Dr Dennis Jensen MP

Over the past three decades we have seen successive Governments expand the size and scope of the Federal Budget to the detriment of all Australians.

This year’s budget with all its debt and deficit is merely a continuation of the trend of centralising and growing the Federal Government.

Of particular mention… in real terms …spending on social security has grown substantially faster than any other area of Australian Government expenditure.

The economy is currently operating close to capacity. Unemployment has fallen to 4.9 per cent, a 33 year low, and capital utilisation is at a record high of 84.2 per cent.

But…the number of decisions including tax and savings measures announced in the Budget has more than doubled over the past decade.

The last 3 years of Labor budgets demonstrate these growth figures most eloquently. Since coming to power Labor has exponentially grown its policy promises to the electorate and employed 24,000 additional public servants to administer them.

Why is the Government spending so much when times are so good?

In this unprecedented period of economic growth in Australia’s history, the Federal Government is wasting our finest opportunity. A passion for equality sees rampant social justice and welfare spending make vain the hope for freedom and prosperity.

The freedom I refer is freedom from taxation, freedom from social engineering and freedom from unjust wealth redistribution.

Federal Governments seem to feel it is their role to constantly intervene in our free society in the hope of levelling the playing field and creating equality.

Under the guise of terms such as “progressivism”, “social justice”, “equality” and “a fair go” Australia has advanced along the well worn path of wealth redistribution and exploitive tax regimes more akin to the broken European Welfare model.

Over the past 2 weeks I have heard the Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan make statements such:

“Government is responsible for creating jobs, creating wealth and spreading the prosperity”, and
“This Government will not waste the resources boom and we will ensure the wealth is spread.”
When did it become OK for the Government to claim credit for the prosperity of free enterprise?

This is a false dichotomy and any attempt to spread prosperity “to every post code” still sees disadvantage existing here in Australia and indeed throughout the world.
Let me be clear, it is not progressive to grow the budget. It is not progressive to continually expand the size and scope of the Federal Government.

It is in fact regressive by any reasoned definition or historical context… and I have to emphasise this is a bi-partisan issue.

The Liberal Party believes:

“That, wherever possible, government should not compete with an efficient private sector; and that businesses and individuals - not government - are the true creators of wealth and employment.”

While we may have shown fiscal discipline in Government… and this must be commended, the previous Coalition government still matched rising tax receipts with further government spending.

We must return to the wise words of our party platform… We can no longer be a federalist party in opposition but a party of big growth and centralisation in government.

We need to fundamentally rethink our social contract with the Federal Government.

Resources left to the private sector have a far bigger economic multiplier and are preferred to Government spending.

Inefficient and expensive Government resources will further affect the ability of the private sector to find new employees, used up in Government departments, adding to already record labour shortages.

Nobody is suggesting the Government doesn’t have a role to play, Government can do a lot of good, but only if it settles for being a hand maiden to the free market.

You can hardly call the Department of Climate Change, multicultural councils, over priced school halls, set top boxes and a whole state economy made up of Federal Government workers as wise use of Tax Payer resources.

But how do we bring about smaller government and empower citizens and communities to make decisions and enact reforms at a local level.


I believe we need a fundamental re-think about taxation and the way it is administered.


The Henry Tax Review, despite costing $10 million dollars and taking 18 months to compile, is not worth the paper it is written on.

We need to ask theoretical questions like:

Is income tax even needed at all? Or do we need a flat income tax rate?

The benefits of a smaller government include:

A simplified tax system.

Reducing personal tax burdens thus encouraging working and savings.

Redefining the role of government especially the Federal Government.

Increasing local control of local issues.

Better representative democracy.

Less waste in Canberra.

More accountability for our public office holders at State and local levels.

The hot button issue at the moment is cost of living pressures.

This is a problem Government cannot make better, but can make infinitely worse by meddling in the affairs of private citizens.

So why not try the opposite, why not have less government and less tax.

Every attempt at providing handouts, stimulus, subsidies and ‘welfare programs’ merely inflates the economy and places greater economic pressure on everyone.

Financial Times Chief Economics Commentator, Martin Wolf succinctly summarises key questions we must ask about the size and scope of government.

“In making decisions on what to put into the public sector and how much to spend on it, we have to place substantial weight on underlying social and political values.

First we must ask what functions government must fund. Examples would be defence, law and order and enforcing property rights.

Second…for reasons of social solidarity, what do we want to do through government.? This includes the provision of basic incomes for all, of universal education and of basic health.

Third… do we want to pay for services through general taxation or user fees?

Fourth… what is the least costly way of raising revenues?

Australian Government spending is growing faster than the overall economy. Debt financing is allowing our government to grow unchecked.

Larger government and mass wealth re-distribution has not payed off by delivering higher living standards or better social conditions.

Bigger is not better… let markets play a bigger role in delivering on the promises that politicians have already made.