PAIN seems to be the central theme of this year’s Federal Budget.
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Despite promising no new taxes during last year’s election campaign, Tony Abbott is set to introduce a debt levy for high-income earners and raise the fuel excise, which has been frozen since 2001.
Those two increases, along with a raft of other austerity measures, have the potential to hit Wimmera residents hard.
Higher fuel costs are felt with much greater impact in rural and regional areas than in large cities with major public transport networks.
A Commission of Audit report recommended the Federal Government should cut expenditure by introducing harsh cuts across almost every aspect of government spending.
It would seem likely that the cuts contained in tomorrow’s budget will not be as harsh as the recommendations contained in the report.
But if even a portion of what the commission’s report recommended is implemented, agriculture in the region will be hit hard.
The report recommended major cuts to Landcare, along with agricultural research and development.
There has also been speculation regarding the future of the diesel fuel rebate.
While this budget will set out to repair Australia’s structural deficit, the cost to Wimmera people should not be this severe.