2018-06-21
South Australians will lose $554 million in funding for essential services after Nick Xenophon’s Centre Alliance voted with the Government and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation to give tax cuts to the wealthiest Australians, including politicians and millionaires.
“Centre Alliance has sold out South Australia and enabled the Government to dismantle our country’s progressive taxation system, making the rich richer, the poor poorer and inequality worse.
“This tax cut will overwhelmingly hurt South Australians. For every $1 in tax cuts, South Australians will lose $1.40 to essential services. By siding with the Government, Centre Alliance has betrayed our state,” Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“Mayo candidate Rebekha Sharkie’s Centre Alliance knows full well that 95% of the benefits of the final stage of this tax cut go to the wealthiest Australians. Meanwhile, the cuts to essential services will make life harder for the most vulnerable people in our society.
“Rebekha Sharkie’s party has voted for tax cuts that will have major impacts on our health system, which is already struggling to cope with inadequate resources, and our chronically underfunded public schools. It will mean less mental health support services and less funding to aged care – a massive blow to a state with an ageing population.
“The Greens rejected these tax cuts. We will always prioritise essential public services and building a fairer society – one that looks after people doing it tough. We know we would get more bang for our buck for the economy if we invested in childcare and raised Newstart, but these tax cuts set us backwards.”