03 April 2007

After another strong poll for Labor, Health Minister Tony Abbott has hinted that tax cuts and other big election sweeteners will be on the agenda in this year’s budget.

“The money belongs to the public and they deserve to have it back,” Abbott said, likening his and other political leaders' roles in government to that of stewards.

He shrugged off any suggestion that personal attacks on Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd backfired on the Coalition, saying they were appropriate at the time.

“We’re in a different phase now,” he said.

When asked about his own attack on Rudd, Abbott said that Rudd only had himself to blame.

The childhood story Rudd related to the media was like “a narrative of political redemption,” he said

“It was almost a messiah story.”

The public can read into it what they will, he said.

Labor has slipped 4 points from 61 to 57 per cent on a two-party preferred vote in the latest Newspoll result. The Coalition is up from 39 to 43 per cent.


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