Dr Dennis Jensen MP

When it comes to wasteful spending, Labor are breaking records every day.

Labor has accumulated over $150 billion worth of deficits. They are borrowing $135 million every day and they will be spending $7.5 billion on interest repayments by 2014.

Now the Courier Mail has revealed that the total cost of Labor’s wasteful spending in government programs such as the home insulation and school hall disasters equals $567 per household. This figure is a gross indictment on the performance of the Rudd/Gillard Governments.It is another example highlighting the fact that the current debt and deficit is a direct result of Labor’s wasteful spending.

Labor’s latest spending initiative - overpriced set-top boxes – illustrates Labor’s addiction to spending, and proves that they haven’t learnt from their first term stuff-ups. This program is fraught with danger and open to rorts. Given Labor’s history, they cannot be trusted to implement this program effectively and efficiently. You would think Labor would have learnt to exercise some due diligence after the home insulation, green loans and school hall programs. It just proves that Labor has not learnt and cannot be trusted to roll out government funded programs.

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.

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.

We must question the size and scope of the Federal Government and move to a smaller government place. This should not just be an academic exercise.

As MP’s we should all be asking ourselves a Fundamental Question:

Is this something that needs to be done by government, or are we contributing to a wider problem of government growth and private enterprise subversion?

To get to a smaller government place we need fundamental tax reform; we need to ask the hard theoretical questions like:
Is income tax still necessary? Should we use a flat income tax rate? And whether or not it should be administered by the Federal Government?

I believe… it would be possible to reduce the income tax compensated by an increase in the GST and other consumption taxes… but we have never even considered this approach.

If the average Australian was to look at how much income tax they pay… and cut that number in half, their new after tax income amount would go along way to solving the cost of living pressures.

We routinely hear that if we reduce a certain tax, it will be a “cost” to government.

But there is no such thing as cost to government. There is only cost to our people.

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.

But you can hardly call the Department of Climate Change, numerous multicultural councils, pink batts, over priced school hall, set top boxes and a whole raft of government bureaucrats as wise use of Tax Payer monies.

Every dollar paid to someone who doesn’t work for it, is a dollar worked by someone who isn’t paid for it….

Bigger is not better. Australia must let markets play a bigger role in delivering on the promises that politicians make and let a free people, continue to live free.