Policy abandoned |
Prevent parents from "double dipping" in employer and government PPL payments by limiting the amount they can claim from government if employer offers it | Not yet passed, Minister intends to review policy |
Child care funding arrangements:
|
Not yet passed |
Changes to Family Tax Benefit (round one):
|
Foundered in the Senate in October 2014, replaced by new reforms below. |
Changes to Family Tax Benefit (round two):
|
Not yet passed |
Medicare | |
|
Both abandoned due to lack of public support |
Pause indexation of Medicare rebates for consultations and operations until 2018 | Introduced after GP co-pay and rebate reductions failed to gain support |
Job seekers |
|
Young job seekers:
|
Taken out of two larger social services bills when they were resisted in the Senate. Introduced separately in September 2015 as a youth employment bill, which has not yet passed. |
"Learn, earn or Work for the Dole"
|
Not yet passed |
Pause indexation income-free thresholds for Newstart and other working age allowances | Not yet passed |
Debt blowout lays groundwork for HELP reform
A PBO report gives the federal government the ammo needed to cut spending.
$3.6 billion in budget savings lapse on a technicality
Turnbull's parliamentary gambit reveals the size of the government's legislative to-do list.