Labor accuses Abbott of $7 billion gaffe

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been accused of a $7 billion blunder over the
coalition's election spending commitments, opening the door for Labor to attack his
ability to manage the economy.
As the nation's finances continued to be the focus of the campaign on Monday, Mr
Abbott and his treasury spokesman Joe Hockey appeared to be at odds over the
coalition's expenditure plans.
Mr Abbott, during a morning radio interview, insisted that the coalition's spending
commitments would total less than $18 billion.
"We've identified, including the mining tax, something like $28 billion of cuts to
recurrent spending ... that's still about $18 billion worth of reductions in
recurrent expenditure," he told ABC Radio.
"And our promised expenditure is well under that."
But during a debate on the economy with Treasurer Wayne Swan just hours later at the
National Press Club in Canberra, Mr Hockey said the coalition's "promised
expenditure" totalled more than $25 billion.
"I can say to you emphatically so far this election campaign we have announced
expenditure of $25.733 billion. We have announced savings of $28.534 billion," Mr
Hockey said.
Labor seized on the confusion, with Mr Swan saying it cast serious doubts over Mr
Abbott's economic credentials.
"This is a $7 billion gap between the two figures, a $7 billion gap which creates
serious doubts about their judgment and their capacity to manage an economy," Mr
Swan said.
Mr Abbott later rejected the suggestion there was a contradiction.
"It's both in a sense," he said.
"Joe's figure of $25 billion included a $10 billion tax cut," Mr Abbott said,
referring to revenue that would be lost by the coalition's decision to dump Labor's
mining tax, which it considers an expenditure.
The development came as Mr Abbott again rejected Prime Minister Julia Gillard's
challenges to a debate on the economy, and as former Liberal treasurer Peter
Costello came to Mr Abbott's defence.
Mr Costello has demanded Labor pull a campaign ad in which he is featured scoffing
at Mr Abbott's economic knowledge.
Mr Abbott and Ms Gillard are set to take part in a town hall meeting at the Rooty
Hill RSL Club in Sydney's western suburbs where they will field questions from 200
undecided voters.
"When I said I would debate Tony Abbott on the economy he said his campaign
arrangements were locked in and he couldn't put the debate into his diary," Ms
Gillard said.
"Well, as it turns out, both of us will be in the same place at the same time in
Sydney on Wednesday night."
At the National Press Club, the debate on the economy was fought on familiar lines,
with Mr Swan defending the stimulus and attacking the coalition's failure to submit
its policies to Treasury for costing.
Mr Hockey said the coalition would submit all its policies for costing "before
polling day".
"We will not go down the path of lodging tens or hundreds of policies 12 hours or 24
hours before election day."
In 2007, Labor did not submit most of its costings until the final week of the
campaign.
Regardless of the confusion over the coalition's spending commitments, Mr Hockey
said the opposition was still ahead of Labor in terms of savings.
"So far we have $2.8 billion of net savings on the announced policies. That
indicated we're $2.8 billion ahead of Labor."
Both Labor and the coalition also maintain they will return the budget to surplus by
2012/13.
However, while Labor has predicted a surplus of $3.5 billion in 2012/13, the
coalition is yet to nominate a figure.
Mr Abbott, campaigning in Brisbane, said the coalition would deliver a surplus much
greater than that forecast by Labor.
"I will announce well before polling day what we believe the budgetary outcome for
2012/13 will be," he said.
"What I say at the moment is it will be significantly larger than that achieved by
the government because you just can't trust this government not to see blowout after
blowout."