Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott, who heads the conservative opposition coalition, said he would not allow the Treasury Department to analyse what impact his election promises would have on the national budget.
Abbott told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio said that he had "no confidence in integrity of process" within Treasury. But he said the independents were welcome to see calculations by a private accounting firm commissioned by his party.
"We will be completely frank and candid with the independents," said Abbott, adding that he had nothing to hide.
Independents Bob Katter, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott are likely to decide whether Abbott's coalition or caretaker Prime Minister Julia Gillard's Labor Party forms a government after weekend elections failed to give any party a majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives for the first time in 70 years.
The independents opened negotiations with the two leaders yesterday and presented each with wish lists. Their top demand is for details of how much the competing election promises would cost the nation in areas including telecommunications, health and education.
Katter said Abbott's "intransigence" in not allowing Treasury to audit opposition promises was a blunder.
Abbott did not mention his refusal during his nearly two-hour meeting with the independents, Katter said.
"If he looks so bad and has something to hide, it makes it much more difficult for us to give him the gong to become prime minister," Katter told ABC television.
Windsor said Abbott's stance was not a "deal breaker," but damaged his argument of offering more stable leadership.
"People will start to cast a doubt on whether people trust Tony Abbott if, in fact, he won't back his own promises up to independent scrutiny," Windsor told Fairfax Radio Network on Thursday.
Oakeshott could not be immediately contacted for comment.
Gillard said yesterday she was inclined to release what cost projections of Labor promises were available, and was seeking advice from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. But as caretaker prime minister, she would also need Abbott's authority to release such budget information.
But Abbott said he would not agree to alter the rules that caretaker governments must follow to allow confidential budget information to be released.
Treasury prepares detailed budget information before each election so that an incoming government will have an accurate picture of the nation's economic state. Abbott said altering those rules undermined Australia's political system, which is adapted from the British Westminster System.
"If the most confidential public service advice can be casually released just to help this government hang on to power, they are trashing the Westminster System in a desperate attempt to hold on to power," Abbott said.
The Australian Electoral Commission preliminary counts updated Wednesday found yesterday Labor and the coalition each held 71 seats, with more than 79 percent of the vote counted. Three seats were undecided.
