ACCI urges government to provide Aged Pension on a loan basis
<p>The nation’s peak business chamber, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has urged the government to use the May budget to curb what it calls “runaway spending” on aged pensions, family tax benefits and childcare, to avoid a Greek-style debt crisis.</p>
<p>The Australian reports there are “new calls for the government to find extra spending cuts, including by tightening the means tests on several social-welfare programs that cost billions of dollars a year.”</p>
<p>The ACCI’s pre-budget submission says unless public spending “is brought under control, the Australian economy will gradually be crippled by increasing taxes and growing public debt, both of which are unsustainable”.</p>
<p>“If Australia waits until the system breaks, we will consign the next generation to painful readjustments similar to those taking place in southern Europe,” the submission says.</p>
<p>One of the key parts of the ACCI submission is to review the Aged Pension and to turn into a loan. The ACCI wants the government to force retirees who own homes to transform the pension into a loan which would then be repaid when the home is sold.</p>
<p>"It seems irrational really for a family home not to be counted when you look at pensioners' capacity to fund themselves," chamber's chief executive Kate Carnell told ABC.</p>
<p>"For people in multi-million dollar homes that really are keeping those homes for the purpose of I suppose giving them to their children when they die."</p>
<p>Ms Carnell argued that Australia is in no place to afford middle class welfare such as Family Tax Benefit Part B and the Child Care Rebate.</p>
<p>"With Family Benefit Part B, now that was brought in when Australia had a surplus, when we could afford to pay for it," Ms Carnell said.</p>
<p>"We don't have a surplus now, we have a deficit and quite a significant one, so why don't we look at situations where people who currently get Family Benefit Part B keep it but new people can't go onto it.</p>
<p>"I think we've got to accept that we can't afford in Australia now what it's costing us to run government."</p>
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