Abbott cold on budget ad campaign

The first coalition joint party room meeting since the budget has heard that voters would take a dim view to an advertising campaign.

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(AAP)

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has talked down the idea of a taxpayer-funded information campaign to sell the budget.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told reporters the government had a responsiblity to ensure people were aware of how the changes would impact them.

"What we have to do though, and what is our responsibility to do, is to ensure that people across the community who are impacted by changes in the Budget are fully aware of how those changes will impact them," he said.

Mr Abbott told a coalition joint party room meeting later that the government had no plans for a campaign to sell the budget.

It was a budget for "difficult times" and the public would think it wrong to spend money on advertising.

The first government party room meeting since the May 13 budget focused on how its tough measures were being pitched to the public.

Opinion polls show many sections of the community believe the budget cuts are too deep and will affect the cost of living.

It has also led to Labor taking a lead of up to 11 points in two-party terms over the coalition.

Two MPs told the meeting their constituents were worried about the future of bulk-billing after the introduction of the $7 Medicare co-payment.

Health Minister Peter Dutton urged colleagues to emphasise that Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme were secure under the Abbott government.

Another MP told the two-hour meeting the government needed to be careful about the politics of any future change to the pension age.

Mr Abbott said he had received some positive feedback during a visit to a McDonald's restaurant in western Sydney last week.

"The public know that Labor blows the dough and the coalition steadies the ship," he said.

He reassured coalition MPs that voters would be clear in 2016, the year the next election is due, that the Australian economy would be in a "stronger place".

Treasurer Joe Hockey told the meeting the coalition would not "flinch" and was delivering predictability, certainty and stability.

The meeting approved a raft of budget-related bills including the return of indexed fuel tax hikes and a new fund to put money from the sale of state-owned assets into roads and rail projects.



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