On Radio National today:"We don’t support blanket cuts because the Government has determined that’s the way they are going to do it... There are a million Australians earning $24,000 or less that have private health insurance. I don’t see that as middle class and they’re overwhelmingly people who are trying to pay their way in their older years. The changes to the Baby Bonus are not means tested changes, they’re just blanket changes. So, frankly, I think the suggestion that it is about middle class welfare is actually inaccurate, because they are widespread cuts, but there’s no sense in it"
At the Institute of Economic Affairs, London, 17 April:"The entitlements bestowed on tens of millions of people by successive governments, fuelled by short-term electoral cycles and the politics of outbidding your opponents are, in essence, undermining our ability to ensure democracy, fair representation and economic sustainability for future generations... The age of unlimited and unfunded entitlement to government services and income support is over. It’s as over in Greece as it is in Italy, in Spain, and in the USA."
