Labor’s defence plans another attempt to cook the budget books
Labor’s announcement of their $40 billion submarine project and the delay of the Joint Strike Fighters is confirmation, yet again, of Labor cooking the Budget books.
This also confirms that Labor’s Budget black hole is $100 billion and growing.
Labor’s chopping and changing of the Joint Strike Fighter program is a last ditch attempt to manufacture a surplus in next week’s Budget. It is about shifting money out of one year and into the next.
Labor is making commitments that they will never have to pay for.
Labor will continue to ‘cook the books’ in the lead up to the Budget, because they know that lying about a surplus is easier than reining in their reckless spending.
In addition to their $40 billion submarine project, Labor already has unfunded and hidden commitments that include:
Bob Brown’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which will cost $2 billion per year for five years commencing in 2013/14;
Labor’s $50 billion NBN expenditure, including spending $18.2 billion over the forward estimates;
The Commonwealth’s 30% share of the Gonski education plan starting at $5 billion a year; and
Up to $8 billion each year for the National Disability Insurance scheme.
Labor cannot stop their addiction to spending.
But even worse, they cannot bring themselves to tell the truth to the Australian people about the parlous state of their Budget.