Does Tony Abbott need to rebuild the front bench?

TONY Abbott says he needs to scrape a few barnacles off his boat before the new year. He might be better to replace much of the hull.

PM Tony Abbott reacts during Question Time today in the House of Representatives, Federal Parliament, Canberra.

ANALYSIS

TONY Abbott has more than a few barnacles to scrape off before year’s end. He might be better to replace much of the hull of the ship of government.

And increasingly it is obvious the Budget has to be relaunched because the one he and Treasurer Joe Hockey set out on seven months ago just won’t float.

Yesterday, for example, Health Minister Peter Dutton farewelled any chances the Budget’s $7 Medicare co-payment being approved this year and it now must be doubtful it will start on schedule next July.

Health Minister Peter Dutton has been trying to sell the $7 GP co-payment.

This means the Budget’s proposed $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund looks like being unfunded.

Sue Dunlevy has reported the Government investigated bypassing legislation it knew it would fail by introducing the $7 payment by regulation, but dropped the idea.

It is having enough trouble defending a petrol excise rise introduced by regulation.

The Prime Minister yesterday told jittery Coalition backbenchers he wanted to remove “one or two barnacles off the ship” before Christmas.

It’s a term Arthur Sinodinos, now a senator, used when he was senior adviser to Prime Minister John Howard and the Government wasn’t in smooth sailing. It’s a warning that policies and personnel are about to be keelhauled.

The Government has problems winning acceptance of university funding changes and an overhaul of how age pensions are increased, and backbench resistance continues to the Prime Minister’s paid parental leave scheme.

Joe Hockey has had a tough first year as the Federal Treasurer.

Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey will also have to deal with a midyear progress report on the economy, to be released early next month, which will show the Budget’s spending and revenue projections were a long way from reality.

The Government can’t win on those matters this year but there are some political problems which can be resolved — although at a cost.

Yesterday Mr Abbott tossed out the prospect of an increase in the stingy pay rise given to Defence forces: “As always, we are keeping these matters under close review,” he told Parliament.

If the 1.5 per cent pay increase is bettered, Mr Abbott will be accused of pandering to independent Jacqui Lambie to get her Senate support. Senator Lambie wants to talk to the Prime Minister about the issue and would be grateful for a victory on it.

Tony Abbott has made performance reviews of his senior colleagues and might now act on them.

Defence Minister David Johnston might come under scrutiny after yesterday telling the Senate he would not trust the Australian Submarine Corporation, custodians of our underwater fleet, with “building a canoe”.

A reshuffle is unlikely, although the coming summer holiday period is a good time to slip one in while voters are thinking beach fun and not front benches.

Mr Abbott will have to make a decision about Senator Sinodinos, who stood aside after figuring in a NSW ICAC hearing. No accusations have been made against him and none are expected, but his reputation as an efficient manager was dented by the inquiry.

So far it seems unlikely he will return as Assistant Treasurer.

Does Tony Abbott still have Arthur Sinodinos’s back?

Then there is the big job and its occupant.

A significant number of voters have not liked Tony Abbott even if they helped him become Prime Minister at the last election. Opinion surveys show that antipathy has increased over the past 12 months.

This week he further tempted voter faith with the charade of pretending he hadn’t said on election eve there would be no cuts to ABC and SBS funding.

Of course he had and he finally acknowledged this to Parliament yesterday. Mr Abbott then attacked the integrity of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

So after admitting he had betrayed an election promise, Mr Abbott questioned the trustworthiness of his opponent.

The ABC has been a stretch of quicksand for the truth and Mr Abbott.

In 2003 he made a false statement about a court action against One Nation on the broadcaster and when found out said misleading the ABC wasn’t the same as misleading Parliament.

And in 2010 he made this extraordinary statement to an ABC interviewer after acknowledging he’d not told the truth on tax policy: “I know politicians are going to be judged on everything they say but sometimes in the heat of discussion you go a little bit further than you would if it was an absolutely calm, considered, prepared, scripted remark.

“The statements that need to be taken absolutely as gospel truth are those carefully prepared scripted remarks.”

There is no likelihood of Mr Abbott’s leadership being challenged, but difficulties related to his own performance form one of those barnacles the Government would like to see removed.