The Coalition will protect Australians' way of life and restore their standard of living by revitalising the Charter of Budget Honesty and restoring discipline to the Commonwealth budget.
The Charter of Budget Honesty, introduced by the Howard Government in 1996, was designed to ensure Australians were fully informed about the true state of the nation's finances, to hold governments accountable for their fiscal decisions, and to safeguard the economic interests of future generations.
Over time, the framework has been weakened by the Albanese Government as spending, debt, and off-budget financing have surged, undermining the discipline and transparency that once made Australia a global leader in budget management.
Government spending is now at its highest level outside the pandemic in 40 years, debt is racing toward one trillion dollars, and Australia has experienced the largest collapse in living standards in the developed world.
Leader of the Opposition Angus Taylor said legislative reforms were essential to restoring disciplined economic management.
"After nearly four years of Labor, the principles set down by Howard and Costello have been eroded while spending, debt and off-budget schemes have exploded," Mr Taylor said.
"Government spending is at its highest level outside the pandemic in 40 years and debt is racing towards one trillion dollars. Australians are paying the price through lower real wages, and higher interest rates and income taxes."
"A revitalised Charter of Budget Honesty will restore discipline to the budget, expose the growing use of off-budget funds and ensure governments are once again transparent and accountable in their handling of taxpayers' money."
"The Coalition will restore disciplined economic management to restore their standard of living."
"Critically, these reforms will put intergenerational fairness back at the centre of our fiscal framework so that windfall revenues are used to pay down debt or invest for the future, not spent today and left for the next generation to pay, as Labor has done."
The Coalition's plan will focus on three core reforms.
First, the Charter will be strengthened to require that governments' fiscal strategies contain clear and measurable fiscal rules. Measurable rules including a tax-to-GDP cap, targeting budget surpluses over the medium term, and ensuring that government spending grows slower than the economy have all been abandoned by Labor. In the most recent financial year, government spending grew four times faster than the economy.
Second, accountability will be strengthened when governments break those rules. The revitalised Charter will increase parliamentary scrutiny of tax increases, tighten oversight of off-budget spending and financing vehicles, and strengthen independent analysis of the government's budget forecasts and fiscal settings.
Third, the Charter will place a stronger focus on intergenerational fairness. This includes greater transparency around bracket creep, stronger safeguards around rising government debt, and ensuring windfall revenues are used responsibly rather than funding permanent spending increases.
Revitalising the Charter will restore the guardrails that ensure governments live within their means and are honest with Australians about the nation's finances, because protecting Australians' way of life and restoring their standard of living starts with a disciplined budget.
