Australian Asset Sales, Cuts to Welfare Urged to Lower Debt
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Australia should privatize its rail and postal assets and cut family welfare payments as Prime Minister Tony Abbott seeks to meet election pledges to rein in record public debt, a report ordered by his government advised.
Australian Rail Track Corp. and Australian Postal Corp. are among 10 bodies that should be sold, the National Commission of Audit said in Canberra today as it identified measures that could save as much as A$70 billion ($65 billion) a year within a decade. Among recommendations, it called for the pension age to be raised, payments for doctor visits, and cuts to the number of government bodies.