Australia’s conservative Liberal-National opposition leader Tony Abbott has said it will not be easy to find savings without a carbon price, which he has promised to scrap if his coalition wins government.
However, Mr Abbott said such a government would make the necessary decisions, such as scrapping Labor’s school children’s bonus.
“Our first commitment is to repeal the carbon tax,” Mr Abbott said in his first public speech of the year at the National Press Club in the national capital, Canberra.
“The prime minister says that it will never happen but I’m not like her and don’t operate by her standards.”
Mr Abbott said the coming federal election on September 14 would be a referendum on the carbon price, introduced by the government last year, and on economic management.
However, he said the coalition would not be forced into announcing all its policy detail now.
“The coalition will release our costings after the government releases its, after the budget and before polling day,” Mr Abbott said.
“It won’t be easy to find the savings to fund tax cuts without a carbon tax.
“But we won’t shirk the hard decisions, such as being up front with people that the school kids bonus will go, because it’s a cash splash with borrowed money that has nothing to do with education.”
Mr Abbott reassured voters the coalition would be “constantly developing our policy commitments” between now and polling day.
He outline a range of previously announced commitments, such as cutting business red tape and making no unexpected changes to superannuation arrangements, but gave no further detail.
“These are commitments that we’ve already made and that you can trust me to keep,” he added.
On the contentious area of workplace relations, Mr Abbott said his policy would address flexibility, militancy and productivity issues in the current Fair Work Act.
However, Mr Abbott said he wasn’t anti-union.
“I have never believed that Australian workers are overpaid,” he said.
“That’s why our workplace policy will ensure that changes have to benefit a business’s workers as well as its owners.”
Mr Abbott also restated his commitment to paid parental leave, saying it was a workplace entitlement and not welfare.
He also said Labor was attacking the middle class when it set its sights on family tax benefits and private health insurance rebates.
The Liberal leader also restated his support for Labor’s National Disability Insurance Scheme and its plans for more support for schools.
“That’s why the party you can trust to deliver better services is the one you can trust to deliver a stronger economy and a sustainable surplus.”
Mr Abbott did not recommit the coalition to delivering a budget surplus in its first term of government.
However, Mr Abbott argued a coalition government would keep spending in check “because we’re not beholden to the Australian Gree
Tony Abbott supported Carbon Tax 200% when Howard was going to introduce it -But Howard was replaced by Rudd . Tony Abbott now has another use for Carbon Tax When he gets blocked from removing it . He will Blame the Upper house for his Broken Promise as he has used it as a Club for years to beat the Prime minister over the head as he thinks it is his Job . But then he might do something more dangerous he will use it to call another election of Both Houses to gain FULL CONTROL OF BOTH HOUSES and this nasty piece of work should never become Prime Minister -shows how dumb Australians have become and it shows with the Labor & Liberal & greens crap we have in Canberra and our State Governments
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