The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > Article Comments > Peter Costello is just like Santa on steroids > Comments

Peter Costello is just like Santa on steroids : Comments

By Peter Saunders, published 11/5/2007

None of the Treasurer's budget handouts makes any economic sense.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. All
Santa on Steriods has a great ring to it, but this budget is more deceptive than generous. Many commentators are pointing out the what the Treasurer provides the Treasurer has previously removed, specifically

- university funding had been curtailed in previous budgets and this funding is just catch up

- the previous rebates for installing solar panels on community buildings had been rolled back since about 2002

- families with young children don't want to collect a childcare rebate 18 months after they have spent the money, low income families need the money as they spend it

- spending on Murray Darling Basin water initiatives is slated to start in 2 years not this year

The only glimmer of light is the adoption of New Zealand Tax ideas to simplify the preparation of e-tax for the majority of tax payers.

Professor Joshua Gans at http://www.economics.com.au/?p=830 suggests that any one be able to use the Future Fund for their superannuation payments

I am still disgusted at the lack of real immediate action to ammeliorate the impact of global warming on our continent.
Posted by billie, Friday, 11 May 2007 8:48:10 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Yea bring back Gough Whitlam when unemployment was sky high, the country was literally broke and interest rates were high.
Posted by runner, Friday, 11 May 2007 9:54:39 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
re:
"[The Treasurer's] big idea this year was the $5 billion endowment fund for universities. That's a lot of money. Interviewed on Tuesday evening, he boasted: "The endowment I set up tonight doubles everything the university sector has saved in endowments in the last 150 years."

It is indeed a lot of money. I am surprised no-one has had the impudence to ask exactly, in public, how and where this $5 billion is going to be invested, or what might be the expected rate of return on the investment.

Nor have I heard anyone say how many millions per year "the universities" are expected to get.

What percentage of the per annum returns will "the universities" get, and what percentage will annually go to the administrators and/or others? And which others?

Taking 5 billion as 5 thousand million, one percent per annum gives us 50 million per year. Even .1% of 5 billion is a reasonable income in these days of low inflation.

Which portion of the Australian economy does this five billion dollar's worth of "endowment" pump up, or maybe prop up? What kind of investment is actually being made?

You'd think it was genuinely rude to talk about money, wouldn't you?
Posted by Sir Vivor, Friday, 11 May 2007 10:05:51 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
The annual, post-budget comments are always so boringly predictable. If you don't like the government of the day, the budget will be bad no matter what it contains. If you do like the government the budget of the day it will be good no matter what it contains.

Pleased to see 'runner' reminding us of what happens when the ALP gets near the money-box, though. It wasn't just Whitlam. It was Hawke and Keating, those great friends of the masses, too, who really demonstrated gross ineptitude when it came to administering the economy.

How about Rudd wanting to give tax back to foreigners?
Posted by Leigh, Friday, 11 May 2007 10:41:32 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Peter Saunders' first sentence asks the pertinent question: "What was the overall rationale driving Peter Costello's 12th budget?" Surely he knew the answer: to bribe enough people to vote for his government in November and to con as many others into believing the Coalition still has a few ideas after 11 years of Howardism. 'Perfectly targetted', said one commentator - targetted to keep as many Coalition members in Parliament for the next three years.

I predict there will be little 'bounce' for the government in this budget, and what 'bounce' there is will quickly fall back to earth.

The Costello budget does very little to address real concerns of ordinary Australians - global warming, renewable energy, real jobs rather than casul make-up jobs, family povery, Indigenous health, pre-schools, staff to police the revised unfair IR laws, red tape for small business, skills shortages, HECS debt, national borrowings, serious tax reform, broadband speeds - the list could go on.

And there is no vision for Australia's future. What drives Australia's political life is short-term expediency - this budget is a perfect illustration.
Posted by FrankGol, Friday, 11 May 2007 11:11:02 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
With Costello now with a grimacing smile like an SS trooper and Julie Bishop wih eyes like a lamplight fraulein, and a rumour that the Uni Humanities is all to be downsized looks like Howard and Costello won't need a Night of the Long Knives to begin their new agenda - all because we have such a dumb public.
Posted by bushbred, Friday, 11 May 2007 11:29:51 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Saunders' aricle was like a breath of fresh air, cutting through the breathless acclaim of the Oz staff writers. Clearly, someone (somewhere?) has decided that the paper's early approval of Rudd was misplaced and that Costello is the man. I can see that, if the Oz - my daily paper -has in fact committed to Howard in such a blatant form, I will have to learn how to do without the Times crossword and Bill Leak.
Posted by Johntas, Friday, 11 May 2007 12:24:16 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Runner

Did you notice that yesterdays unemployment figures were the lowest since 1974?

