Who will want to buy a second rate NBN, stupid ideas from stupid people, buying back Telstra, after Howard sold it . There is something about that, does not make sense.

Abbott should have never been made PM. All it has done is stack another 80 billion on debt in 16 months.

If you don’t have trust in your PM nothing is going to work. Probably the worst 16 months in Australia’s history. Turnbull is making a run, so at least that sounds more positive.

Some thing that hasn't been mentioned so far, and which Graham probably intentionally omitted, is that Queensland's unemployment rate in December 2014 was 6.9%, the second highest in Australia, and the highest since 2004 (a period which included the GFC).

This is one of Newman's achievements which should be remembered by all.

Godo, governments can't simply increase public service numbers just to make the figures look good. While I agree that Neman went in to hard, too quick, the fact is despite the cutting of some 14000 PS jobs, most councils are still broke, so where would they, or we as a state for that matter be had the cuts not occurred. Most councils have gone to contractors due to inefficiencies in the public service. It's pointless creating jobs if the work doesn't still get done.

The budget problems both state and federal are about revenue, not overspending!

How can we be overspending when welfare and services are already rock-bottom for a wealthy first-world country?

Demand is increasing certainly, and will continue to increase, but this is due to growing and aging populations. The problem is not going away and cutting spending/paying down debt can thus only mean cutting living standards for those who don't live the middle/upper-middle-class dream.
A large percentage of the population will always be debarred from attaining "prosperity", not because they're slackers as the neo-liberals like to assert, but because the system precludes anything even approaching the dream of prosperity for all. Most of the economic pie is wolfed down by the wealthy and there simply isn't enough left to go around.
Abbott is quite right to repeat that our national debt amounts to stealing from the future. But the thieves are the ones living high on the hog!
The same ones who want cuts and austerity!
None of which is going to affect them!
They have their private schools and hospitals and their brilliant superannuation schemes and all the other perks, while they minimise (euphemism for evade) their already low tax bills--complaining all the while!
So who's stealing from the future?
Apparently it's the poor, those wholly or partly dependent on medicare and welfare. Their 1% of the pie has to be cut back!
So we have co-payments, cuts in welfare and premiums and interest rates placed on higher education, along with any other sneaky added costs the libs can hit us with.
But no tax hikes. They brag about no new taxes, while spewing their nonsense about disincentives and 'fairness'--the bloody gall!

Surely we have to accept that with a growing and aging population, costs are going to go up if any dignity is to be maintained.
It's not about cuts. It's about sharing the wealth!

'They have their private schools and hospitals and their brilliant superannuation schemes and all the other perks, while they minimise (euphemism for evade) their already low tax bills--complaining all the while!
So who's stealing from the future?'

u r of course referring to Public servants, teachers, nurses, abc presenters (on obsecence salaries), unionist (on obscence salaries wile still needing to steal) and others on the public purse Squeers. Those sending kids to a private school are contributing to costs in taxes and fees unlike those sucking on the public system wholly.

runner,
I am talking about the top tier first. Those you mention needn't pay much more personal tax. The wealth is not shared remotely evenly and neither should the tax burden be. Why the hell should millionaires and billionaires pay the same rate as the rest?
The GST rate should be increased, though the base remain the same, but progressive taxation should be introduced. This is the only way, not cuts, that we can remain a first world country (completely unsustainable but that's another subject).