Australia must act now if future generations are to escape the burdens of higher taxation, more debt and lower standards of living, according to The Centre for Independent Studies’ new TARGET30 campaign.
TARGET30 aims to prepare Australia to meet its future fiscal challenges by proposing ways to reduce government spending from 35% of GDP to less than 30% within 10 years.
‘Government spending in Australia across all three tiers has been growing at an alarming rate,’ says Simon Cowan, research fellow and lead author of the foundation report, TARGET30 – Towards Smaller Government and Future Prosperity.
‘All government spending should be scrutinised to ensure taxpayers’ dollars are not being wasted on inefficient, ineffective programs.’
The ideal size of government is less than 30% of GDP, which means governments are currently overspending by as much as $63 billion a year.
The key areas of health, welfare and education currently consume more than 60% of government budgets. With costs in these sectors set to rise rapidly, mainly due to an ageing population and spiralling health care costs, there will be much higher taxation and enormous public debts.
It is crucial that we act now to make these services more efficient, curb the uncontrolled growth of government, and stave off a fiscal and debt crisis like those afflicting big-spending, big-government countries in Europe.
‘The CIS has launched TARGET30 to introduce practical policy solutions to curb government growth – solutions that could save taxpayers more than $100 billion a year from 2021,’ says Mr Cowan.
‘Implementing TARGET30 solutions will help balance future budgets and boost economic growth, giving Australia a competitive advantage in the global economy.’
‘Much of the growth in government over the last 10 years has come from new spending programs. Governments should focus on finding savings from existing, lower priority programs to pay for new spending programs and recent commitments like the Gonski reforms and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.’
‘TARGET30 calls for a shift in cultural thinking. It asks Australians to think about what we really need governments to provide, and what individuals should be providing for themselves.’
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Simon Cowan is a Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies and the spokesman for TARGET30. He is available for comment.
The report, TARGET30 – Towards Smaller Government and Future Prosperity, is available at the CIS website. A Snapshots document is also available at the CIS website.
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