Who was PM in 1974? Who wrecked this and gave us 10% unemployment and 22% interest rates?

One was Gough Whitlam, the other John Howard.
Posted by ruawake, Friday, 11 May 2007 12:33:20 PM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Billie, your glimmer of hope re e-tax has just flickered out. This is not a new initiative either. Rather it has been in the pipeline for around 3-4 years, and has been made possible by advances in ATO technology rather than government policy. Oh well, I suppose they claim credit for anything that is popular. My concern though is that this system is fraught with danger of people simply accepting what the ATO have recorded - as a tax agent I can tell you that we get regular mini-audits from the ATO based on incorrect information held by them. Then you get the risk of people simply not thinking about legitimate deductions - the ATO cant fill this bit in for you. Oh gee, I wonder if thats the point. Discourage people from thinking about deductions and get more revenue as a result....
Posted by Country Gal, Friday, 11 May 2007 1:21:59 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
ruawake asks: "Did you notice that yesterdays unemployment figures were the lowest since 1974?" I don't blame posters for repeating what the media are parroting - after all, the media work off government-produced media releases and have little time for independent research.

The facts, however, are another matter. The Australian Patrliamentary Library gives the unemployment rate in 1974 as 2.6% (www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/histmesi/histmesi8.3.htm). That put Australia's unemployment rates below the OECD, the G7 and the EU averages for the year.

The first year that Australia exceeded those comparable rates was in 1977 when there was a Coalition government; and it must have been sheer chance that John Winston Howard became Treasurer in that year (and earned the nick-name 'the boy Treasurer').

It must be nice to be in power and be able to re-write history whenever you please. Maybe that why the boy Treasuere is so keen on compulsory history in schools - so long as it's his version that is to be taught!
Posted by FrankGol, Friday, 11 May 2007 2:23:36 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
The $5 billion endowment for universities sounds nice and it is... but it really is just a start.

Harvard University in the US has a $37 billion endowment. That's for just one university...
Posted by TurnRightThenLeft, Friday, 11 May 2007 3:25:20 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
You can use numbers to prove anything! TRTL, I get what you are trying to say, but to be fair the US is both a lot bigger than us, and also quite a bit older in terms of western education. If you look at your figures on a per capita basis, the Harvard endowment fund (yes recognising that is it only 1 uni) is $12.30/head of US population. Whereas the new Aussie fund is $250/head - lucky we dont all need to go to uni! But still, when you look at it in that context, its not really too bad an effort.
Posted by Country Gal, Friday, 11 May 2007 4:15:23 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Country Gal

The thing with US universities is that research carried out is the intellectual property of the researcher not the university.

In australia universities have private companies to look after their intellectual property. Like ANU Enterprise Pty Ltd .

Given that any money from this Govt. slush fund will need to be matched by the Uni only the sandstone unis will benefit.

I bet the University of Sydney gets the bulk of it.
Posted by ruawake, Friday, 11 May 2007 4:57:01 PM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Tuesday Peter is throwing money around like a drunken sailor on worthy causes, Thurdsay Kev sets the most important priorities, Friday the lying rodent is out playing wedge politics again, what's different about this week, not much.

The Liberals don't seem to realise that we won't have an economy if we don't have a planet, politics as normal.
Posted by SHONGA, Friday, 11 May 2007 5:23:16 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
As an ecumenical Christian, one feels more and more distressed about the hate that is splitting Christianity and Islam in the Middle East.

As one who in his long retirement has gained Honours in the Social Sciences, majoring in International Relations, have become particularly perturbed over a report that if the Howard government stays in power after the next election, it has plans to downsize the importance of the Schools of Humanities in our universities.

Of course, this could very much lower the importance of historical knowledge generally, to which many of our contributors might agree, already calling such knowledge Old Pap Stuff.

From experience most of our universities have an unwritten law both ecumenical and cosmopolitan owing to the hundreds of overseas students now attending.

Furthermore, the weakening of the Schools of Humanities throughout the Western world will be a recipe for much more discontent not only in the Middle East, but the world over.

One could recommend that if the Howard government does get in a position to push through the change, that older students stick to what they have already learnt, not changing into what some are already calling the ways and wiles of the New Academia.
Posted by bushbred, Friday, 11 May 2007 6:26:32 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Rudds Team BUDGET is EQUIPPED WITH A MOTOR AS WELL AS SAILS!

