Joe Hockey can't commit Coalition to budget surplus Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says the Coalition can not commit to a budget surplus. THE coalition can't commit to returning the federal budget to surplus in its first term because it can't rely on the government's figures, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey says. Treasurer Wayne Swan on Sunday revealed budget revenue had taken a $7.5 billion "sledgehammer" hit because of a high dollar and lower terms of trade. Mr Hockey says that amount represents less than two per cent of revenue, showing Mr Swan is "adjusting numbers to suit his political spin," making it difficult for the coalition to base any promises on them. "He releases what he thinks is a revenue number but he doesn't talk about expenditure, how much more they might have spent than they were expecting or how much they're going to spend between now and the end of the financial year," Mr Hockey told 6PR talkback radio in Perth today. Mr Hockey said the only credible numbers he would count on would be from the departments of treasury and finance in the first week of the election campaign. But for now, he said the coalition could not make firm promises about a budget surplus, despite promising in January that a surplus would be achieved in the first year of a Liberal-led government and every year after that. "We can only go on the information that's available," Mr Hockey said. And everyone's saying 'c'mon Joe, c'mon Tony, tell us what the numbers are going to be in four years time'. I don't know what the numbers are now. I'm not so much of a mug to put in a blind offer and have the vendor lie about the books for the past five years. Mr Hockey will meet with West Australian Premier Colin Barnett later on Monday and denied a secret GST deal was afoot. Today, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the federal government has a problem with spending rather than revenues, predicting budget deficits stretching out "as far as the eye can see." Mr Abbott said revenues were $70 billion higher than in the last year of the Howard coalition government, while expenditure was $100 billion higher. "We certainly have a big budgetary problem," Mr Abbott told reporters in Perth. This is a government that can't keep its spending under control. "What we need is a government which gets expenditure under control ... under this government there are deficits stretching out as far as the eye can see," Mr Abbott said. We can't wave a magic wand and solve all the problems that this bad government has created overnight, but surpluses are in our DNA. He reeled off a number of initiatives proposed by the coalition, including stopping asylum seeker boats, which currently cost taxpayers $6.5 billion of "unnecessary spending." Mr Abbott reaffirmed the coalition would scrap the school kids bonus and "slim" the public service, and said its version of the national broadbank network was $60 billion cheaper. He also said there would be a modest reduction in company tax, although the precise amount and timing would be revealed closer to the election. The coalition would stick with its version of the paid parental leave scheme, funded by a modest levy on larger businesses.