579,
You appear to be an eternal optimist regarding the budget.

As for nationalising mining,
a: how quickly do you think this government would find a way to wantonly spend the revenue mining generates. Government spends your - yes- your money and mine freely because they don't have to account for their actions - YET.
b: since whenever has nationalisation given better productivity than private enterprise.
c: it has been the mining sector which has been the largest contributor to keeping this economy afloat
d: the mineworkers have well paid jobs, and the companies make good profits. Government officials have extremely well paid jobs and have put us in debt
You defend incompetence, and don't see that we need the 'billionaires' the revenue they create and the wages they pay.

leaving the real mining for us Australians.
579,
Somehow I can't believe your soft little hands could handle more that two minutes on a wheelbarrow.
And yes, this Outfit of a Government does seem to have an agenda to destroy us all.

Anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows that this promise was never going to happen. They didn't make the promise because they thought it was a good idea. They made it because it deflected criticism of their spending. Whenever people complained of the level of spending/debt they were able to counter that they were going into surplus and therefore the debt would be paid off. Meanwhile the court eunuchs in the press gallery pretended not to notice that it was all smoke and mirrors.

I'd doubt that even Gillard/Swan really believed they'd deliver a surplus - they might be spectacularly incompetent but they're not THAT stupid. I'm guessing the plan was to continue to pretend that they were on-track and then go to an election in the first half of 2013. Then, if by some chance they were re-elected, they'd suddenly announce that they were as surprised as anyone else that the surplus had evaporated. And the court eunuchs in the press gallery would go along for the ride.

The problem is the polls. They now know they can't go in early '13 so they'll still be in power when the final 12/13 budget numbers come out. So they had to come clean now rather that a month or two out from an election.

As usual with these characters, its all about power. The good of the nation runs a distant last in their concerns

Banjo because I hold you and Bazz as poster who I respect I will answer you.
To not even KNOW the election in the SENATE IS NOT A FULL ONE.
TO NOT UNDERSTAND ZERO chance exists for Liberal National party to win control of the senate.
Surely should bring in to question some commentators right to mouth silly things.
I as you know, think a government elected in the lower house should not have to confront such as the thankfully dieing Greens.
Abolish the senate,both majors should preference the other or better still one vote one value.
Banjo,I do respect you, even like you, but you look like you are standing on your head stark naked and full of cheap beer if you think this government is as bad as you charge it.
Tell me two years in to your government I am wrong.
I am not coming back, very close and probably will leave forever.
The child like invasion of red necks has made the place unpleasant.
And made truth in one in every two new threads unneeded and unwanted, this thread HIGHLIGHTS THAT.
Let me be honest! its author in hundreds of threads gets close to truth only by accident!

worldwatcher - Quote "gift it to the Indonesian government who can then hand it over to the smugglers." WRONG they would sell it to the smugglers because The police etc have to be getting paid of.

It would be impossible to congregate 30 - 120 foreigners of the nationalities we get in one place without the police knowing about it.
They would stick out like a sore thumb.

THEY KNOW what is happening.

Belly - you wrote Quote "Leave no message for me here,some threads take turns that make them not worth reading.
This one is such."

I knew you would be back you just can't help yourself, curiosity will keep you coming back.

Your words are lies just like those of the labor politicians.