You’re overreaching here, John Mikkelsen.

You accuse Labor of lying, but a lot of the examples you give are more complicated than you present - and some points are a bit misleading.

On Medicare, yes, Labor plays it up - but Coalition governments have a long track record of freezing rebates and quietly undermining funding. Concerns about future cuts aren’t made up, even if Labor leans into them politically.

Your nuclear energy argument relies heavily on one report (Frontier Economics), but most modelling - including CSIRO’s GenCost report - still finds nuclear more expensive and much slower to deploy here. It’s not as black and white as you suggest.

Your personal experience with healthcare costs is real - but blaming Labor alone ignores the fact that out-of-pocket costs have been rising for well over a decade under both sides.

As for the debt, it’s simply wrong to imply Labor created the $1 trillion figure - the Coalition government was already responsible for it before the last election. Labor added to debt during the GFC, yes, but the explosion toward $1 trillion overwhelmingly happened under the Coalition.

Power bills have gone up, no question. But pretending it’s purely Labor’s fault when there’s been a global energy crisis is a bit convenient.

The Voice referendum didn’t cost $450 million either - it was around $364 million - and calling Labor’s management a path to "collapse into the abyss" feels more like emotional language than serious analysis.

There’s plenty to criticise Labor for - and fair criticisms matter more than exaggerated ones.

And yes, the Russia base situation and building tugboats in China are serious concerns. They deserve real scrutiny. But none of that changes the fact that much of your original article stretched things. Two bad decisions don’t turn every criticism into a fair one.

If we want better government, we need better arguments - not just louder ones.

I saw this summary online. Seems on the ball. Select your favourites—
Do voters have amnesia? Albanese Government report card --
Preference Greens...fail. Defence...fail. Tax unrealised capital gains...fail. Maintain Indonesia relationship...fail. Instant asset write off..fail. Home batteries for the rich...fail. Port of Darwin...fail. Vehicle emissions standards...fail.
Domestic batteries....fail. RepuTex modelling...fail. Gas reserves...fail. Tax reform...fail. Access to National Parks...fail. Debt reduction...fail. US Tariff exemptions...fail. Emergency messaging system...fail. Northwest gas field extension...fail. Bulk citizenship ceremonies...fail. Green Hydrogen..fail. Funding for hate preachers..fail, Stand up to China...fail. Voice Referendum…fail, Electricity prices...fail, Immigration...fail, Housing...fail. Productivety...fail, Border security...fail, Inflation and government spending...fail.
Student debts.... fail, Support for Jewish community…fail, Puberty blockers.fail, Green investments….fail, Funding UNWRA…fail, Interest rates.fail, Support for Israel.. fail, Foreign affairs. fail, UN representation. fail, Quantum computer.. fail, Hate speech suppression fail, Wage restraint..fail, Public sector 36,000 staff growth fail, Minerals exploration approvals..fail, Airline competition...fail, Super rules...fail, Industry bargaining..fail, Cashless debit card...fail, Afghanistan military medals...fail, Paid parental leave..fail, Deport criminals...fail, US and UK Ambassadors…..fail, Temporary protection visas...fail, EV subsidies..fail, PM travel..fail, Budget restraint...fail, Salmon farming...fail, Alliance with US...fail, Support for Alice Springs...fail. Support for Australia Day...fail.
NDIS overhaul...fail. Stage 3 tax cuts in full...fail. Live Sheep exports...fail. Aged care nursing....fail.

Hi Lytton, better tell John Daysh, there's more fails than you can poke a stick at and just on the nuclear plan alone which will cost nowhere near Labor's claimed $600 billion, it's also a fact that nuclear plants will last 80 years as opposed to so-called "renewables" which will all need replacing after about 20 years as we have seen recently with the closure of Victoria's first "wind farm" after just 20 years. Now we see even the UK's Starmer embracing nuclear energy let alone the other G20 countries who realise it's cheaper, cleaner and more reliable than an unworkable system based on wind turbines, Chinese solar panels and batteries that can only store energy that would last a few hours when called on when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow.

Mikko2,

Nuclear may have a role to play in some countries’ energy mixes - and you’re right it has advantages in lifespan and reliability. But the debate isn’t as simple as “nuclear good, renewables bad.”

The idea that nuclear plants run for 80 years is theoretical at this point - no plant has actually operated that long yet. It assumes costly mid-life refurbishments and ongoing regulatory approvals, not just set-and-forget reliability. Meanwhile, renewables are lasting longer, and the economics have shifted dramatically even in the past five years.

It also hasn’t gone unnoticed that you didn’t fully engage with the dubious "fail" list that was posted. Probably wise - lumping dozens of complex issues into a pile labelled "fail" cheapens real criticisms and makes serious points easier to dismiss.

Pointing out Labor’s flaws is important - and there’s plenty worth discussing - but when criticisms get stretched or stripped of context, it doesn’t strengthen the case, it weakens it. Again, if we want better government, we need sharper arguments, not just louder ones.

Australia's national debt when Labor took office after the covid years was $895 k, not the $1.2 trillion foreshadowed in Labor's latest budget - and we all remember that Labor wanted the government support largesse we saw during the covid pandemic panic to be continued when the coalition ended it. From left- wing The Guardian:

Gross debt ($, billions)
Despite the upward debt trajectory since Labor took office in May 2022, Chalmers highlighted how the pre-election fiscal outlook in 2022 predicted gross debt would have blown out to $1.1tn by mid-2025 – or $177bn more than the budget will forecast on Tuesday.25 Mar 2025
Chalmers upbeat on eve of budget despite grim debt outlook ...

Mikko2, you’re actually helping prove my point.

Yes, Labor inherited around $895 billion in debt. But as you’ve shown, the forward projections - even before Labor’s first full budget - already had debt rising toward $1.1 trillion by mid-2025. That was baked in from pandemic-era Coalition budgets.

Labor has added to it, sure - but pretending they created the $1 trillion debt, or that the trajectory wasn’t already locked in, isn’t accurate. Even the numbers you posted show that.