You don't know what you are talking about Alan. Under any other government Australia would be enjoying more prosperity without a massive debt of over 1/4 trillion, which is entirely a product of Labour's mismanagement.

The NBN is a failure; the ABC is a tainted shadow of its former self, as are the CSIRO and BOM. Policies reflecting the lie of AGW and pernicious ideology of the Greens are weakening Australia's great resource advantages.

Labour bungled a fairer distribution of the wealth from the mining boom while similtaneously increasing Sovereign risk.

The Finkelstein and Roxon inroads into freedom of expression could only have come from a political perspective which is inherently despotic.

The inability of this government to control its borders not only weakens this nation and causes great expense and social dislocation but is directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people and the enlargement of international criminal gangs.

It's leader is a liar.

This government is terminally incompetent and I believe motivated by a scorn for the Australian population.

Hi again Individual and Cohenite,

Agree with you, Anthony, on the ABC. Not sure about the climate matters. Not my area.

But on economic performance where I do access all the data and a range of opinions from around the world, it seems your comments are not really supported by any evidence at all.

So how did you go with the quiz, above, Anthony?

Meanwhile, here are two more:

6. According to Barry Jones, Canada fared second best in the world through the global financial crisis. Godzone Country fared best.

On how many of these 20 indicators are Canadians now faring better than Australians?

1. economic growth
2. gross national income per person
3. unemployment rate
4. debt as a % of GDP
5. current account as a % of GDP
6. balance of trade now
7. balance of trade recent history
8. international credit rating
9. tax rates
10. interest rates
11. productivity
12. household savings
13. retail sales growth rate
14. superannuation
15. economic freedom
16. government 10 year bond rate
17. value of the local currency relative to other currencies
18. foreign exchange reserves
19. home ownership
20. overall quality of life

(a) Only half - 10 of the 20
(b) A quarter – only five
(c) One
(d) None

7. Which prestigious international news journal has this week lauded the latest data on Australia’s remarkable economic growth?

The article highlighted the impressive GDP figures, the recent lift in exports, record income per person and this week's stock market surge:

(a) The Wall Street Journal
(b) La Tribune
(c) Der Spiegel
(d) The Washington Post
(e) The Huffington Post
(f) Reuters International
(g) Bloomberg.com
(h) all of the above

Cheers, AA

Alan Austin,
My CEO would be very impressed with your data but then again he is one of those who have diplomas from you know where to breakfast & he is running the show into the ground but he insists things are better than ever.
You mention Barry Jones, how well were things when he was a minister ? Not very good at all eh ? Why keep bringing up failures as reference anyhow ?
It's no good using collective figures because they don't show the inconvenient truths of how hard many people are doing it in the lucky country.
just look at those mining boom Towns at present. There's more money than you can poke a stick at whilst the local community is breaking up due to zilch economy.
Is that so great ?

Hi again Individual,

Yes, things were grim when Barry Jones became a minister in the Hawke Government. I remember.

Australia is vastly different now – improved overwhelmingly. Pretty sure history will credit that particular government for most of the reforms. We shall see.

Re “It's no good using collective figures because they don't show the inconvenient truths of how hard many people are doing it in the lucky country.”

Hmmm. Yes and no, Indi. Figures do show the numbers of people unemployed, who have stopped looking for work, are in poverty and on benefits. Those we can quantify fairly accurately. And we can quantify the actual dollars pensioners, the unemployed and the working poor must survive on.

But that does not show the actual human misery many people endure. True.

The article, above, seeks to show that in comparative terms not all governments have been the same in managing the economy and looking after the poor.

All the objective evidence suggests that periods of Coalition government have been times of higher taxes, lower income, lower rates of income growth, higher unemployment, more poverty, less business freedom and so on.

The fact this is not widely known in Australia isn't difficult to explain.

So have a shot at this question, Indi:

8. This follows #7 regarding international journals praising Australia’s remarkable economy this week.

The story is that Australia – alone in the world – has registered quarterly GDP growth at above .5 per cent for seven consecutive quarters. Annual growth for 21 consecutive years.

The latest number was .6 for the December 2012 quarter. Almost as good as the .7 for the September quarter. Same as the .6 for the June quarter. All exceeded predictions and were way ahead of comparable nations.

Which of the following headlines was written by a Murdoch editor in Australia:

(a) Australia Expands at Fastest Pace Since 2007 on Exports
(b) Australian Quarterly G.D.P. Beats Expectations
(c) Australia Has Now Gone 21 Years Without A Recession
(d) Economic growth slows in December quarter
(f) Australian Dollar up on Strength in Shares, Solid 4Q GDP

Alan Austin,
I don't have the access to the files which hold the real information. All I can go by what I witness around me everyday. It appears to me that a large percentage of the GDP is not in fact produced on australian soil with the revenue going to australian workers. Instead, much of it actually goes to Asian seat shops. Whenever I walk through a Mall in cairns all I see is made in China etc. on all the souvenirs, hardly ever do I see made in Australia. Yes, some of the GDP figures look good on the financial report forms but it might be of interest to compare these great figures with the figures of our pensioners & many essential services. Just because young Master Packer is doing well does not translate into Mr & Mrs Average doing well. I think a lot of these reports are published by the mismanagers as a smoke screen to hide inconvenient facts.

Alan Austin,

Good luck to you; your articles get a lot of reads.

However, for a guy so smug with your attitude in response to people's comments, and your selective use of data with little regard to what is really happening in Australia, you don't really know that much. At least, that is my opinion.

I wont even have a quick gig of your articles again; almost a complete waste of time as your bias is never a good approach to public policy inquiry