MAKING NEWS

Sun, 24 August 2008
Coalition putting rates at risk, says Tanner
August 24, 2008

FINANCE Minister Lindsay Tanner is accusing the federal opposition of putting politics ahead of the needs of the Australian people by planning to block legislation in the Senate.

The opposition plans to oppose several budget measures introduced by the government in May, including tax increases on pre-mixed drinks and luxury cars, as well as a hike in the Medicare levy threshold.

Mr Tanner said today doing so would punch a hole in the budget surplus and could even risk the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) ability to cut interest rates.

"What the Liberals are doing is targeting a handful of specific things in our savings package in order to play politics,'' he told Network Ten.

"They are playing with fire because if they punch holes in the budget surplus the end result is that it is harder for the RBA to reduce interest rates.''

Mr Tanner said the opposition, as the alternative government, needed to start acting in a more responsible manner.

"The key people in the frame here are the Liberal Party,'' he said.

"Dr Nelson is fond of describing himself and the Liberal Party as the alternative government, it's about time they started acting like an alternative government.''

Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson today refused to back down, although he gave an assurance that the opposition would not go as far as to block budget supply in the Senate.

"There are a number of small and important measures to which we are opposed and as a matter of principle we will oppose them,'' Dr Nelson told the Nine Network.

"None of those tax increases - $20 billion of tax increases in the budget - were foreshadowed by the government prior to the election,'' he said.

"If you're fighting inflation the last thing you do is increase taxes on alcohol, cars, software and other functions of business.''

But this did not mean the coalition would move to completely block the budget supply in the upper house, he said.

"Of course we won't do anything of the sort.''

If the coalition sticks to its plans to block the legislation, the Rudd government will be forced to rely on the support of the Greens, Family First and incoming independent senator Nick Xenophon to get the legislation passed.

The new-look Senate will be sworn in on Tuesday.

SOURCE: NEWS.COM

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