09-August-2010
Portfolio Media Releases, The Economy, Community, Funding
Wayne Swan has failed to check his facts before rushing to incorrectly claim a contradiction by the Coalition on spending measures.
Today at the National Press Club Mr Hockey provided a total expenditure figure including the mining tax.
On AM this morning, Mr Abbott was specifically asked about the Coalition’s saving and expenditure, excluding the mining tax.
LYNDAL CURTIS: You having your savings money - you're not spending from a mining tax you won't impose. Given you're not getting the money from the mining tax, once you take that $9 billion out of the picture, do your promises during this campaign come within the envelope that's left?
TONY ABBOTT: Oh yes, yes absolutely. We've identified including the mining tax something like $28 billion of cuts to recurrent spending, recurrent expenditure reductions and take the $10 billion or so out of the mining tax, that's still about $18 billion worth of reductions in recurrent expenditure. And our promised expenditure is well under that.
LYNDAL CURTIS: What is your promised expenditure going to be at, at the end of the campaign?
TONY ABBOTT: We will get back to surplus in 2012/13 and it will be a bigger surplus than the one that the Labor Party is promising.
LYNDAL CURTIS: So your spending will be under that $18 billion figure?
TONY ABBOTT: Yes that's correct.
(AM, 9/8/10)
Mr Abbott was correct. The Coalition spending will be under $18 billion excluding the mining tax.
Mr Hockey was correct. The Coalition spending is currently at $25.7 billion including the mining tax.
The claim that opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey has contradicted Tony Abbott to the tune of $7 billion during today’s economic debate at the National Press Club is plainly wrong and deliberately deceptive.
Media Contact: Cameron Hill on 0408 239 521