Exactly one year after Scott Morrison became Prime Minister in a party room coup Australians are paying more for electricity, child care and healthcare.
Waiting lists for aged care packages are longer, out of pocket health costs are higher, youth unemployment remains at twice the national average and it is harder than ever for young people to find apprenticeships.
Scott Morrison’s 12 month economic report card is defined by stagnant wages, weaker consumption, higher unemployment and underemployment, and higher household debt. Mortgage defaults are at their worst since the GFC.
The PM promised 80,000 new apprenticeships, but 150,000 apprentices and trainees have been lost under the Liberals.
Out of pocket costs to see a GP have gone up from $36.45 to a record high of $39.55. Hospital waiting times have blown out to record highs. Private health insurance premiums are more than ever.
In the last 12 months the Morrison Government has implemented a disastrous new childcare system that leaves one in four families worse off.
In his first public statement as Prime Minister, Scott Morrison said “drought is our most urgent and pressing need right now.”
Yet almost a year later, nothing has happened.
At the recent bush summit on 18 July, the PM was forced to admit that “Minister Littleproud is working with the industry on the long-term drought strategy and we’ll have more to say on that in the coming months.”
Twelve months of Morrison leadership has also seen an increase in carbon emissions equivalent to an additional 450,000 cars on our roads.
Just moments after being declared Liberal Party Leader, Mr Morrison declared: “Our Government is going to put electricity prices down.’’
Instead, he has done the opposite. Average wholesale electricity prices have increased by almost 20 per cent since and the Government is still yet to settle on a workable energy policy that will reduce consumer prices.
In the last 12 months, the number of older Australians waiting for a home care package has grown from 108,000 to 129,000. The mean waiting time for an older Australian needing the highest level of care is now 22 months.
Since the PM took office, the number of Closing the Gap targets being met has fallen from three out of seven to two out of seven.  Meanwhile, four of the seven targets have expired and after a year in office, the Prime Minister has yet to outline refreshed targets.
After a year in office, everyone is wondering: where does Scott Morrison stand on an Indigenous voice to Parliament?
The RBA has cut rates twice to 1 per cent, but the age pension deeming rate has only been adjusted to 3 per cent – seriously short changing pensioners.
Scott Morrison has no plan for the future of Australia and is out of touch with how much pain Australians are feeling right now.
This is an anniversary Australia will not be celebrating.

ONE YEAR UNDER SCOTT MORRISON  - THE FACTS
On Infrastructure:

• Ignored repeated requests from the RBA to bring forward infrastructure investment to stimulate the economy.


• Spending only 30 per cent of the “new” funding announced in 2019 Budget over the next four years – the rest is off on the Never Never.


• Underspent in the infrastructure budget in 2018-19 by $252 million.

On Tourism:

• Cut $35 million from the Tourism Australia budget in 2017 and failed to restore all of this funding in subsequent budgets.

On IR:

• Failed to get wages moving and in fact admitted low wages are a “deliberate design feature of the economy”.


• Repeatedly voted to keep penalty rate cuts.


• Said nothing about industrial relations before the election but then launched a surprise WorkChoices 2.0 review.

On Aged Care:

• Cut funding per resident for older Australians in residential care following Morrison’s $1.2 billion cut as Treasurer in 2016. Waiting times are now longer than ever before.

On Education:

• Cut $3 billion from TAFE and training.


• Restricted student places, denying thousands of Australians in our suburbs and the regions the opportunity of a uni education.


• Refused to provide more than 12 months of funding to the existing four year old preschool funding.

On Health:

• Under Scott Morrison out of pocket GP costs have increased from $36.45 to a record high of $39.55.


• Out of pocket specialist costs have increased from $80.20 to a record high of $91.50.


• Private hospital out of pocket costs have increased from $308.75 to a record high of $314.50.


• Private health insurance premiums have risen around 2.8 per cent which means Australians have never paid more to access private health insurance.


• Waiting times have increased to mean 1 in 4 people from have not been seen on time in emergency departments or waiting for elective surgeries.

On the NDIS:

• Delivered a Budget that ripped $1.6b out of the NDIA.


• Overseen executive exodus and dysfunction at the NDIA including Agency still having no CEO for more than 100 days.


• Almost 100 days of inaction on an election promise to fix the NDIS, other than announcing another ineffectual review (there have been over 15 reports and reviews into the NDIS since 2016).

On Government Services:

• Increasing Robodebt notices by 18.5 per cent


• Ramped up Robodebt to include Medicare.


• Targeted homeless flood victims with Robodebt while Minister Stuart Robert denied this was happening.


• Only 313 redress payments have been made out of an estimated 60,000 eligible applicants.

On Housing:

• 1,141 affordable rental scheme properties cut from the national affordable rental scheme.

On the Environment:

• Cut funding for the Environment Department by almost 40 per cent since 2013.


• Coral bleaching has gotten worse with predictions of more intense and frequent bleaching events, twice per decade by 2035.


• Murray Darling Basin is in crisis with mass fish kills.


• Australia’s faunal extinction crisis is now one of the worst on the planet.

On Equality:

• The Government promised to legislate to protect LGBTIQ+ kids from expulsion within two weeks and then never did it.

On Carbon Emissions:

• Total carbon emissions have risen by the equivalent of 450,000 extra cars on the road.


• Electricity sector mission have raised by the equivalent of another 1.3 million cars on the road.


• Average Wholesale electricity prices have increased by nearly 20 per cent.

On Newstart:

• Refused to increase Newstart, describing it as unfunded empathy.

On Integrity:

• Schemed to replace Malcom Turnbull.


• Stood beside Angus Taylor in the midst of a conflict of interest scandal.


• Restored Stuart Robert and Sussan Ley to the ministry following their earlier dumping on integrity grounds.


• Failed to establish a promised Commonwealth Integrity Commission.


• Attacked the freedom of the press.

ENDS