The Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, and the federal Treasurer, Joe Hockey, have now delivered their first budget, and the people of Australia are truly gutted by what they have seen.
The federal budget is an assault on the most vulnerable in our society and a betrayal by a craven government, despite the promises it made to the electorate prior to and following the election.
We are witnessing the true ideology of the Prime Minister and his government.
None of the disadvantaged in our communities have been untouched by the federal government’s partisan display of economic subterfuge.
Mr Abbott will try to say that these measures must be taken for budgetary reasons.
However, the truth is that these decisions to cut funding to families, the needy, the unemployed, the young and the disabled — the list goes on — were made because Mr Abbott truly believes in these cuts.
Tony Abbott believes that if you are a single parent with children and have very little money, you are rorting the system and you should pay $7 for yourself and each of your children when you see a doctor.
Tony Abbott believes that doctors should police his bad laws and that if the doctor does not take the $7 fee, because the patient simply does not have it, the doctor should be punished.
Tony Abbott believes that if you are under 25 years of age and cannot get a job, it is your fault.
His government has never believed in working people having access to higher education, because this creates a more egalitarian society, where a person’s capacity to contribute is not stunted by their capacity to pay.
Tony Abbott believes that health and education should be cut because this will not affect the wealthy in our society.
Tony Abbott believes that if you are on a disability or an age pension, then your life is too easy, so from 2017 you will get a lower pension rate.
In short, the Prime Minster believes that the divide between the wealthy and the disadvantaged in this country needs to be widened, and that is exactly what this federal budget will do.