Opposition Demands Government Spending Restraint as Economic Roundtable Continues
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The federal opposition called Tuesday for immediate government spending restraint and rejected new taxes as essential measures for economic recovery, while criticizing the Albanese government's handling of deteriorating diplomatic relations with Israel.
Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury Competition and Charities Dave Sharma outlined the opposition's demands during the first day of the government's three-day economic reform roundtable, saying current government spending levels were "crowding out the private sector."
"Government spending is growing at four times the rate of the economy," Sharma told ABC's Afternoon Briefing program. "We've got public sector and public sector funded jobs growing at four times the rate of private sector job creation, and we've got government spending at a level we haven't seen in four decades."
Sharma said government spending was "creating huge distortions in the economy" and represented a fundamental barrier to productivity growth.
The opposition's intervention came as Treasurer Jim Chalmers worked to develop a "statement of intent" capturing agreed outcomes from the roundtable discussions, which have focused heavily on skills recognition and training reform.
Opposition Sets Success Metrics
Sharma established three specific metrics for judging the roundtable's success, placing government fiscal restraint at the top of the list.
"I think the metrics of success are firstly a commitment to government spending restraint," Sharma said. "That has been largely absent from the conversation, but you've got to remember that government spending is growing at four times the rate of the economy."
The opposition also demanded genuine commitment to adopting new technologies, including artificial intelligence, "without giving trade unions a veto power, which they have been seeking to assert on their own behalf."
Sharma's third demand focused on tax policy, calling for "at least no new taxes" while expressing concern about union proposals for employer levies to fund training programs.
"Today we've seen talk from the unions about a possible new levy or tax on employers to fund training," Sharma said. "I don't think we get our way to higher productivity through higher taxes."
The opposition spokesman expressed skepticism about the roundtable's potential outcomes, warning against producing statements that "no one can disagree with and that aren't actually going to move the needle in terms of getting our economy growing, getting private sector investment up, getting productivity moving."
Road User Charges Receive Conditional Support
Despite broader criticism, Sharma indicated opposition openness to road user charges for electric vehicle owners, a proposal gaining momentum during roundtable discussions.
"I'm certainly open to that," Sharma said when asked about the road user charge proposal that Finance Minister Katy Gallagher described as having broad jurisdictional support.
However, Sharma linked the proposal to broader vehicle policy reform, calling for examination of fringe benefits tax exemptions for electric vehicles.
"I think if the government's looking at this whole vehicle fleet issue at large, they also need to look at the FBT exemption for electric vehicles, because the modelling of that now shows that it's going to cost us about $23 billion over 10 years," Sharma said.
He described the emissions abatement cost as "orders of magnitude higher than any other program" and called for the government to consider "reining in that program."
Economic Backdrop Drives Urgency
Sharma painted a stark picture of Australia's economic situation to justify the opposition's demands for immediate action.
"You've got to remember the situation we're in here is that the economy is going backwards, productivity is going backwards, living standards are going backwards, government spending is increasing," Sharma said. "Something's got to give here, and it's going to have to be that we tackle the fundamental handbrakes that are being imposed on our economy right now."
The opposition's economic critique came as the roundtable continued discussions on skills recognition and training reform, areas where government officials have indicated broad consensus among participants.
Australia-Israel Relations Reach New Low
Sharma delivered sharp criticism of the government's handling of diplomatic relations with Israel, following the mutual cancellation of visas for diplomatic personnel and an Israeli parliamentarian.
The opposition spokesman accused the government of contradictory positions on diplomatic engagement, highlighting the disconnect between stated values and actions.
"I heard your previous guest, Katie Gallagher, saying the Albanese government values dialogue and diplomacy and open channels, and yet they have gone and cancelled the visa of a member of parliament of Israel who sits within the governing coalition," Sharma said. "So how can you say you're committed to dialogue and diplomacy and open channels when you're preventing any interaction from occurring? I just think those two statements are fundamentally at odds with one another."
Sharma characterized the relationship deterioration as a mutual failure but placed primary responsibility on the Australian government.
