Belly,Malcolm Turnbull is all about the big end of town.He wants the carbon tax and the derivative market that will feed off it.

This GFC is far from being over.The USA is in real trouble with very low rates,high unemployment and a shrinking manufacturing sector.They with their phoney money,are exporting their disease here.The elites are reducing their debt by creating cyber money.These flawed policies will only push rates higher thus causing more unemployment.We are not immune.With house prices 40% over valued,an increase in rates will see many more mortage defaults and unemployment increase.

Abbott hasn't over-ruled Hockey because Abbott finds economics "boring". He doesn't understand it, so he needs time to read up on exactly what Hockey said, then ask his advisers for their opinion, then if the nasty topic hasn't gone away after a day or two, he'll go on National TV and mouth the opinion of his advisers (because he finds economics boring, and doesn't understand it).

samsung.I say more power to Joe Hockey.He knows something is fundamentally wrong but has yet to see the big picture.

I think arjay you are being a little shallow here.
You warn us constantly about world debt,about our financial future.
I truly am not approaching this thread as Labor vs Liberal.
This proposal is insanity, it interferes with the very things that hold our economy in good stead.
Big end of town? what party in the end is not so controlled.
It is for his understanding of the economy I think Turnbull is the next Liberal leader.
I am afraid, true,of the lack of understanding shown in a poll today in our national paper at the time I posted this, support for this stupidity is just over 50%
We,all of us, should be afraid if a politician can get support like that for something that would bring such harm.

Samsung Abbott studied economics at university. It's true he's perceived to have a weakness there, but I think the issue lies elsewhere.

I think that problem is that Abbott is too soft as a leader. He's actually a very nice, likeable guy, which came through during the election. People were surprised after the caricature they had been fed for years to find that out. It partly explains why he did so well.

It also partly explains why no-one has jumped on Hockey.

Watching Heather Ewart on TV last night it was pretty clear this was Hockey going solo. I heard some news earlier on where he was backing away, which would indicate that he'd been taking lots of phone calls from colleagues and branch members asking him what the hell he thought he was doing.

But he's done the damage, and I suspect if Abbott loses the Liberal leadership this will be seen as the beginning of the decline.

Very amusing Graham 'the Liberal grassroots'. Pardon me, who is that?

Like the ALP 'grassroots', it seems like the Liberal ones have been lost overboard a long time ago.

Hockey is OK as a hot-air merchant, speaking about whatever topic he is given, but he hardly cracks it as an economic spokesperson does he? And Abbott's own mouth has suggested that he has no idea at all, or interest in, economic issues.

Mind you, I am amazed that Swan has lasted so long, one can hardly say 'well'. Maybe Tanner helped him?

As for this, "For decades now the RBA has had only persuasive power to set interest rates, but everyone seemed to think they were somehow powers of command" what about our sky high credit card rates, or pawnbrokers fleecing people with even higher rates, or payday lenders?

And how can a 'grassroots' Liberal ever be supporting interest rates being held down artificially, any more than welders wages on off-shore rigs should be, if they slavishly long for 'free markets'?

The 'old paradigm' of the RBA setting rates should have been dropped years ago, to be 'free market' consistent.

In that respect, Hockey exposes himself as being nothing more than a hotair merchant, and in that sense, he's done us all a great service.

Abbott's problem is who to replace him with, although Robb probably is gathering his chums around him for the day when Hockey decides to 'spend more time with my family', the usual face-saver for dud politicians.