Treasurer Wayne Swan is talking up carbon tax compensation cheques for Australian households a month before the federal budget.
Mr Swan has defended the scheme to hand out carbon tax compensation even as the government faces a tough budget with declining revenues.
Pensioners and families with children eligible for family tax benefits will start to receive cheques in coming weeks.
“We raise revenue from the carbon price, and we use that revenue to assist with the price impacts which are relatively small,” Mr Swan told ABC Radio on Monday.
“The fact is we’ve got to look our kids in the eye and say we did the right thing …. to reduce carbon pollution into the atmosphere, to combat dangerous climate change, but also to assist people with the price impacts of that.”
He could not say how much an advertising blitz about the compensation package would cost because it was still under government consideration.
“We will have to advertise some of the important parts of this package so people know what they’re getting and why they are getting it,” Mr Swan said.
“There’s nothing unusual about that at all, nothing unusual at all.”
Mr Swan said restoring a budget surplus was entirely appropriate.
“It’s very important given this global instability and uncertainty that Australia sends a message to the world that our financials are strong, but also giving the Reserve Bank room to move, should it wish to do so, in terms of interest rates at some stage in the future,” he said.
