Alan,

Federal tax revenue in Australia is $330bn, and a swing in revenue figures from $7bn to $17bn in TWO weeks is about 3% of total revenue which is not common among people that know what they are talking about, and certainly didn't come from treasury. In business it would get the CEO and CFO fired.

What happened is Wayn Swan lied about expected revenue increase forecasts for 2013 being 12% when it was not the expected increase, but the upper end of possible revenue outcomes, only a 7.5% increase, he lies and claims that treasury got it wrong, when in reality the lower figure was also within the band of expected revenue.

Whine Swan is not smart enough to get away with the con job that is the budget. It is not surprising that his last budget produced gales of laughter.

Lets have a debate on the economy but lets make
sure we stick to the facts and not the beat-ups in
the tabloid press misrepresenting Australia's
modest debt. The fact is Australia's net debt is
dramatically lower then the net debt levels of
every sinlge major advanced economy. Labor made a
choice to support local jobs during the Global
Financial Crisis, a choice many countries around the
world didn't, or couldn't make. They will be paying a
very high price for many years.

The Australian economy has grown by 9 per cent since
the onset of the GFC. Our unemployment rate was only
5.5 per cent last year and is not expected to rise
above 6 per cent. Yes we're running a deficit - but
its a tiny one - $18 billion in underlying cash terms.
Our deficit is only 1.1 per cent of our gross domestic
product. By the time the budget returns to surplus sometime
in the next few years Australians will have a government
debt of only 11 per cent of GDP.

A negligible figure by any sensible judgement.

Anyway you look at it, ordinary Australians are doing okay
under this government. Nearly a million jobs have been created.
Inequality has steadied, perhaps even fallen. Standards of
living have kept rising. Interest rates are at record lows.

The fact that some people can't see this is a massive
indictment of their judgement and the power of big media,
big business, and big money.

Lexi,

Whine Swan and Juliar promised 500 times to deliver a surplus this year, now we are getting a deficit of about $19.4bn which is about 6% of annual federal tax revenue, which is a hell of a lot.

The federal deficit was less than zero in 2007 and is now about 50% of annual federal revenue.

Lexi, "ordinary Australians are doing okay under this government"

I am certain that ordinary Australians are not doing as well as previously.

As part of voluntary work, I keep the yards and do some minor maintenance for some elderly people. It is very hard not to choke up when informed, as I was just yesterday by a very dear and fiercely independent elderly lady that she would not be insuring her home any more. Just a matter of fact statement over a cup of tea (I make an excuse to bring some milk and fruit cake to leave) and she wasn't seeking sympathy. Yet her own mother could afford to live in her own home until the very last.

Meanwhile on the news, Gillard is proposing that the elderly sell their homes to 'downsize'. The insinuation is that they 'sit' on expensive real estate in homes that are too big for them. Their homes are their memories and are worth nothing where they want to keep them. Most elderly don't last long after being wrenched from that. Maybe that is the idea.

Labor has been busy stealing children's & grand-children's money to buy votes; vanity projects (school laptops, NBN), cruelly non funded NDIS and in fact everything they have touched.
Maybe we need a referendum requiring all pollies to have worked in a real job first to prove they know where money really comes from and to have children so they have a long term perspective (most readily worry as far as grand kids).

Lexi, you keep referring, time and time again, about what great shape we are in, yet you have also failed to acknowledge, time and time again, what FANTASITC SHAPE we were in before labor's wastefest.

Care to debate this point, THIS TIME!