Budget 2014 as it happened: Reaction to Abbott Government's first budget
Updated
The Federal Opposition has launched a concerted attack on the Prime Minister's credibility and pre-election promises as the Government continues with the job of selling its first budget.
Key budget measures, including the introduction of a fee to see the doctor and cuts to welfare payments, have sparked an angry reaction from the Opposition and from lobby groups.
A number of the measures face a tough sell in the Senate where Labor, the Greens and the Palmer United Party have united in opposition.
State premiers are also angry over $80 billion in federal cuts to school and hospital funding that they believe is a "wedge" to get them to support an increase to the GST.
Before last year's federal election Prime Minister Tony Abbott promised there would be no new taxes.
It was a promise Labor jumped on during Question Time today due to the budget including a new "deficit levy" on high income earners, an increase in fuel excise and a $7 co-payment on doctor visits.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was scathing of the Prime Minister.
"Enough is enough. Will this PM come to the dispatch box, look Australians in the eye and apologise for his lies?" he said, before being forced to withdraw his use of the word 'lies'.
But Mr Abbott says the budget keeps faith with voters and delivers on the Coalition's promise to fix the nation's finances.
Yes, there is a temporary deficit levy. No-one likes it, I certainly don't like it.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott
"Yes, there is a temporary deficit levy. No-one likes it, I certainly don't like it. But it will impact on just 3 per cent of taxpayers," he said.
"We are indexing fuel excise. Again, not something that people would necessarily like, but the fact is the money is connected to road spending, to extra road spending."
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen asked Mr Hockey if the Coalition had deceived the Australian public, but Mr Hockey replied that "the Labor Party is standing on very thin ice" over its own promises.
"If as the member for McMahon [Mr Bowen] says the question is about deceit, I would ask him to explain why we ended up with $123 billion of deficits. Ask him why we ended up with $667 billion of debt," Mr Hockey said.
"And why is it the case that the member for Lily [former treasurer Wayne Swan] never actually delivered four surpluses in a row."
Earlier, in an address to the National Press Club, Mr Hockey said some commentators had urged the Government to deliver a harsher budget, but it would have come at a price and he was not prepared to do that.
"But we have had to fix the budget," he said.
"There is a fire in the kitchen and we can't stand idly by and not put it out.
"The tsunami of expenditure increases left to us by our political opponents was outrageous.
"The budget was never getting to surplus. The debt was going to $667 billion. Unsustainable."
Look back over the day's reactions to the federal budget:
Topics: budget, government-and-politics, federal-government, tax, social-policy, australia
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