Fed: Parties trade blows over family tax benefit

AAP General News (Australia)
08-31-2004
Fed: Parties trade blows over family tax benefit

By Paul Osborne

CANBERRA, Aug 31 AAP - Labor and the coalition today traded blows over the future of
the family tax benefits (FTB) system, as a second bonus payment was about to land in voters'
pockets.

Family and Community Services Minister Kay Patterson today challenged Labor leader
Mark Latham and his party to guarantee extra FTB payments would remain in place if Labor
won the election.

From next Monday, eligible families who have lodged their tax returns will receive
a $600 per child FTB bonus.

It follows a $600 per child bonus paid to about two million families in June.

But Senator Patterson said Labor had failed to guarantee it would maintain the value
of the FTB system, which provided the average family with about $7,000 a year above child
care benefits, after this financial year.

"Labor has to give us a family tax policy which they said they would do two days after
the Budget," Senator Patterson told AAP today.

"It's now 110 days we've been waiting and they say it'll be another three weeks.

"Australians want to know (where Labor stand), given the fact that Mr Latham refused
on television to actually guarantee families wouldn't be worse off and Mr McMullan failed
to guarantee the $600 increase beyond this financial year."

Senator Patterson said Labor also needed to guarantee they would fix the problem with
indexation of FTB, which the government said it would do but ran out of time to legislate
it.

Labor family and community services spokesman Wayne Swan said he doubted whether the
government wanted to fix the indexation problem, which would erode the value of the benefits
over several years.

"The clawback was exposed more than two months ago yet the coalition has failed to
legislate to reverse it," Mr Swan said.

"When the Senate rose yesterday no legislation had been tabled.

"If it is re-elected, the coalition will claw back the $600 it is currently offering
families - it is written into the law."

Mr Swan said 2.4 million families had accrued more than $1.8 billion in family and
child care benefit debts over the last three years, due to the government's flawed policies.

"When Labor releases its family payments policy I will be happy to debate its detail
with Senator Patterson," he said.

Meanwhile, about 13,000 disability carers are set to receive new allowances within
the next few weeks.

Laws expanding eligibility for the carers allowance passed parliament yesterday and
are waiting vice-regal approval before forms can be produced and mailed out.

Senator Patterson said the allowance would be expanded to carers who do not live with
the disabled adult for whom they provide care.

But the care must be provided on a daily basis for at least 20 hours a week.

The program is expected to cost the government $123 million over the next four years.

AAP pjo/sw/cat/sd

KEYWORD: POLL04 FAMILY TAX NIGHTLEAD

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