AAP
Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's new campaign blueprint appears to backpedal on delivering a budget surplus within 12 months if he wins government.
Mr Abbott will launch the coalition's mini-election campaign on Sunday with a speech in Sydney and a series of television advertisements.
The 50-page photo-rich glossy policy document, Our Plan: Real Solutions for all Australians, has dumped references in previous documents to deliver a surplus "within 12 months".
It says "we will get the budget under control" but it does not mention a time frame.
"We will immediately establish a Commission of Audit to identify savings and efficiencies in all areas of government, so we can reduce government debt," it says.
The document also pledges cuts to the public service.
"Reducing the size of the bloated commonwealth payroll, with a focus on natural attrition, to bring it closer to its size at the close of the Howard government."
The document says the coalition will build a "five pillar economy" by boosting manufacturing, agriculture exports, advanced services, education and mining.
It will also pledge to create two million new jobs within a decade.
The document says the coalition will work with state and territories to "encourage state schools to choose to become independent schools, providing simpler budgeting and resources allocation and more autonomy in decision making".
The blueprint continues the opposition's tough talk on asylum seeker boats and border security.
"We will establish presumption against refugee status for people who arrive on boats without identity papers," it says.
Late last year, federal Treasurer Wayne Swan conceded it would be "unlikely" that Labor could honour its promise to bring the budget back into the black in 2012/13 because jobs and economic growth would be at risk if the government pursued further budget cuts.
The federal election is expected to be held in the second half of 2013, with most pundits preferring a polling day in August or October.
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