Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson has said the Coalition can find savings in health and education through greater use of technology and the removal of bureaucracy, declining to rule out cuts to the two major portfolios.
Mr Wilson told Sky News Sunday Agenda that there were always efficiencies to be found in any system to get the best value for the Australian community. He outlined a vision of leveraging technology, redeploying staff to frontline work, and cutting bureaucracy to ensure money goes toward outcomes rather than process.
The Coalition has made a series of commitments, including indexing tax brackets and raising defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP. In response to Treasurer Jim Chalmers revealing five years of budget deficits totalling $150 billion, the opposition has called for spending restraint.
While demanding urgent spending reform, the Coalition has made promises that Labor estimates will cost up to $544.4 billion over nine years. Mr Wilson said costings would be released closer to the election, but savings would also come from cracking down on fraud.
He cited $15 billion handed to organised crime through the CFMEU, NDIS fraud, and a childcare fraud case involving phantom children. He also pointed to similar issues in home aged care packages.
Mr Wilson stopped short of committing to public service cuts, saying they were not on the cards at this point, but argued Labor had expanded the size of government. Pressed on whether the Coalition would rule out cuts to health and education, he declined, focusing instead on outcomes.
Shadow housing minister Andrew Bragg has previously left the door open to spending cuts on health and education, arguing that taxpayers want value for money and that inefficiency exists across government spending. He said people know there is waste and dysfunction, and they want a lower tax system and more efficient spending.
