What the PM should
do: lift the pace
of reform

Australian Financial Review, 16th Oct 2004
compiled by Robert Bolton

Des Moore

"Industrial relations reform obviously, and to go as far as they feel able. Associated with that there needs to be social welfare reform to reduce the eligibility of people for various benefits. So tighten the means and assets testing for not only social welfare but health as well. A lot of benefits go to people in the top-two income quartiles.

If there was reform like this, there'd be scope to cut taxes. So you could have a package of IR, welfare and health reform that encouraged people to go back to work on one side, and tax, by reducing marginal tax rates on low-income earners, to provide an incentive on the other."