FED:Costello changes tune on Abbott

AAP General News (Australia)
08-09-2010
FED:Costello changes tune on Abbott

By Kellee Nolan

MELBOURNE, Aug 9 AAP - Former treasurer Peter Costello is demanding the Labor Party
take down a television advertisement showing him scoffing at Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's
economic credentials.

But the Labor Party says it will keep running the ad, while Prime Minister Julia Gillard
says Mr Costello was right on more than one occasion to criticise Mr Abbott's economic
record.

The ALP campaign ad shows a clip from June last year, in which Mr Costello tells a
press conference he sees Mr Abbott's future as being "not on economic matters" and smiles
as his audience breaks into laughter.

Speaking in Melbourne on Monday at the campaign launch for his former seat of Higgins,
Mr Costello said the clip had been "cut in order to deceive", but would not elaborate
how.

When Mr Costello was asked in June last year if he saw Mr Abbott as the next stalwart
in the coalition's future he said: "Oh, not on economic matters, but you know, Tony is
a great writer and theorist and he has got a book coming out shortly ..."

As he sought to turn around his previous criticisms of Mr Abbott, he denied he was
saying the opposition leader couldn't be trusted on economic matters and called on Ms
Gillard to take the ad off the air.

"Julia Gillard, if she had honesty, would get that ad off air and I call on her to
do so," he told reporters on Monday.

But Ms Gillard said Mr Costello's words in the ad had not been edited and she repeated
his "not on economic matters" quote at a press conference in Perth on Monday.

She also read from Mr Costello's published memoirs, in which he says he "was horrified"

Mr Abbott said he had learned all his economics from the late Catholic right-wing activist
Bob Santamaria and that the opposition leader "had grandiose plans for public expenditure".

"Mr Costello, when he said those words, was right," Ms Gillard told reporters.

"Mr Abbott is not interested in economics and that explains why he's got no economic
plan for the country's future, other than cutting schools, cutting hospitals, bringing
back Work Choices and putting a tax on groceries."

Mr Costello also sought on Monday to correct other criticisms he has previously made
of Mr Abbott, including calling his paid parental leave scheme "silly".

He said Mr Abbott's revamped policy now had his support because it had "fixed the tax
position" and no longer required a company tax increase.

"Let me make it clear, the person in this election who I endorse on economic management
is Tony Abbott," he said.

"The person who has no credibility on the economy in this election is Julia Gillard."

AAP kn/pmu/was/apm

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