MEDIA RELEASE: ABBOTT AND HOCKEY FAIL SENATE DEADLINE ON AUDIT REPORT

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey have defied a noon deadline set by the Senate to table the Commission of Audit’s first report.

The report contains 900-pages of nasty cuts the Government is hiding in the lead up to the Western Australian senate election.

Shadow Finance Minister Tony Burke said if Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey have nothing to hide, they shouldn’t be afraid of releasing the report publicly.

“If Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey believe Australians share their views on health cuts and the GP tax, then they shouldn’t have a problem releasing the recommendations before the WA election,” Mr Burke said.

“We’ve seen it before, Tony Abbott saying one thing before people vote with plans to do the exact opposite after the election. The Government report contains the cuts he is planning and that’s why he doesn’t want anyone to see it before they vote.

“There can only be one reason that Mr Abbott wants to keep his plans secret. The cuts he has planned will hurt. He knows it and he doesn’t want the people of Western Australia to know it until after they’ve voted.”

Last week the Prime Minister was caught out attempting to rewrite history and lay the groundwork for the cuts in the Commission of Audit’s report.

During a doorstop interview while campaigning in Western Australia on Tuesday, Mr Abbott said:

“Apart from Defence, health and medical research was the only area of government funding which was quarantined from savings pre-election.”

DOORSTOP, PERTH – 11 MARCH 2014

Yet pre-election Mr Abbott promised:

“No cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS.”

SBS NEWS – 6 SEPTEMBER 2013

Mr Burke said this was clear evidence the Prime Minister’s message on cuts was changing: “Mr Abbott has been caught out laying the groundwork to break his election promise not to make cuts to education, pensions, the ABC or SBS.”