13 May 2014 Sharon Claydon has accused the Abbott Government of delivering a Budget of broken promises, cruel cuts and unfair increases in the cost of living.The people of Newcastle have every right to feel betrayed by this Budget based on a so-called Budget emergency, that simply doesnt exist, said Ms Claydon. Before the election the Prime Minister promised no cuts to health, no cuts to education, no changes to the pension and no cuts to the ABC. But this budget is built on more than $80 billion in cuts to schools and hospitals. Before the election the Prime Minister promised no new taxes and no tax increases. But this budget will do both and unfairly targets low and middle income families, Ms Claydon added. Families will have to pay a new tax every time they take a sick child to the doctor and another new tax on petrol every time they fill up the family car. We already pay more for petrol in Newcastle than on the Central Coast and in Sydney. Before the election, Tony Abbott, promised no changes to pensions. But this Budget cuts pensions by reducing indexation and starts the process of forcing Australians to work longer. This Budget makes it harder for everyone to make ends meet and its a shocking insight into this Governments twisted priorities.