What we learned today, Thursday 1 May
We’ve made it to the second last day of the election campaign, and dogs around Australia being used in photos to humanise politicians are breathing a collective sigh of relief.
It’s been a big day today, with the release of the Coalition’s costings and last-minute media blitzes before Australians hit the polls. Here are the major events:
Angus Taylor said the Coalition would “beat inflation sustainably”, boost growth, fix energy markets and fix the housing market as he released the Coalition’s policy costings. Taylor said the Coalition would improve the budget bottom line by $14bn over the forward estimates and deliver a $40bn improvement in the level of gross debt.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, summed up the Coalition’s costings as “higher taxes, savage cuts and bigger deficits”.
Federal Labor will govern with a clear majority while the Coalition will suffer its worst election result in 80 years, if YouGov’s final poll before the election comes true. Anthony Albanese said Labor still has a “mountain to climb” to re-form government.
It comes as almost 5 million Australians have already cast their ballots in pre-polling.
Peter Dutton has walked back the Coalition’s previous pledge to change the national school curriculum.
The lead Senate candidate for the ACT Liberals hammered Dutton’s policy to slash 41,000 positions from the public service in Canberra, saying it was “unrealistic” and “not practical”.
And the median value of an Australian dwelling increased approximately $2,720 in April, after a third straight month of growth, according to Cotality’s national home value index.
Updated
Coalition plan to cut prac payments called ‘disappointing and short-sighted’
Also indicated in the Coalition’s costings is the cutting of Labor’s prac payment scheme which, from July this year, will provide $319.50 a week (benchmarked to the single Austudy rate) to students undertaking placements in teaching, nursing and midwifery, and social work courses.
The policy was a recommendation of the Universities Accord and has been lobbied for by student bodies and the Greens.
The costings show savings of $113m in the first year to modify the commonwealth payments, or $556m over four years.
The education minister, Jason Clare, said Peter Dutton was “taking an axe” to education funding, “like the Liberals always do”.
Under the Liberals, students will be lumped with more debt, they will rip funding away from nursing and teaching standards, and they will take the chainsaw to childcare … the Liberal party cannot be trusted on education.
The Australian Education Union federal president, Correna Haythorpe, said the cuts were “disappointing and short-sighted”.
The Commonwealth Prac Payment helps relieve financial pressure on student teachers who give up paid work to complete essential teaching placements. Removing it sends a clear message that the Dutton government does not value the work or contribution of future teachers.
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