Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has ramped up pressure on Prime Minister Tony Abbott's pledge to be a leader who keeps his promises, as the government prepares to reveal its first federal budget.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Shorten said the Prime Minister had staked his political reputation on being a "really special" leader who would stick to his word.
"Tony Abbott made himself before the last election the saint of not breaking promises," Mr Shorten said.
"Australians just want to know they’ve got a government in Canberra who’s not out of touch with cost of living."
But when asked by reporters on Monday, Mr Shorten did not say whether or not Labor would oppose a deficit levy on high incomes.
"The Abbott government should not be breaking promises full stop," he said.
Labor MP Jason Clare said on Monday that Tuesday night would be "the night of the long noses".
"Tomorrow night, Tony Abbott will break most of the promises he made at the last election," he said.
Mr Clare said he would accept a pay freeze for MPs but it was ordinary Australians who would be most hurt by the budget, not politicians.
"Happy to do that but the big problem with this budget is it’s ordinary people that are going to cop it in the neck not the politicians," he said.
Earlier on Monday, Labor's transport spokesman Anthony Albanese dismissed the government’s plans for $40 billion in roads funding as a re-announcement of existing money.
Mr Albanese has also struck out at cuts to public transport funding while there is a speculation families will be hit with tax hikes for fuel.
But the government vowed on Monday that details of its infrastructure plan, to be announced in Tuesday's budget, would show "significant investment" in projects.
Mr Albanese said on Monday that the government’s plan for roads spending, described by Treasurer Joe Hockey as “the biggest increase in road expenditure in Australian history”, was little more than “a series of re-announcements”.
“If you have a look at the announcements the government’s been making they’ve been re-announcements of projects that were already included in the budget – projects like the F3 to M2 which they’ve just renamed in Sydney the Northern Link,” he told ABC radio.
“Producing a new name does not create a new road.”
Mr Albanese said the government's “ideological position” was to rip billions out of public transport around the country.
He also speculated that the government’s talk of funding roads projects over six years meant little money would be seen in the immediate future.
“Wait for the spin tomorrow night that says the money’s there but it’s out five and six years away,” he said.
“What’s worse, while taking away the option of public transport for those in our outer suburbs, they’re putting a new tax hike on petrol.
“Every time working families fill up to get to work, or fill up to take their kids to footy or sport on the weekend, they’re paying an additional tax to the government.”
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said Australians would have to wait for Tuesday’s budget to see if the funding was new money for roads.
But he promised a “significant investment” and guaranteed that money raised from a possible fuel excise hike would be spent on roads infrastructure.
“In relation to very significant road infrastructure investments across Australia we have accelerated or increased the level of funding available to those projects in order to ensure that they are delivered more quickly than they would have been under Labor,” Senator Cormann told ABC radio on Monday.
In other budget news, it was revealed up to 70 federal agencies would be axed or merged, while key assets including the Australian Mint and Defence Housing Australia would be sold.
A further 16,000 public sector jobs are also expected to be slashed.
Following the dismantling of 40 government bodies last year, The Australian Financial Review reported that Mr Hockey would target 50 others to achieve a combined four-year saving of $470 million.
Agencies to be abolished include the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the National Water Commission.
Labor frontbencher Penny Wong warned that Tuesday’s budget was shaping up as a federal government exercise in broken promises and wrong priorities.
‘‘It will be much harder for Australians to make ends meet,’’ she said.
