Labor’s Broken Promises: A Breach of Trust with the Australian Community

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s laundry list of broken promises should deeply concern the Australian community says Federal Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace.

Federal Labor’s changes to Stage 3 tax cuts, expected to be announced today (Thursday), come after Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised at least 100 times that the stage 3 tax cuts, as legislated, would not change.

“Any change to the current tax cuts – already law and to take effect on July 1 – would be another Labor broken promise,” Mr Wallace said. “When it comes to backflips, the Prime Minister might be better suited for the Paris Olympics.

“The Prime Minister, who stood on his high horse and spoke about integrity and accountability during the election, said ‘people deserve certainty’ and that he would be a Prime Minister ‘who keeps the commitments’ he makes.   

“If you can’t trust Anthony Albanese to keep that promise, how can you trust anything he says ever again?

“Every Labor Minister, Senator, and Member will now share the responsibility for breaking their solemn word. Every Labor Minister, Senator, and Member will stand alongside Anthony Albanese, displaying they were not telling the truth.”

Stage three tax cuts were legislated into law by the former Coalition Government as part of a suite of taxation reform. Australians voted for these tax cuts twice.  

“The Coalition believes in our DNA in smaller government, lower taxes, and reward for effort. These stage three tax cuts encourage aspirational Australians, tackle bracket creep, and make personal taxes simpler. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese opposes all these views,” Mr Wallace said.

“The PM is so out of touch with the Australian public, he called a costly snap caucus talkfest in Canberra despite already making a captain’s call and delivered another broken promise.

“Taxpayers will stump up hundreds of thousands of dollars for a Labor meeting on a crisis everyone knows has been progressing since 2022. Anthony Albanese’s decision to convene his Members and Senators this week to discuss the cost-of-living crisis begs the question: Why wasn’t it this urgent all of last year? Why wasn’t it this urgent when the cost-of-living crisis began to bite, hard – not long after Labor was elected in 2022? Why wasn’t it this urgent when households, families, and small businesses were forced to tighten their belts again and again, month after month?

“This reeks of a Labor Government starting to panic at the political implications of its woeful economic mismanagement.”

Before the election, Labor promised a $275 reduction in people’s power bills, the Prime Minister promised “cheaper mortgages”, and he promised that families would be “better off” under him.

Yet in just 18 months, food prices have increased by more than 9%; housing costs have risen by more than 12%; electricity costs has surged by more than 23%; gas prices have jumped by more than 29%.  After 12 rate rises under Labor, interest rates are at their highest level since 2011, meaning a family with a $750,000 mortgage now needs to pay an extra $24,000 per year. Rents are experiencing the highest increase since 2009.

“The broken promises are coming thick and fast now,” Mr Wallace said. “The only guarantee is when this big spending Labor Government runs out of money they come after yours. It’s clear that Labor can’t be trusted. Australians deserve better.”