Documents show a little-known budget measure has cut $2.488 million from the National Capital Authority's funds across the forward estimates and the opposition says it is part of a 100-strong hit list of hidden cost reductions.
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The cuts are the product of a "pause" on the increase of funds to deal with inflation.
The authority's indexation pause must be absorbed after cuts outlined in the portfolio budget statements.
As part of this year's budget reduction, the NCA has cut its own troupe of monuments' men - three specialist staff who maintain Canberra's national memorials, fountains and artworks have been retrenched and their jobs outsourced.
Fraser MP and shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh said the cuts were further proof the Abbott government was antagonistic towards Canberra and want to see the city’s status as the nation’s capital degraded.
"Now we hear that they will also take more funding from agencies which maintain Canberra as the nation’s capital," Dr Leigh said.
"The cut in funding for the ACT Government comes on top of the $150 million that was ripped out of the ACT by Joe Hockey’s decision to pass the buck to the states and territories on health and education spending in the May budget."
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the government had always been completely open and transparent about the fact it would work to fix the budget mess inherited from Labor.
"It is rather laughable for Labor to describe a measure announced in the budget and explained openly, transparently and in detail in the course of the Senate estimates process as a secret," he said.
"The undeniable reality is that the spending growth trajectory we inherited from Labor is completely unsustainable and we need to turn that situation around.
"If we keep spending money we haven't got on consumption at an increasing rate, we are forcing our children and grandchildren to pay the price for that with interest."
