Tanner takes razor to first round of budget cuts

Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner has revealed an initial list of 45 current or proposed government measures to be cut as part of Labor’s effort to trim government spending.

The cuts are worth $643 million, an amount Tanner says is a “down-payment” on deeper cuts to be announced on budget night in May.

Programs targeted at the business community appear to have largely escaped the razor, although $5 million has been cut from the innovation ambassador program designed to fund entrepreneurs to spread the word about innovation.

Other cuts announced by Tanner include:

• $5.9 million in additional funding for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
• $147.5 million in funding for the Growing Regions program.
• A collective $18 million for the construction of a rugby and fishing hall of fame.