Tactics questioned: Independent Senator Nick Xenophon says the budget sales job has been poor. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
The federal government has been taken to task by key crossbench senators for a confused budget sales job, as Prime Minister Tony Abbott signalled a compromise deal on the $7 GP co-payment could be in the offing to ease the burden on pensioners.
The Prime Minister’s comments came as the government shifted its budget narrative away from one of ”crisis” and as it released modelling that showed only about $20 billion of $19 trillion of expenses over four years contained in the budget had not been passed.
Treasurer Joe Hockey stressed that most of the day-to-day budget had passed the Parliament. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said that budget negotiations would be a ”marathon, not a sprint” and called for a ”reality check”.
“Could have sold it in a different way”: Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey. Photo: Reuters
But NSW Liberal Democratic senator David Leyonhjelm and South Australian senator Nick Xenophon – both of whom could provide key votes to help ease the passage of up to $40 billion in contentious savings measures – questioned the change in political tactics from the Abbott government’s key economic salesmen.