Chris,

Will also add that when you say:

"Giving taxpayers cash away for the sake of votes doesn't wash mate."

I'm reduced to a laughing wreck...keeping in mind that we are talking about contemporary Australian politicians who pork-barrel as a matter of course.

Why else would Tones have spruiked ad nauseam before the election that he was ditching the carbon tax "but keeping the compensation"? if not to give taxpayer's cash away for the sake of votes?

Why keep the compensation if there's no carbon tax?

Sounds a bit irresponsible for the new fiscally responsible govt who, btw have just bequeathed (and intend to borrow) $8.8 billion dollars to the RBA for no good reason...(No wonder they lifted the debt ceiling by around $100 billion more than is forseeably required)

I think they might be charlatans - what say you?

Poirot,
Perhaps it is time for all you armchair critics to spell out exactly what you want any government to do together with where the money to do it should come from.

Chris,

I'll make one more comment off topic for the sake of explaining why I constantly deride this govt.

Do you remember before the election, the constant refrains of the LNP regarding the so-called "budget emergency"?

Apparently the Labor government (according to the then Opposition) had run up debt which had to be addressed at all costs.

Since the Coalition's election win, Joe Hockey has ignored the "budget emergency", talked up the AAA rating as the thing that really matters (something he conveniently ignored while in Opposition) and pronounced "We are in good shape."

On qanda tonight, the issue of Hockey's $200 billion hike in the debt ceiling was raised.

Guess what Christopher Pyne said?

He defended it by announcing that it would be jolly useful for paying for infrastructure promised by the LNP before the election.

So much for fiscal responsibility, etc...

Even though one shouldn't be surprised by pollies lying, we should question it when a government is elected on the strength of "blanket" misrepresentation of its intentions an agenda.

Poirot,
All very well but just what and how do you want to see happen, regardless of what side of the blanket you lie on.
What are the answers?

Chris,

Keeping in mind that we shouldn't persist in derailing this thread.

Last word.

I support a robust social democracy.