"I think we have delivered insult after insult to this bilateral relationship," Sharma said. "And at times, completely unnecessarily, you can have a different position, but you can express those views respectfully. I don't think we've done that."
Opposition Disputes Isolation Claims
When questioned about whether Israel was isolating itself internationally, Sharma reversed the characterization, arguing Australia was the isolated party.
"I think Australia is isolating itself on this issue," Sharma said. "I haven't heard of Israel rejecting or kicking out any other diplomats of any other foreign countries. I haven't heard it happening to France or the United Kingdom or Canada, for instance. It seems to be happening to Australia."
Sharma described the visa cancellations as "tit-for-tat" actions that made diplomatic recovery difficult.
"It's terrible when relationships get in this state when, you know, one country does something, the other country expels diplomats, you know, something happens in a reciprocal way," Sharma said. "It's very hard to recover relationships once you reach that dynamic."
The opposition spokesman emphasized the importance of maintaining diplomatic relationships even with countries where fundamental disagreements exist.
"I make this point, Patricia, we have diplomatic relations with countries like Russia, with countries like China, with which we have fundamental disagreements, not only over their foreign policies, but over their domestic policies," Sharma said. "Diplomacy is not about having relations with countries with whom you agree entirely or with whom you share objectives and world views. But it is about a means and method of communication."
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Visa Cancellation Defense
While criticizing the government's overall approach, Sharma offered qualified defense of maintaining diplomatic protocols with democratically elected officials.
"Prima facie, in the first instance, I don't think we should be... if we've granted a visa to the... and visiting elected member of parliament from a fellow liberal democracy, I don't think we should be lightly going around and cancelling their visas," Sharma said.
However, Sharma acknowledged he had not seen the specific evidence used to justify the visa cancellation on character grounds.
When pressed about the Israeli parliamentarian's inflammatory rhetoric, Sharma questioned the government's assertions about threats to social cohesion.
"Just because they assert that someone is likely to undermine social cohesion, as I said, I'm yet to see the evidence of that," Sharma said. "That's an assertion. I'd like to know, what is it that this person has said that they think would cause social cohesion to throw in Australia?"
Sharma noted media reports that the Israeli parliamentarian had called for Hamas elimination, describing this as an uncontroversial position shared by the Australian government.
"I've seen it quoted in The Guardian that he has called for the elimination of Hamas. I didn't think that was a controversial position," Sharma said. "I think the Albanese government also believes that Hamas, a listed terrorist organisation, has to be eliminated."
Social Cohesion Balance
While supporting social cohesion protection, Sharma warned against suppressing legitimate debate and disagreement.
"I support social cohesion being protected, but it doesn't mean the imposition of a uniformity of views or the stifling of any debate or disagreement," Sharma said.
The opposition's position reflected broader tensions over balancing free expression with community harmony during heightened Middle East tensions.
Bilateral Relationship Responsibility
Sharma acknowledged shared responsibility for the diplomatic breakdown while maintaining the Australian government bore primary blame.
"Like any relationship, the breakdown in relations... there's two parties to a breakdown in relations, but the Albanese government cannot absolve themselves of any blame here," Sharma said.
The opposition spokesman emphasized his support for constructive bilateral relations despite policy disagreements.
"I don't agree with everything Israel does. I'm not here as a spokesperson for Israel, but I do believe in the importance of a constructive and productive bilateral relationship with Israel, which means you work through areas where you disagree and you keep the channels open," Sharma said.
Roundtable Skepticism
Despite acknowledging potential positive elements in skills recognition reform, Sharma expressed broader skepticism about the roundtable's capacity to deliver meaningful economic change.
"Having not seen the statement, I'd say yes, but I think bromides or statements that no one can disagree with and that aren't actually going to move the needle in terms of getting our economy growing, getting private sector investment up, getting productivity moving, I don't think they're sufficient," Sharma said.
The opposition's comprehensive critique established clear benchmarks for measuring the government's economic reform agenda while highlighting fundamental disagreements over fiscal policy and diplomatic strategy.
The roundtable continues through Thursday, with government officials promising detailed policy outcomes as discussions progress across multiple reform areas.
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