11 Dec 2010

Public needs to assess honesty of Govt - Abbott

6:23 am on 11 December 2010

Australian Federal Opposition leader Tony Abbott says it is up to the Australian public to decide whether the Government is giving honest assessments of its international dealings.

The latest batch of secret diplomatic cables issued by WikiLeaks reveal that China pressured Australia to water down part of a Defence White Paper.

Both governments said at the time they were not worried about the defence plan.

Mr Abbott says governments should deal honestly with the public.