gillard mocks abbotts billion offer to wilkie

ABC Online...
Julia Gillard has attacked the Coalition's economic credentials amid revelations Opposition Leader Tony Abbott offered a $1 billion hospital upgrade to help win the support of independent MP Andrew Wilkie.

Mr Wilkie this afternoon announced he would back a Labor government, signing an agreement to not block supply or support no-confidence motions.

His vote, along with Greens MP Adam Bandt's, gives Labor 74 seats in the House of Representatives, two short of the number required to form government.

Labor secured the Tasmanian MP's support with $340 million in funding for a renovation of the Royal Hobart Hospital and a commitment to increase restrictions on poker machines.

Mr Wilkie revealed Mr Abbott had made a more generous offer, including $1 billion for the Royal Hobart renovation, but chose to go with Labor's smaller offer instead.

"Who do I believe has the best chance of providing competent government, whose polices are ethical or less unethical than the other party ... the ALP was not going to give me $1 billion because it would have had to go outside proper process to do that," he said.

"Right from the start my conversation with the ALP was much more detailed. There was much more of an understanding that this shouldn't be seen as a pork-barrelling exercise."


'$11b black hole'

An emboldened Ms Gillard seized on the admission, as well the earlier revelation of Treasury finding an $11 billion hole in the Coalition's costings, to raise questions over Mr Abbott's ability to manage the economy.

"Mr Abbott was prepared to give Mr Wilkie $1 billion for a proposal that should properly cost the Australian Government about a third of that," she said.

"Now doesn't that tell you everything you need to know about Mr Abbott's credentials to be prime minister and why he got himself in an $11 billion black hole.

"He doesn't have $1 billion. Look at the Treasury numbers."

She also thanked the three rural independents for releasing the details of Treasury's costing of the Coalition's policies.

"I believe they have done the nation a great service by ensuring that Mr Abbott has finally had his election policies costed by Treasury," she said.

Mr Abbott earlier defended the blowout, saying the gap results from differences in modelling.

"Certainly there is absolutely nothing in any of the toing an froing over the last 12 hours or so that compromises our ability to continue to engage in good-faith discussions with the independents about forming a stable and competent government for the next three years," he said.


'Unacceptable'

But this argument has failed to persuade at least one of the independents, with Mr Wilkie saying it influenced his decision to support Labor.

"I did take that into consideration. I thought that was unacceptable that the alternative government would be out by so far, and it did strip away a little off the confidence I had in Tony Abbott," he said.

And Tony Windsor says it raises questions of trust.

"It's not a game-breaker, but it places some question marks within my mind at least," he said.

"It's not so much about numbers as it is about what people went to the election on, and the trust that we can have in them."

Mr Wilkie said he hoped his decision to support Labor would spur on the remaining undecided independents.

"I would hope that by deciding fairly early, as I've done, I would hope this sends a signal to the other three independents and they move as quickly as they can, just as I've done, to make their decisions," he said.

"I think that from here because of my decision and particularly the news of this massive black hole in the Coalition costings, I think it's now more likely that the ALP will get the numbers."

Dave R.