The Government has often said it cannot currently afford lifting the rate of JobSeeker or increasing childcare subsidies and yet it remains committed to the Stage 3 tax cuts, which will cost much more.

In their first year, the Stage 3 tax cuts will cost the budget a total of $17.7 billion. That is:

• $5.6bn more than is spent on JobSeeker
• A third more than the cost of the childcare subsidy
• $7bn more than the government will spend on public universities
• Double the cost of Australia’s air force
• Almost four times the amount the government spends on foreign aid
• 11 years’ worth of funding for the ABC and SBS
• 15 years’ worth of funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health

Worse still, 72% of the benefits of the stage 3 income tax cuts ($12.7 bn) go to people earning over $120,000 a year, while only 28% ($5bn) end up in the pockets of low and middle income earners.

The cost of the stage 3 income tax cuts also doesn’t stop in 2024-25. By the start of the next decade they will cost over $31bn a year, and in total they cost $243 billion over the next 10 years.

The pandemic brought into sharp relief how vital better public services and support are. Repealing the stage 3 income tax cuts would provide funds that will undoubtedly do a better job at improving outcomes for disadvantaged groups.