Within hours of his appointment as Tony Abbott’s new parliamentary secretary, Arthur Sinodinos launched into a broadside against Labor’s economic policy and its efforts to deliver a $1.5 billion surplus in 2012-2013. Senator Sinodinos has taken up the position of Mr Abbott’s parliamentary secretary from hard-right conservative, Senator Cory Bernardi, who was forced to resign this week after linking same-sex marriage to bestiality. Senator Sinodinos told reporters that the economy will be the “number one issue” at the next election. “We could be headed for a situation where this next mid-year review is one of the most compromised we’ve seen, because they will be doing everything they can to maintain the artifice of a wafer-thin budget surplus,” he said. Sinodinos told The Australian that falling commodity prices combined with new government spending commitments meant that the quality of Labor’s cuts would come under intense pressure. He also indicated a plan to combat Labor’s attempt to frame the debate on disparaging Mr Abbott’s character, saying that it was important that people should remember that Mr Abbott was a Rhodes scholar, and had been a surf lifesaver and a fire-fighter. Senator Sinodinos said Julia Gillard’s broken promise over the carbon tax would continue to influence voters at the next election. “We have to keep the government accountable,” he said. “What the public are concerned about at the moment is the cost of living.” Sinodinos, who served as chief of staff to former Prime Minister John Howard, will add gravitas to the Coalition’s economic line-up. With experience as a senior Treasury economist, he is currently chairman of the Coalition’s Deregulation Review Taskforce, established to reduce unnecessary regulation and ‘red tape’ affecting economic growth. Senator Sinodinos will continue overseeing the taskforce. On his appointment, Mr Abbott described Senator Sinodinos as an “outstanding” staffer for the Howard government and predicted his speedy advancement as part of the Coalition’s parliamentary team. “He has now taken the first of what I imagine will be quite a few steps up the parliamentary ladder,” Mr Abbott said.