Treasurer Wayne Swan on Thursday announced falling tax revenues due to a high Australian dollar and global economic uncertainty means it's "unlikely" the $1.1 billion surplus for 2012/13 could be deliver.
"What this demonstrates is you just can't trust this government to manage the economy and you just can't trust this government to tell the truth," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney.
He also said the government had made a "political" decision to announce the "betrayal of a fundamental commitment" before the Christmas break.
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Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey said he was "sad" to have been vindicated in his insistence that the surplus would not be delivered.
"They set the benchmark, there was no qualification," he said. "In the lead-up to the 2010 election the government said on numerous occasions that it was going to deliver this surplus in 2012/13."
Mr Hockey said it is "not in the Labor party's DNA to live within their means".
"Taking out the garbage five minutes before Christmas is the way the Labor party operates," he said.
"They are treating the Australian people with contempt."
