Promise is downloadable in leadup to budget as a ringing endorsement of PM’s ‘commitment’, says creator

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The prime minister’s pre-election pledge not to cut spending on education, health, pensions or Australia’s public broadcasters is now available as a ringtone.



Before last year’s federal election, Tony Abbott assured voters there would be “no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no changes to pensions, no change to the GST, and no cuts to the ABC or SBS”.

A Sydney public relations agency, Manic Studios, has turned the quote into a ringtone for voters keen to keep the prime minister’s promise front of mind ahead of May’s federal budget.

Reports suggest the Coalition might seek to raise the pension age and impose an efficiency dividend on the ABC and SBS in the name of repairing the $47bn budget deficit.

Also available for download is a recording of Abbott’s search for “lady members of the delegation” to join a photo-op during his recent tour of Asia.

Producer Daniel Stone is behind the idea, which he says is intended to honour the prime minister as “an incredible man of commitment”.

“With the previous government, there was so much mistrust, the accusations, the lies, and we thought, Tony is a man of his word and we should celebrate that,” he said.

This is not the first time a ringtone has been deployed to sell a political message. The Coalition has previously turned former prime minister Julia Gillard’s promise never to implement a carbon tax into a ringtone available on its website.

“We know Tony’s always loved using ringtones to make political points. And so, rather than be negative, we thought we’d do him a favour and take his message right out across the country,” Stone said.

The ringtones have been downloaded more than 3,000 times since their launch on Monday morning. They will soon be available on iTunes.