Protesters rally against ABC budget cuts outside Parliament House on Tuesday. Credit:Andrew Meares But two other sources were more favourable and said the Prime Minister didn't slap down Mr Laundy. Mr Laundy, who could not be reached for comment, is said to have told the Prime Minister he was willing to go out and argue the case in his marginal Sydney seat and was prepared to lose it for the right causes. But the Member for Reid urged the Prime Minister to stop pretending the government had not clearly pledged the night before the election not to cut the ABC's funding. Mr Abbott told SBS on the night before last year's election there would be "no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no chance to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS" if the Coalition was elected to government.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Tuesday morning. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen In question time on Tuesday, Labor seized on the government's refusal to acknowledge the pledge and asked Mr Abbott: "Prime Minister, no-one will own up to making that statement. Does the Prime Minister have any idea who said it?" Mr Abbott said "of course I made that statement" and under pressure compared his promise to former Labor treasurer Wayne Swan who consistently promised a budget surplus he never delivered. Craig Laundy on the campaign trail in west Sydney with Joe Hockey last year. Credit:Louise Kennerley Earlier on Tuesday about 300 protesters rallied on the lawns in front of Parliament House against the cuts.

Lisa Robins, an environmental consultant from Canberra, waved a banner reading "Two-faced Tony" and 'Hands off Bush Tele" in defence of the ABC's national rural radio program Bush Telegraph, which was named among the programs to be chopped. "I fear for free speech in Australia and for where our democracy is heading," Dr Robins said. "Tony Abbott was always having a go at Julia Gillard, [saying] who is the real Julia Gillard. Well, who is the real Tony?" "I work in the natural resource management sphere and Bush Telegraph is one of the best pathways we have for communicating what's happening in rural Australia." The opposition's communications spokesman Jason Clare addressed the demonstration and said voters detested politicians lying about lies.

He led a recital of Tony Abbott's infamous pledge that there would be no cuts to the ABC or SBS if elected. "No ifs, no buts, no ABC cuts," the protesters chanted. Mr Clare also mocked the government frontbench by apologising for their absence at the rally. "I have a few apologies I have to give. The first is Christopher Pyne," Mr Clare said. "Christopher says he is busy.

"He is reading all the comments that have been made on his petition. Mr Pyne launched a petition Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, who was called upon but has not committed to Labor restoring the funds in full if elected, told the rally Mr Abbott had "made himself a bigger man than he is" through his regular attacks on lies in politics while he was in opposition". "Never has a politician in modern history pinned so much of his own character to the issue of not telling lies in politics," Mr Shorten said. "He was merciless in opposition. He made himself a bigger man than he is by saying he would be different.

"Now, what we have is this attack on the ABC. It is not just an attack on an Australian institution, it shows you that this PM has no commitment to keeping his promise with Australian democracy." Mr Shorten said the cuts amounted to the effective censorship of independent broadcasting in Australia. Loading The CPSU, which represents ABC staff, called on the government to release the efficiency review into the ABC on which the further funding cuts are based and vowed to "go hard" against management. Follow us on Twitter