Rudd is right to say he has the future of family households at heart.

Rudds fundamental goals and practical fresh approach is refreshing.

Rudd reeks with Common Sense.

Rudds policies are citizen polices.

Rudds policies will demand participation, and by design, create the business enterprising infrastructure to do it. There is a Get Involved - premise - Have a Go, - You Can Do IT - ALL!

More to the point, there is a difference between economics and pure money, as it is understood through straight finance. Yes I mean it!

In Queensland this is where many Local Councils go wrong.

Like the Liberal Federal government, they appear to under-perform because they do not counter-act credits against future debt dependence... which arise in the decline of an exhausted - broken-deadbeat servicing infrastructure.

Things break-down when the system is overloaded and runs too fast for the sake of capital gain alone.

Progress has to be solid.

No vision - no control through purely financial equations. Buy Buy Buy - Dogs eat more dogs.- It is unsustainable.

In Federal terms I highlight regional health, education, housing and household debts and the cost this will have on human capital as the “whole system” squeaks from the lack of being maintained.

As with my ID Boom approach (see www,miacat.com) I emphasis that this is what we have done with Australia’s WATER situation above ground! Leakage counts!

In the case of Local Council’s those in trouble are often the ones who restrict their focus to above the ID BOOM. Everything else gets lost this way. It is like running a car out bush with no spare tire, a crook motor and a faulty stereo. Static - No jack can help if ya blow ya tire, and no motor can rev… regardless of the spin!

You cannot get blood out of a stone forever.... The Howard Budget is unfortunately trying to COPY_CAT Rudds political theory but lacks the depth. Yes it is over-blown, clever for Howard, but not liberal as I see it!

http://www.miacat.com/
Posted by miacat, Saturday, 12 May 2007 3:08:56 AM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Rudds economic policies are AUTHENTIC NATION BUILDING policies.

If the Market is to play its role freely, then the government ought to support the functional traits a country requires, by foreseeing there is at least some even distribution of it's utilities... for ALL.

This is called back-up!

Rudds policies tend to conserve citizenship by the way they preserve ALL capital in ways that build a fabric that will stimulate a renewal of national-capital in economic and financial terms; by lifting the bottom up at the same time as utilising the auxiliary - 2025 and 2050 vision. This is a balance that will utilise innovative investment focus on the problem solving aspects of the research sciences, business, social, economic, ecological, bio-sciences. Vocational Inclusiveness at all levels of the economy.

Australia is put to GOOD WORK through Rudds economic plan.

It is the budget for - inter-generational change- as it puts something REAL back into capital works.

This is what is meant by Reform.

Our public itself system is dying.

Howard has merely replaced some of what he took 10 years ago. His system at the core is smoking.

It cannot pump services if it is overloaded with archaic wiring.... which is the reason for the public dissatisfaction and overload.

Rudds budget is prudent and thrifty. It is manageable but not wasteful or extravagant. A respectful challenge.

By design, it is intended to save money, by efficient operation and foreseeing the elimination of unnecessary features - by reducing the barriers and off-loading the baggage.

If Howard's employment satistics are to be half-way believed then this is almost where we were back in the mide to late 197Os - before the begining of those awful recessions.

Australians were thinking then about the capital works infrastructure and considering manufacturing - design and future sources appropriate for the payment of new industries and the public expenses needed to build.

Moreso this Rudd Budget is a budget that is aimed to inspire and support the value of our Australian people.

This is economic!

Clean Up Australia, as we have complex times ahead.

http://www.miacat.com/
Posted by miacat, Saturday, 12 May 2007 3:50:15 AM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Runner. Do check your facts.

Listen to Howard if you must. He and Costelloe both stated they had the lowest unemployment since....1974. Guess who was PM then mate?

Whitlam had many failings but unemployment was at record lows so don't go trying to change facts. Interest rates were at record levels too but unemplyoment? Wrong Runner, wrong.

Well said Ruawake. Runner isn't. Awake that is.

Country Gal. Wrong again. The changes mooted by the ATO were actually around during their modernisation project, of which I was a part. Happened in 1986 - 1990. Again, guess who was in government? Not Coalition. Do try reading before you blurt dear.

What is the Budget about? Don't be silly. Buyong votes. Where are the NoWorkChoices changes for the future? Surely they aren't going to stay still. What have they got they won't talk about, unless they win.

