...People just fall in love with their comfort zones don't they! I laugh! Well old Tone and Joey are about to jerk you into gear...Beauty!

Most of the listed measures to eliminate Australia's debt are positive and well appreciated. Indeed, we should be out of this shameful debt as soon as possible and it should be unconstitutional to place the Australian people in debt ever again.

Yet, promises should not be broken: Abbott should resign and allow someone else to implement those same measures.

Well Tristan, you've finally proved Maggi wrong. She reckoned the problem with socialists was that sooner or later they ran out of other peoples money to spend.

She was right as far as she went, but you & your lot have found another way. You are going to spend the money of generations yet to be born, unless sensible people sit on your head & stop you.

No wonder we are in so much trouble, after having governments with the same attitude.

If this was the corpse of fair and equal treatment Tristan, then your piece would at least be anatomically correct!
And just enormously highlights the complete lack of imagination in the idea borrowing, control freak class?
All that is really required is to remove avoidance and consequently improve the budget bottom line, plus fair and equal treatment, is real reform!
If all that was required was a balanced budget, and a modest surplus!
Then to reiterate, quite monumental tax reform and massive simplification is the only real answer!
The longer it is delayed, the harder it will be to get it done!
The real problem for all Australians, is every time we vote, we get a politician; and a electoral campaign chock full of he said she said, and non core promises?
Is this all we deserve?
Reform may well be very hard, but only for those, I believe, whose real political maters, are not the voting electorate?
I would like to hear something from Bill Shorten, than how bad he thinks the Abbott government is!
I mean, just what would he do, to wind back debt, and improve the lot of the average Australian!?
It would make a nice change than just trying to improve his and Labor's electoral prospects, by continually bagging those who are trying to rein in debt!
Rhrosty.

Hasbeen: The point I made about staggering repayments of some debt across generations is based on equity and fairness. If we invest in school infrastructure or transport infrastructure today - our descendants might still be using some of that infrastructure in 30 years time. So surely there are some instances where debt repayment can be staggered over a longer term...

That said - there are arguments for lower debt. Currently debt servicing is in the vicinity of $9 billion a year - in the context of an economy valued around $1.6 Trillion. It's NOT an 'emergency' - but if we halved that and redirected the money saved into Aged Care - I wouldn't complain. So long as it's not paid for in a regressive way...

But still - our debt is not high by global standards. And again - there are arguments for paying for some infrastructure - 'over the longer term'.

And again: If not for the Howard Era tax cuts; And Rudd passing on Howard's proposed tax cuts for 2007 - The Budget would be in much better shape... Ditto for both Labor and the Conservatives maintaining superannuation concessions which cost $15 billion a year in order to line the pockets of millionaires....

BTW I make no pretence at 'impartial reporting'. I have an opinion on these issues and I'm not shying away from expressing it.

Though unusually for a Leftists I'm trying to suggest a dialogue with the Conservatives. Because conservatism in this country was not always obsessed with small government, user pays, regressive taxes - even privatisation...

This article isn't a history re-write. All we need is a continuation of labors excellent economic management. Don't we Trissy.

We'd not have to worry about anything then would we?

Mate the vast majority of us who voted for the liberal nat coalition government voted to change from the economic mismanagement we saw under Rudd and Gillard.

That you hark on about climate change policy but don't mention the carbon tax is staggering. But nowhere near the monumental stupidity of trying to force the monumental disaster and waste of the nbn down our throats.
I
We the voters rejected that.
We the voters rejected the progliferate spending and the balooning drbt.

Which paralled universe are you living in ?