Sussan Ley has sought to reassure people on welfare that her push to reduce dependency on government support wasn’t “targeting” them, after Treasurer Jim Chalmers accused her of pandering to “cookers and crackpots.”

The Opposition Leader pledged the Coalition would audit all government programs to test every dollar for whether it was delivering results and reflected the core responsibilities of government, as part of a bid to find savings and restore a balanced or surplus budget.

She also flagged more was needed to rein in the NDIS, which is one of the fastest-growing parts of the budget.

“There will be tough calls ahead. Programs cannot keep growing at 10 per cent a year,” Ms Ley told a Committee for the Economic Development of Australia event on Wednesday.

“Australians deserve to hea

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