Rudd's no different by the way. Even Howard can't find much to attack as he is right. Rudd has simply done a Hawke. Take Lib's ex policies and force Howard off to the right of... well the far right. Move over Attilla.
Posted by RobbyH, Saturday, 12 May 2007 5:42:04 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Yes, you are spot on, mate, Rudd is doing a Hawke. A good tactic, but wish he did nothave to do it, because economic rationalism is not really natural for Labour. Yet probably Bob Hawke new this too, it was just that he new how to work in with his mates in Big Biz.

Hope, honestly if Rudd gets in, he gradually does an up-to-date Keynesian, putting Big Biz down where it should be.

Also feel that he should cut well into Costello's super super Fund. The money is needed so much not only to put us back as a manufacturer, but to be seen as something better than just simply a 19th century style colonial producer, even though the profit from precious underground pitstocks does happen to be our own.

In terms of true progress in a land such as ours, however, it could be said our economic joy might be only finite or temporary.
Posted by bushbred, Saturday, 12 May 2007 5:51:22 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
I could just give a huge, big, fat, wet kiss to PM John Howard (who himself is a great dill), for keeping Peter Costello well away from the reins of power.

John, unfortunately is bad enough. Peter Costello as PM would have most of us leaving the country (perhaps to live in Swaziland in Africa which Peter told us years ago was misguided enough to avoid the GST tax). Oh, happy days before the wretched GST tax!

The immense damage done to Australia by the Howard government is unforgivable. Luckily, we'll never know what Peter Costello (perhaps together with his ever-forgetful head-punching mate Tony Abbott) had planned for us poor b*ggers.

Peter, you're being consigned to history as a faint-hearted failed Treasurer who favoured the top end of town; the corporate millionaires; the worship of the dollar and all the nasty flavours of the last decade.

Go and get a real job. Just hope I'm not doing your future performance management reviews!
Posted by Ian Mack, Sunday, 13 May 2007 1:37:57 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
I wonder if Kevin Rudd could manage the Australian economy as well as Iemma's Labor has managed the NSW economy?

I mean it takes a lot of talent to destroy the largest, most powerful state in times of unpresidented economic prosperity and then have the audacity to blame the Federal Govt for their incompetence.

Gough Whitlam also reigned in a time of a resources boom and also had a special talent for destrying our economy.

Australia did not suffer the crash of the Asian Tiger economies nor the recession that Europe.

The Hawke/Keating era saw the recession we had to have and 17% interest rates.

Can Labor deny it's track record and con us yet again just like the Iemma Govt in NSW?Are we really that stupid?
Posted by Arjay, Sunday, 13 May 2007 6:49:14 PM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Somehow me thinks it is high time we talked about economic reality as I think the Rudd Team and those who understand the ALP - Think Tank are the REAL ONES this time.

The problem always in Australia is the issue of 'liberal' .

The ALP is always left to clean up the mess. It is the ALP who gave us the NEIS program, who is always redesigning and implementing new service structures, new innovation and trade programs and capital works .

We blame Keating for this and we blame Keating for that no matter how many lies there are as we get so bold.

The fact is that the economic understanding that is required is pressing as an issue for ALL of us.

No matter where we work, we need to be accountable. Accountablity is an issue for all Australians as civilians, be it at work, in the community or within the family.

I know many in the public service who borrow this and that from work and do not give it back.

I know many in the public service who fail to understand that they work for the government.

I know many who say to their friends "it's okey, let the government pay" or worse still "let the tax-payer pay".

Kevin Rudds vision is extremely important. If we say that Keating PM gave us an open pathway to the Asia Pacific - than I say a Rudd Government has the capacity to take us out into the REAL WORLD.

A world that needs our engagement on issues that are of strategic moral importance. A world where we as Australian's once lead on many fronts, in our expertise, our fairness and our respectfulness - and solid Aussie integrity.

Australia's inaction over Climate Change, our spin over what is Safe when it come to 'collective securities' is out of balance with what I see necessary NOW.

I deeply respect John Howard PM, but seriouslt feel he as a Liberal, is not learning fast enough. If only we could learn together instead of two-upperting our valuable national knowledge.

http://www.miacat.com/
.
Posted by miacat, Sunday, 13 May 2007 7:10:46 PM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Peter Costello is smart enough to recognise that the battlers will nor vote liberals and hence came up with the battlers budget (which in many ways looks similar to an ALP agenda) and rattling Kevin Rudd's comfort zone.
Posted by Fellow_Human, Monday, 14 May 2007 4:00:24 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Costello is a card carrying member of the HR Nichols Society. He never does anything for the battlers. Rudd rattled? You wish.
Posted by hedgehog, Thursday, 17 May 2007 10:19:05 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy