Cuts to health or lies? It depends who you trust Prime Minister Kevin Rudd enjoys a sausage during a barbecue in Burpengary on the Sunshine Coast. In the sprawling gardens of a spacious family home in the north Brisbane seat of Longman, Kevin Rudd wolfed a snag clutched in a white serviette. Earlier, he had declared that he was preparing for tonight's leaders' debate with Tony Abbott by talking to "real people." But just an hour later here he stood, breaking bread in the home of former Labor councillor for Morton Shire Council Chris Whiting, surrounded by Labor supporters, in a barbecue held for the media. Also there was Longman candidate Michael Caisley, who spoke of the cost-of-living pressures faced by people in this area, with its driveways filled with two or more cars, caravans and boats. Longman was snatched from Labor's Jon Sullivan in 2010 by LNP wunderkind Wyatt Roy, who now holds it by a margin of just 1.9 per cent (in 2010 terms). But Labor wants it back. "The issues here are very clear," Mr Rudd said. It's whether we're out supporting better health and hospital services for the communities who live in the northern approach to Brisbane or whether we're going to see those cut, cut and cut to pieces. "Cut, cut and cut," of course, is what Mr Rudd would have us believe Mr Abbott would do to health, education and jobs in his relentless pursuit of his (by Australian standards) generous paid parental leave scheme. Team Rudd seized on Wednesday on reports that a Coalition government would raise just $2.2 billion a year of the $5.5 billion annual PPL cost from its levies on big businesses. The scheme would also deny tax credits to shareholders of the 3200 big businesses hit with a 1.5 per cent levy, raising between $1.6 and $1.7 billion. Mr Rudd says that with just 40 per cent of the money needed to fund the scheme when it is fully operational accounted for, it's a safe bet a Coalition government would rip the rest from health, education and jobs. "[It is] unaffordable, unfair and increasingly seen to be economically irresponsible," Mr Rudd said. Sharpening his attacks on the Coalition in preparation for tonight's "people's forum" with Mr Abbott at the Bronco's Leagues Club in Brisbane, Mr Rudd held fast to his claim that the Coalition is preparing to make $70 billion in cuts, despite Fairfax's PolitiFacts (and the ABC's fact-checking unit) recently marking the claim as false. He told health workers at a Medicare Local office in Yvette D'Arth's Petrie electorate on Wednesday morning that an Abbott government would cut all 3000 Medicare Local workers, and only Labor could be trusted to support the health and education sectors. Why, look at Campbell Newman's cuts to health and education in Queensland, he said. Look at Victoria's Kennett government, which closed 300 schools and sacked 9000 teachers. And if you need more proof, he said, look at Western Australian premier Colin Barnett's announcement on Tuesday that 500 education workers would be sacked. So all these things come around, frankly, a question of priorities of who gets hit, who gets hurt, by what I believe to be an unfair, unaffordable, and economically responsible (he meant irresponsible) policy for all Australians. In the end, it all comes down to a matter of trust.