EMMA ALBERICI, PRESENTER: If we learnt anything from Tony Abbott's budget reply speech, it's that there'll be no small target strategy from the Coalition as it heads into September's election.

Today the government took aim at some of the bulls-eyes presented by the Opposition leader accusing him of ripping billions out of the retirement incomes of low paid workers and secretly planning to increase the GST.

And Tony Abbott's speech had one other affect on the government, it prompted bitter Labor enemies to put on a show of unity.

Political correspondent Tom Iggulden has more from Canberra.

TOM IGGULDEN, REPORTER: In better times, the old Nambour High school mates used to hang out together but that was before Wayne Swan helped depose Kevin Rudd as prime minister. Now, a rare public appearance together.

KEVIN RUDD, LABOR MP: Welcome to the electorate.

WAYNE SWAN, TREASURER: Good to be here.

TOM IGGULDEN: With Anthony Albanese also present to keep things civil.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LABOR MP: I'll turn now to Kevin Rudd, the Member for Griffith.

KEVIN RUDD: Thank you minister, thank you Treasurer. The big difference between us and the other mob is this, we build things up, they tear them down.

TOM IGGULDEN: Journalists wondered out loud whether that phrase - "tear them down" - was an accident.

REPORTER: You said last year in a statement that Mr Rudd sought to tear down the 2010 campaign deliberately risking an Abbott prime ministership and now undermines the government at every turn. Is that still the case?

WAYNE SWAN: I'm not going back to discuss all of those issues, they're in the past.

TOM IGGULDEN: The present issue is Tony Abbott and his budget reply speech.

WAYNE SWAN: Which is don't tell the people of Australia what you're really going to do with your secret savage cuts.

TOM IGGULDEN: And an appearance of unity.

WAYNE SWAN: Well, Kevin's the local member and I'm a local member here too, and what we never forget is where we come from. And we come from this city.

TOM IGGULDEN: But with the job done, there wasn't quite time for goodbyes for everyone.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: See ya mate.

TOM IGGULDEN: Meanwhile the alternative prime minister was busy selling his alternate budget.

TONY ABBOTT, OPPOSITION LEADER: I think the budget is in much better shape under us than under this current government.

TOM IGGULDEN: The election is shaping up as a battle of the budget cuts.

JULIA GILLARD, PRIME MINISTER: We have made responsible savings in order to fund great Labor priorities.

TOM IGGULDEN: Having demanded Tony Abbott outline his cuts, the government's now criticising him for taking theirs.

JULIA GILLARD: Mr Abbott is not only saying he will take those responsible savings, but he will go so much further, first in his sights, smash people's superannuation..

BILL SHORTEN, EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS MINISTER: He's going to delay your super if not cancel it, and that's going to cost you $20,000... and he says, and then he says in this sort of... the guy is the David Copperfield, the magician of politics, he's pulling more budget rabbits out of more hats and it doesn't stack up.

REPORTER: What's your response to Labor's claim that last night was an attack on low income earners?

TONY ABBOTT: Look, I think that's just a shrill overreaction from a desperate government.

reporter: But aren't you taking away from those who can least afford it?

TOM IGGULDEN: But superannuation isn't the only new coalition policy for the government to take aim at.

BILL SHORTEN: The only good thing about last night is at last he's stopped being a small target.

TOM IGGULDEN: Labor's suspicious of Tony Abbott's plan to order a whitepaper on the tax system.

JULIA GILLARD: The Leader of the Opposition is leaving on the table consideration of increasing the rate of the GST.

TONY ABBOTT: We have no plans to change the GST, we don't intend to change the GST. Anyone who wanted to change the GST, and that wouldn't be us, would have to get the agreement of every single state and territory tax.

TOM IGGULDEN: The government says not so, an amendment to the GST legislation could in theory give Canberra sole power to raise the tax.

And late today another argument broke out after the Foreign Minister Bob Carr announced that Steve Bracks the former Labor premier was to be Australia's new Consul General in New York, the Opposition says the appointment was made in bad faith and it's threatening to send someone else to the Big Apple if it wins power.

Tom Iggulden, Lateline.