Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey has described the federal government's forecast budget surplus as smoke and mirrors after a new report tipping the end of the mining boom.
A Deloitte Access Economics report says Australia's mining boom is about to peak and an economic slowdown is inevitable.
Mr Hockey says the report confirms the coalition's criticism of the government's economic management.
"The government has built a budget that is wholly captive to the mining boom and the taxes to be collected from mining taxes," he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
"Now it's apparent the budget is unravelling because it was built on smoke and mirrors."
The shadow treasurer said the government had failed to address the inevitable economic downturn that followed an economic peak.
"Every boom ends, otherwise it wouldn't be a boom," Mr Hockey said.
"When the mining boom sneezes, the budget gets pneumonia."
The coalition said the government now needed to explain how it would scramble back to a forecast $1.5 billion budget surplus for 2012/13.
"I'm calling on the government to come clean about what taxes and what levies it will introduce to try and make up for the budget black hole," Mr Hockey said.
Comments
Post a Comment