Labor’s election promises, if fully implemented, would deepen the budget deficit by $6.9 billion over the four financial years to 2025/26, a report has found.
Costings for election promises made by the major parties have been released by the Parliamentary Budget Office. Labor’s deficits would total $231.4 billion over four years.
The governing party’s election pledges point to a $79 billion budget deficit for 2022/23, dropping to $58.6 billion the following year.
The biggest costs identified by the office are for Labor’s social protection, public services and health policies.
Spending on cheaper child care and to fix the aged care crisis would contribute to higher deficits.
Opposition treasury spokesman Angus Taylor said Labor’s increased spending would constrain the government’s ability to provide cost of living relief without raising taxes.
“With the budget position confirmed to decline over the forward estimates under Labor, the government must promise it will not increase taxes and will clearly commit to the previous government’s tax cap,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the coalition’s election commitments would have contributed $1 billion to reducing the deficit over four years.
Total deficits would have been $223.5 billion.
The Greens’ policies would contribute to the largest deficits of the three parties over the same period, totalling $250.6 billion.
The biggest costs over 10 years would be a policy to make TAFE and university free, raise welfare payments and increase foreign aid spending.
Victorian MP Helen Haines was the only independent to submit her policies to the office for review.
The commitment with the largest impact on the budget is Dr Haines’ minimum aged care staff times proposal, which would create a $15.2 billion deficit over the next 10 years.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers plans to hand down his first budget on October 25, preceded by an economic update this month.
The government will need to explain in the budget why Australia should be sent further into deficit, opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume said.
“(Labor has) no plan for fiscal responsibility and no plan to get spending under control,” she said.
The PBO uses the 2022 Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook report as the baseline for the costings.
