Yahoo Finance Labor vs Liberal: Who should you vote for in the 2019 Federal Election?
Yahoo Finance will have the election covered this Saturday. Stay tuned to the website and your inbox for our coverage.
The 2019 Australian federal election will be held this Saturday 18 May 2019 to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia.
Here’s exactly where Labor and Liberal stand on key money issues, from minimum wage and maternity leave, to tax and small business.
This page will be constantly updated until polling day as our campaign coverage continues, so please keep checking back to see the latest.
Who will you vote for?
If you’re a parent or a childcare worker...
If Labor wins the election, nearly a million families will pay up to $2,100 less a year for childcare, 3-year-olds will be let into preschool, and ParentsNext would be overhauled. Childcare policy is a major pillar of its election campaign: the opposition party is planning to spend $4 billion.
If the Coalition is promising a $36 million package to tackle pre- and post-natal depression, as well as a $75 million ‘Mid-Career Checkpoint’ initiative for women pausing their work, plus $328 million to combat domestic violence.
Read more on what parents can expect from the two sides.
If you’re a home-owner, first-time buyer, investor or renter...
If Labor wins the election, the plan to scrap negative gearing for properties bought after January 2020 could cause a rush to buy properties before the end of the year so they can be grandfathered under the old rules. This should boost the value of established properties, particularly apartments, in many of the inner and middle ring capital city suburbs in the second half of this year.
If Liberal were to be re-elected it’s likely our housing markets would pick up by the end of the year. The market hates uncertainty, and a Liberal win would return confidence to our property markets.
Find out more about how a Labor Government could affect various segments of the property market here.
If you’re a migrant or refugee...
If Labor wins the election, skilled migrants will be paid more, and it’ll be easier and cheaper to bring your parents over and Australia will also welcome 8,250 more refugees a year under a Labor government.
If the Liberal-National Coalition wins the election there’ll be 30,000 less migrants a year and we won’t be taking any more refugees than we already are.
When it comes to migrants and refugee intake, find out more about the two major political parties’ approaches here.
If you’re a taxpayer...
Labor’s proposals for low and middle income tax offset are the same as the Liberal ones. They have, however, promised a bigger tax cut for those earning less than $45,000 and to increase the top rate of tax for those earning more than $180,000 by 2 per cent (from the current 45-47 per cent).
Meanwhile, Liberal’s plan to cut personal income taxes for all individuals earning up to $126,000 each year would be worth up to $1,080 for individuals or $2,160 per year for dual-income households per year. Looking further ahead, the Liberals also intend to make additional changes to personal taxes to come into effect in 2024-25 which could see all taxpayers on salaries of $45,000-$200,000 pay tax at the lower rate of 30 per cent.
Find out more about what each party is actually proposing and what will it mean for you here.
If you want to change how our economy works...
The election result this Saturday has huge implications for the future of Australia.
At a time of rapid and frankly mind boggling change in the way the economy works, society functions, the population ages as we live longer and the changing climate impacts the way we all live, Australia needs a government that is ‘in sync’ with these dynamics.
Policies must be framed that take account of these changes because failure to do so will leave Australia floundering relative to the rest of the world.
Find out more about how each party plans to boost our economy here.
If you’re worried about your superannuation...
If the Labor party wins there’ll be a suit of changes to superannuation: from a lower non-concessional contributions cap, lower tax threshold for high income earners, fines on employers who don’t pay super and even plans to boost the super balances of women and low-income earners.
If the Liberal party wins, Australians aged 65 and 66 will be allowed to make voluntary superannuation contributions without meeting the work test.The Coalition is also going to allow 65 and 66 year olds use the bring-forward rule of making three years’ worth of non-concessional contributions of up to $300,000 in a year. And if you’re upwards of 74 years old, you can receive spouse contributions.
Find out more about how each party will affect your super here.
If you’re a small business owner...
If the Labor party win Shorten has promised to cut taxes to 25 per cent for small businesses with a turnover up to $50 million per year and small businesses could also be eligible for a 30 per cent tax reduction. Meanwhile, the opposition also has plans to target anti-competitive behaviour, unfair contracts, consumer complaints and crack down on dodgy directors engaging in ‘phoenixing’.
If the Liberal party win Morrison promises to cut taxes to 27.5 per cent for small businesses earning less than $50 million, with a view to cut that further to 25 per cent. But for unincorporated businesses with a turnover of less than $5 million, they’ll increase the eight per cent tax discount ($1,000) to 16 per cent. The Liberals have also promised to increase and extend the instant asset write-off, help cash flow, give better access to finance and change competition laws.
Find out more about how what each party proposes for small business owners here.
If you own shares...
Both sides of politics have gotten hot under the collar about franking credits and cash refunds. Labor is proposing to remove cash refunds on excess credits, arguing it merely lines the pockets of already wealthy people. Liberals argue such a change would hit low income earners. We explain this complex topic here.
If you care about climate change...
For climate change, we have compared the Greens as well as the two major parties. The issue is front-of-mind for many voters this election, and all three parties have a wealth of information about their policies, which we’ve summarised here.
The Greens, unsurprisingly, have the most stringent environmental policies, while Labor has a 10-point plan. The Liberals have a 4-pronged policy hydro-electric power and direct action at a community level.
And finally, if you like sausage sizzles...
Here’s a map of where you can get a sanger while you vote.
Read more of our pre-election coverage here:
The ‘living wage’: What it is and what you need to know about it
You can now ask a Twitter chatbot where to vote this Saturday
Here’s EXACTLY how much each party has spent on their election campaign
Will the election be good or bad for Australia’s share market?
$10 billion and 6 weeks long: These are election costs around the world
Labor promises $1 BILLION for 3-hour east coast fast rail link
What a Liberal or Labor government would mean for your taxes
$210 million GONE: Tradies to be hit hard by Labor’s negative gearing policy
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