The Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey admitted last night on ABC’s Lateline that the Department of Climate Change will be on the chopping block if the Coalition form government.

The Department of Climate Change is the third department to be publicly targeted by Mr Hockey. In July on the ABC’s QandA program, Mr Hockey admitted the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Treasury would come under the knife if the Coalition were elected [Q&A, 27 June 2011].

On Monday, Mr Hockey confessed:

The Department of Climate Change would be very high up the list for close scrutiny. [Lateline, 2 August 2011]

When asked by Lateline host, Tony Jones, whether a Coalition Government would consider disbanding the Department of Climate Change Mr Hockey confirmed:

Yep. [Lateline, 2 August 2011]

This latest admission further discredits Senator Humphries claim that no public servant would lose their job under a Coalition Government [Gary Humphries, media release, 1 April 2011].

Mr Hockey’s frank public disclosures prove local Canberrans cannot rely on Senator Humphries’s vain denials.

The Coalition are committed to a path to gut the Canberra public service and Senator Humphries needs to take a public stand against his party’s plans and defend local Canberrans.