Neoliberalism, Auditing, Austerity and the Demise of Social Justice

The policies and strategies adopted by the conservative Abbott Liberal Coalition Government in its first two years in office embody stringent aspects of neoliberal ideology and practice. These include auditing, austerity and cost cutting measures that heavily weigh on the most vulnerable sectors of Australian society. This paper examines the 2014 National Commission of Audit as a preamble to and ideological blueprint for the austerity and budget measures of the Abbott administration. Particulary significant are the increasing inequalities engendered by neoliberalism, the attack on social welfare, far reaching cuts in government expenditure and the failure of the Abbott Government to act on tax reform resulting in the demise of social justice.