James Massola and Peter Martin report in the Brisbane Times (29.6.16) on the Coalition’s announcement that recouping welfare over-payments will underwrite its election campaign funding promises.
‘The Coalition has unveiled a $2.3 billion welfare crackdown, promised a minuscule $1.1 billion improvement to the budget bottom line over four years and dismissed suggestions it has run a “dunny block” re-election strategy.
‘Announcing their final election costings, Treasurer Scott Morrison and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said they had “saved more than we have spent in this campaign”.
‘The $1.1 billion improvement to the budget bottom line stands in stark contrast to the opposition, which on Sunday announced deficits $16.5 billion bigger over four years, but a $10 billion improvement over 10 years.
‘It caps a low-spending campaign from the government in which small grants and local announcements have featured prominently.’
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