Groundhog Day? Swan wrong again… and again…

Wayne Swan’s criticism of the Family Tax Benefit changes demonstrates that he completely misunderstands what we are planning to do.

He either hasn’t properly read what we are planning to do or simply doesn’t understand the fundamentals of the system.

On several occasions in Question Time today, hapless ALP Members read out pre-prepared questions to the Prime Minister that were flawed in their understanding of the policy. One of these hapless members was Mr Swan himself and there’s a fair chance that he wrote the rest of the questions as well.

Each question was premised on a flawed understanding of what we are planning to do.

None of the measures I announced yesterday involve asking families to overestimate their income.

None of the measures announced yesterday will mean that families will lose their concessions.

The changes we are making are about giving families choice in the way they receive their entitlement.

It is clear that in Mr Swan’s haste to take a political swipe at the Government, he has not even bothered to read what the changes will actually involve.

Mr Swan should realise that scaring families isn’t good politics.

If Mr Swan genuinely wants to take part in the debate, he should get his facts right first.