In the media
A budget full of headlines, devoid of substance
Media release, 15 May 2024
The Albanese Government’s third budget is full of great headlines but misses the opportunity to address at least some of Australia’s most fundamental economic and societal challenges.
Of small sugar hits – there were plenty: for almost every interest group. But ultimately almost all of the brave the systemic reform we must embrace as a nation simply was not there.
While the Government did deliver a surplus and finally unveil a plan for how we can rightfully take our place as a renewable energy superpower by opening our doors to the future, there was a disappointing lack of focus on electrification initiatives for households and business.
Australia is crying out for leadership and reform, and ultimately with this budget, the Government has missed the opportunity to address our housing, climate, intergenerational equity, and domestic violence crises.
The $300 energy rebate, which goes to every household whether you earn a million dollars a year or are surviving on JobSeeker makes for a great headline. But the truth is this $3.5 billion could have been better targeted or redirected towards supporting households to access cleaner, cheaper energy by finally getting the solar or batteries they need to no longer be reliant on expensive fossil fuel energy.
Substantial reform to Australia’s taxation regime, which is still overly reliant on personal income tax despite the revised stage 3 tax cuts, has been kicked down the road while the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax continues to generate less revenue than the beer excise. Meanwhile $44 billion of taxpayer funds will be spent on fossil fuel subsidies over the forward estimates.
The budget offers almost nothing for the environment, including much needed nature law reform and our threatened species. The establishment of the Environment Protection Australia and Environment Information Australia is welcome but remains underfunded.
While the government has listened to calls from the crossbench to address the burden of HECs debt, there is little to offer younger Australians hope they will have fairer access to more affordable housing. Reading the budget fine print, some of the $6.2 billion allocated to housing is simply repurposed funds, not new funding to tackle our housing crisis.
Ultimately, the Albanese Government appears to have delivered a budget that provides the Prime Minister with the option of an early election. This budget is clearly geared toward re-election rather than tackling the long-term reform our nation desperately needs.
See Kylea's Budget Night update to the North Sydney community here.
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"I continue to believe that the two major parties do not represent the best of us as a nation," Kylea says. "I believe all of us Australians have a responsibility to turn up and work together to try and make sure that the country that we leave for our kids is better than the country that we were born into."
Statement on AEC boundary announcement
Media release, 12 September 2024
Kylea Tink MP, Independent Federal Member for North Sydney, has responded to today’s decision by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) confirming the electorate of North Sydney is to be abolished.
MPs urge tougher standards for politicians acting badly
Canberra Times, 10 September 2024
Laws setting up an independent Parliamentary Standards Commission have passed the lower house, but some fear they may not be strong enough to truly enforce behavioural standards. Kylea says putting the parliamentary privileges committee in charge of sanctioning MPs "is like asking arsonists to put out their own fires, and means there is no guarantee that disciplinary actions will be impactful".
Teals demand 75pc emissions cut target by 2035
The Australian, 10 September 2024
“Our country’s 2035 emissions target must be in line with global efforts to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of keeping warming below two degrees Celsius," Kylea says. “Anything less than an ambitious, legislated 2035 target would not only be detrimental to our economy, the cost of living and our environment, but would ultimately be a slap in the face to future generations.”
Watered down parliamentary watchdog ‘doesn’t pass the pub test’
The Guardian, 10 September 2024
The Albanese government has been accused of watering down its proposed independent parliamentary standards commission. "Politics seems to have gotten in the way of a better outcome here and I don’t believe the majority of Australians would be satisfied by that," Kylea says.
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