In an extraordinary blunder, the Treasury department has accidentally released secret advice to the Albanese Government, revealing stunning recommendations to fix the country’s budget crisis.
The bombshell document suggests that raising taxes and slashing spending are necessary to repair Australia’s cash-strapped budget.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers Warned to Take Action
The Treasury advised Treasurer Jim Chalmers that “tax should be raised as part of broader tax reform” and that “improvements to the budget will need to come from economic growth, additional revenue and spending reductions.”
However, instead of increasing income taxes, the Treasury suggests raising “indirect taxes,” with a further crackdown on superannuation tax breaks for the rich a possible target.
Housing Crisis Targets Will Not Be Met
The secret advice also confirms that the ambitious targets pledged by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to build 1.2 million homes over five years will not be met.
The document notes “challenges” with the “responsiveness… capability… [and] speed” of key housing agency Housing Australia, and suggests a “review” should be conducted to address the challenges.
Global Financial Crisis Scenarios
The Treasury advice also reveals that officials have modeled the impact of a financial crisis originating in the United States, including a loss of confidence in the US dollar as the global reserve currency and threats to the independence of its central bank, the Federal Reserve.
In response to the leaked document, Opposition Treasury spokesman Ted O’Brien said that the Albanese Government had been caught misleading Australians on tax.
“The Treasury has made it clear – Labor cannot fix the budget without raising taxes and cutting spending,” he said. “Yet the only tax measure Labor has put forward is their unfair superannuation tax on unrealised gains.”
Meanwhile, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he was “pretty relaxed” about the document dump, stating that the Treasury provides advice for incoming governments and that no government typically goes into the details of that.