http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/16204390/swan-puts-libs-on-notice-wit...

Treasurer Wayne Swan denies a proposal to ensure the costs of political promises are revealed soon after the election means Labor is heading for election defeat.

"Not at all," he told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

Labor plans to legislate for the Parliamentary Budget Office to publish full costings of commitments made by all political parties and their budget bottom line 30 days after polling day.

Mr Swan said this would prevent any party from misleading the Australian people and "punish" those that did.

"It will avoid a situation we saw last election, where the Liberal Party thought they could con the Australian people," he said earlier at an Australian Business Economists event in Sydney.

Mr Swan said Australia was experiencing a sharp fall in commodity prices similar to what was seen during the 1998 Asian financial crisis and the 1961 credit crunch.

This had forced the government to "delay" returning the budget to surplus, Mr Swan said.

He had previously stopped short of admitting the government would fail to deliver a surplus in 2012/13, instead saying it would be "unlikely".

Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said the coalition had "absolutely nothing to fear" by having its policies independently audited after the election, to be held in September.

"Wayne Swan now wants to make honesty and integrity in numbers the new benchmark for the election campaign and I say bring it on," he told Sky News.

"This is exactly what we want - sunshine on the numbers, amen."

Mr Swan also committed to release the 2012/13 preliminary budget bottom line "well before the election".

"There will be no fiscal surprises after the election," he said.

Mr Hockey said the government should release its budget numbers right now if it was really "fair dinkum" about transparency.

Mr Swan on Friday again refused to say whether his government expected a return to surplus in 2013/14.

Asked whether he was now abandoning a commitment to a surplus in 2013/14 as well, Mr Swan said he would reveal the government's surplus strategy in three months.

"What I'm doing is outlining a very clear medium-term fiscal strategy," he told reporters.

"I said at the end of last year that it would have been deeply irresponsible to have cut at that time to make up for revenue lost; that would have impacted upon jobs and growth.

"I'll reveal the future pathway back to surplus in the budget forecasts, which are produced in May."

I dont see how releasing the figures after the election helps voters decide. ?

Unless he's playing for the DD election, so by the time the 2nd election comes around the figures are on the board.

Why all the worry about costings after all are these going to be on things Gillard says she is going to do but has no intention of doing and stuff she says so won't do but has every intention of bringing in. How can that be bringing in transparency?

Armchair_Politician wrote on Feb 22^nd, 2013 at 12:38pm:


hit the nail on the head there

instead of admitting they got it wrong - Labor goes from one disaster to another

Labor accuse Abbott of cutting give aways that they announced in last year's Budget

But we can't afford it

The way we can afford it is to increase the national debt to beyond the current $250B

namnugenot wrote on Feb 22^nd, 2013 at 12:57pm:


the Labor faithfuls and rusted on need to be anaesthetised by promises - even if it's false

Otherwise what can they believe in

sir prince duke alevine wrote on Feb 22^nd, 2013 at 1:17pm:



about the same as Labor government wastage vs Dumb Arse Labor surplus and tax promises

Maqqa wrote on Feb 22^nd, 2013 at 1:16pm:

sir prince duke alevine wrote on Feb 22^nd, 2013 at 1:33pm:


You should ask dumb arse Swan about the unemployment rate