The election campaign has only just begun and already the pork barrel is trundling down the road or rail track and the mud and falsehoods are flying.

As the Turnbull government demonstrates its clear contempt for the arts community by slashing their funds in the middle of an election campaign it then hands over more money for Tony Abbotts failed Tasmanian Cadbury’s project and then takes money from a South Australian infrastructure project assessed and approved by Infrastructure Australia to provide funds to an unapproved project in a marginal South Australian electorate.

It seems that despite all the polish, suits and make-up and the hip buzz words of innovation the Turnbull/Abbott/ Morrison government is mired in the tired old tactics of the past.

This is what I was emailed from the Liberal Party – “First, the bad news: Labor has no plan for Australia. They admitted as much earlier this week. That means, if Labor is elected, we’ve got nothing to look forward to but higher taxes and more debt. It’s the same old Labor.”

What a joke! And, what is this Turnbull Plan!!??

To have a plan you have to have done the hard yards of homework, analysis and thinking and there is absolutely no evidence that the Coalition has done a minute of any of that. They stumbled their way into an election with no policies of any consequence, let alone any plan. Their thinking were mere thought bubbles exploded in seconds.

All the Coalition has done is go from Abbott’s three word slogans to one four letter word.

Contrast that with the over 70 considered and comprehensive policies Labor has produced in the past 18 months.

With no policies, and clearly no plan, the Coalition election rhetoric has had to resort to the crudest and dumbest of rhetoric, fear and lies.

While talking of future opportunity and innovation they defund our education system and sack some of the best scientists in the world, ours! While talking of a new era and fiscal responsibility they corruptly plunder the public purse to run ‘public service’ ads about innovation, infrastructure and national security.

They talk of principle when they have none. They seek to tarnish the reputation of Labor in respect to responsible financial management by outright lies. It was Labor who managed our economic health in the face of the Global Financial Crisis successfully maintaining our ‘AAA’ credit rating in the face of all odds.

It was Hawke and Keating that instituted the most necessary and successful economic reforms in our history, it wasn’t Menzies, Fraser or Howard.

They accuse Labor of being the tax and spend party and yet the Turnbull/Abbott government have been the biggest taxers and spenders in our history.

As a simpler indication of the hypocrisy, double-dealing and ethical failure of this government Malcolm Turnbull sat down for lunch in Brisbane on Tuesday 10 May in a private room of one of Brisbane’s flashiest hotels with twelve leading Queensland business people. Were they discussing the plan? Were they concerned for the collective good of the Australian people?

No, unfortunately not, it was a campaign fundraiser where the mates of the Coalition shelled out $10,000 per head to have a private tete a tete with the nation’s Prime Minister. A Prime Minister and policies for sale to the highest bidder.

Claire Moore, Labor Senator for Queensland

Mr Turnbull has again smashed Australia’s health system, ripping another $2.1 billion out of health spending and keeping the GP tax in place for another two years – a measure that will cost Australian families $925 million.

Coming on top of the $2.1 billion in health cuts in December’s Mid-Year Review, Malcolm Turnbull has now ripped $4.2 billion from health in just eight months in office.

Mr Turnbull promised fairness, but this Budget delivers tax cuts for the banks and multinationals at the expense of Australian families and Australia’s health system.

Mr Turnbull’s first Budget has:
• Cut another $182.2 million from the health flexible funds, taking the total cuts to these crucial health programs tackling drug and alcohol abuse, chronic disease, communicable diseases and rural health issues to almost $1 billion,
• Abolished the Child Dental Benefits Scheme, ripping a net $1 billion out of Commonwealth Dental spending and
• Ripped millions more out of health through cuts to Medicare items.

These are on top of the Mid-Year Budget Review that:
• Cut $650 million out of Medicare by slashing bulk billing incentives for diagnostic imaging and pathology,
• Gutted crucial health workforce training programmes by $595 million and
• Ripped another $146 million out of health prevention and eHealth.

Turnbull’s Budget also continues to pursue two of Tony Abbott’s 2014 Budget measures. These are the $1.3 billion hike in the price of essential medicines by increasing prescription charges by $5 for general patients and $0.80 for Health Care Card Holders and the $267 million attack on the Medicare Safety Nets.

The Liberals only ever see health as a source of Budget cuts, and will always look to make healthcare less affordable for those who need it most – the sick and the poor.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has warned the extension of the GP Tax out to 2020 will mean “quality of patient care will be compromised” while the AMA has warned the cuts will be yet another hit to household budgets and a barrier to people accessing health care when they need it.

The additional $182 million cut to Health Flexible funds takes total cuts to these funds out to $1 billion, forcing the closure or cut back of services by crucial health programs tackling drug and alcohol abuse, chronic disease, communicable diseases and rural health issues.

Scrapping the Child Dental Benefits Scheme will deny millions of Australian children, many of whom have never before been able to afford dental treatment, access to ongoing affordable dental care.

Cutting pathology and diagnostic imaging will mean patients being treated for cancer, and other serious health conditions could be forced to fork out thousands of dollars upfront to pay for vital scans and tests.

The continuing attack on the Medicare Safety Nets will hurt some of Australia’s sickest patients and those with chronic conditions and the continuing pursuit of the hike in prescription charges will force all Australians, even concession card holders, to pay more for their essential medicines.

Graham Perrett MP, Federal Member for Moreton