Budget to delay timing of election: Abbott Tony Abbott expects problems over the budget could delay the government calling an election. OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott expects the government to delay the timing of the federal election because of a "cabinet crisis" over the budget. Treasurer Chris Bowen is currently putting together an economic statement to update the May budget, although he has promised to stick to the timetable of a balanced budget in 2015/16 and a surplus in 2016/17. But Mr Abbott says you can't trust Labor's numbers. "Figures from this government have never turned out to be true, never, never, never, starting from their very first budget," he told reporters in Launceston on Friday. He said a coalition government would return to surplus as quickly as possible, but at this stage it didn't know the budget situation it would inherit. "Right now there is apparently a split in the cabinet over the fundamental direction of economic policy, quite likely the election will be put off even further because this government cannot get its economic policy right," he said. There is a crisis in cabinet over economic policy. Mr Abbott said the coalition had a process for costing policies so that voters could be confident they were accurate and would be presented to the public "in good time before the election."