TREASURER Scott Morrison has announced new savings in the Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook including a crackdown on welfare payments, health cuts and tougher means testing for childcare.
Here’s what the MYEFO statement means at a glance.
• The deficit is up 6.5 per cent from $35.1b to $37.4b
• The projected return to surplus has been delayed one year from 2019-20 to 2020-21
• Growth projections have been lowered by 0.25 per cent from 2.75 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
• Net debt is projected to peak at 18.5 per cent of GDP in 2017-18, up from 18 per cent in 2016-17
• Iron ore forecast lowered to $US39 compared to $US40
• Revenues written down by $33.8b
• Business investment down 6.3 per cent
• New savings measures, adding $400m to the bottom line, total $10.6b
• Measures include $650.4 million over four years by removing bulk-billing incentives for pathology.
• Tougher means testing of child care payments saving $441 million over four years.
• Crackdown on welfare payments using data matching worth nearly $2b
• New spending measures, totalling $10.2b, include $1.1bn on roads, resettling 12,000 Syrian refugees ($909m), and new medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme ($621m)
[Source:-news.com.au]