Todays release of protocols to support the Parliamentary Budget Officer means the Opposition has no more excuses not to be transparent with the Australian people about the true cost of its policies.
The Opposition now has unprecedented access to a confidential costings service outside of a general election period through the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO). They will also have the choice of having their election policy costings done by Finance and Treasury or the PBO during election periods.
But Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey refuses to commit to submitting all of the Oppositions policies for costings by the PBO or Finance and Treasury, going against Peter Costellos Charter of Budget Honesty.
Rather he says hell only submit the select few and only during the pre-election period when he can keep them secret from the Australian public.
Clearly the Opposition want to keep Australians in the dark about what services theyll cut to fill their $70 billion budget crater, announced by both the Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Finance spokesman on national television.
And it seems the Opposition would prefer to have an $11 billion hole in their election costings, as they had in 2010, or use audit companies which are subsequently fined for professional misconduct, rather than comply with the Charter of Budget Honesty.
Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey repeatedly say theyve had all of their policies costed, but by whom? By the catering company that did their immigration costings earlier this year?
The Parliament established the PBO to provide Senators and MPs with independent analysis of the budget cycle, fiscal policy and the financial implications of policy proposals.
If the Opposition want to have any credibility, they need to commit to submitting all of their election policies for costing by the Parliamentary Budget Office or Finance and Treasury in accordance with the Charter of Budget Honesty.