Tony Abbott has taken the art of lying about his broken promises to a whole new level in Question time today.
On Monday the Prime Minister said: “We are applying an efficiency dividend to the ABC.”
On Sky News yesterday Malcolm Turnbull said: “It is not an efficiency dividend”
Today when confronted with this inconsistency, the Prime Minister flat out lied.
In answer to a question the Prime Minister said: “I said it was effectively an efficiency dividend.”
That is a lie. Here is the Hansard to prove it.
Mr ABBOTT: I stand by my statements, including statements to this parliament. As for the ABC, what this government is doing with the ABC is applying for the first time in 20 years an efficiency dividend. That is what we are doing. We are applying an efficiency dividend to the ABC. Members opposite thought that the ABC was the one institution that should not be subject to an efficiency dividend. We think it should be subject to the efficiency dividend. The ABC should not be exempted from the kinds of measures that are being applied to almost every other part of government. When we inherit debt and deficit disaster from the Labor Party, when we are faced with $123 billion of cumulative deficit and $667 billion of projected debt, no-one is exempt from the search for savings, including the ABC and SBS.
He never used the word ‘effectively’.
There is no caveat or qualification; he told the Parliament it was an efficiency dividend. Plain and simple.
He is now so far gone; even he can’t remember when he is lying.
Tony Abbott has misled the Parliament.
He should retract his latest lie and apologise to the Australian people.
WEDNESDAY, 26 NOVEMBER 2014
MEDIA CONTACT: RYAN HAMILTON 02 9790 2466
