What a joke this man is.

Here we go again, same old spin, same old promises, it's only the excuses that change.

rehctub,

I think we should make one last exemption to the live animal export ban, the entire government!

Wow, I’ve never seen a general thread like this before. We are just left to guess or find out for ourselves who “this man” is and why he is a “joke”!

Please rehctub, give us a little basic information of what this is about.

I can take a punt that you are talking about Swannie and some announcement that he has made that Labor is still going to return us to surplus. Or maybe you are talking about Can-Do Campbell??

You got it in one Ludwig, Swannie.

Who can ever forget the message he rammed down our necks a surplus AT ANY COST.

Yep, we ARE returning to surplus and failure to do so is simply not an option.

Yep, we are great economic managers and WE WLL REURN THE BUDGET TO SURPLUS BY 2013/14 AT ANY COST.

So, one has to ask, if they couldn't do it in the 80's/90's, and they can't do it now, then seriously, do they honestly believe their own spin.

In any case it won't really matter, as he won't get the chance, as September 14, now knowen as national throw out the garbage day is looming ever closer, just not fast enough I say.

Or more importantly, do their loyal followers trust him aftervthe debacle of this budget.

I really think that even his supporters will be worried that this is the last nail in labor's coffin.

And do you expect Abbott's mob to be any better?

Rehctub '...the last nail in Labor's coffin.'
The last nail? Really?
I think the coffin is already nailed down and half buried actually.

What on earth are you going to have to discuss on this forum after September Rehctub?
Surely after the holy Abbott has control of the flock, there will be no further problems in Australia?
Will we even need this forum?

Suz, there will be many problems after the election.

There will be the tightening up on spending/waste, as someone will have to at least they to unwind the mess created. My tip is it will be similar to QLD's post election, and let's face it, it will have to be.

My tip is that there are quite a few fat cat public servants sleeping with one eye open at the moment.

Then there will be the loss of much of our coal industry and the write down in revenue that will bring.

I say this because of what's happening in both Mongolian and Rusian mining, with regards to coal, as we will be all but dead in the water as far as that industry goes.

Then of cause there will be the fight to regain controll of our borders, you know, the problem that was UNDER CONTROL less than six years ago, before brain storm Rudd came along.

What labor have done over the past five plus years is almost criminal, in fact, if they were accountable, there would be an enquiry if not criminal charges as a result of their actions.

Let's see now, insulation FLOP!
Solar FLOP!
Copenhagen FLOP!
Cash for clunkers FLOP!
Grocery/fuel watch FLOP!
Sorry, can't name them all due to post limits, but you should get the picture.

So sorry Suz, but there will be plenty to talk about, mostly negativity from labor land as thier supporters will not recognize their own mess. You know, much the same as here in QLD.

Ludwig, yes I do, but not immediately, as their first priority is to stop the bleeding.

Even the likes of you can't deny they have history on their side.

But, this thread is about the fact that this failure of a man is expecting his loyalists, and the rest of us to believe he can return us to surplus.

It's laughable.

Ludwig may I try?
Under stand please my thoughts are loaded with both pain and just a little under standing.
The last ingredient is likely to be missing from any reply you get from Butcher.
Labor made plans to spend money it never got, the mining tax.
That tax, a shadow of its first planed intake, never came, but is symptomatic of Labors woes.
Post the removal of Rudd, more than probable before it, Dillard played both sides, yes and no, with Carbon tax, pension increases, and seems the likely source of silly walk schemes such as cash for clunkers and a host of stuff.
Yet we will be OK, just read this mornings press! those pointing to our problems, ME for one, are troublemakers, ask a possible future leader Greg Combet!
GFC was as bad as we ever saw, Labor tried to protect jobs and, yes and, small business.
It worked,but looked bad at times, $900 checks fell like manna from heaven, on country,s allover the world, to dead folk of those who had not been here for up to two decades.
Labor is the only party,so far, of true reform, it did not, as we did not, know the GFC was coming on its election.
It is no longer possible, not a chance, to judge Labor on its economic ability.
HSU, Rudd,s knifing, AWU scandal, if any related to Dillard, NSW FILTH Labor, stuck in a world that has not existed for 50 years, is reluctant to leave that awful lie *SOLIDARITY* and drag the offending THINGS, in to the light of day, and give them the good kicking the public needed to see.
Hiding behind the view, good God are they mad?
Dillard the unloved is a tough old bird, ignoring she too is unwanted, Labor has chosen to fight the election with its hands tied behind its back.
And blind folded.
AFTER our defeat, it will be seen and spoken of often, we took some third reserves into fight .
And that we,by our own efforts made our faults not our successes the main theme.

And do you expect Abbott's mob to be any better?

Surely you jest !!

One only needs to consider the antics of Newman / Seeney / Nicholls in Queensland to get a pretty good indication of where a RAbbott gubmunt will go. I certainly won't be sad to see the end of the red-headed witch but I sincerely hope that either Big Clive gets up or in the very worst case, the sheeple don't give the RAbbott a massive majority. Note the failed lawyer / failed priest combination (same as all-time political lowlife grub Slippery Pete).

What a joke this man is.
rehctub,
what about those who still support him ? The mind boggles indeed. Isn't there any way their right to vote could be challenged by the sane ?

Surely after the holy Abbott has control of the flock, there will be no further problems in Australia?
Suseonline,
On the contrary, that's when the lefties will start interfering & sabotaging in earnest. I can't see them accepting being upstaged at every turn. I wonder if they'll reject any benefits which will come their way from the benefactor they so despise.

Belly>> GFC was as bad as we ever saw, Labor tried to protect jobs and, yes and, small business<<

Really china, we did have the depression you know.
The Northern Hemisphere GFC had no notable effect on our economy, and that is a fact. But the RGFC (RUDD GILLARD FINANCIAL CRISIS) impacted from day one.

In Australia we had less than 1% of our mortgages in subprime loans, the catalyst for the crisis.
In the Northern Hemisphere people’s taxes actually went to private banking and financial institutions to keep them afloat. In Australia all the government did was to guarantee private savings up to whatever amount was deemed. We did not give a cent to our banks.

In fact we prospered while the rest of the first world stumbled to a halt. Here are the GDP figures:

Australia’s GDP in $ millions.
http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/by-subject.html

Jun-2006 308166
Jun-2007 323944
Jun-2008 333444
Jun-2009 336624
Jun-2010 346067
Jun-2011 354358
Jun-2012 367414

Labor started with a $20 Billion surplus and has not balanced one budget in five attempts.

Every single year their tax receipts have grown, yet they have raised the amount the Commonwealth can borrow three times. We now have the largest Commonwealth debt in our history.

How can anyone with the ability tie their shoelaces claim we were in a I financial crisis?.

Praxidice>> One only needs to consider the antics of Newman / Seeney / Nicholls in Queensland to get a pretty good indication of where a RAbbott gubmunt will go<<

Bastards with personal interests to the right of us, Bastards with personal interests to the left. I agree with what you say Praxidice, it is akin to Diogenes looking for an honest man.

But the one that got to me was Obeid and the Sussex Street Labor criminals in NSW. Obeid the greedy and his family cleaned up, as did one of Belly’s union mates who turned $160,000 into $15 million with a stroke of a Labor minister’s pen, followed by a $2000 lunch. Not bad work and all you have to do is to get fools to vote for you.

Well praxidice, thank god you don't like Abbott. That does help my confidence in him.

That you hope a loose cannon like big Clive will get up, when your first choice dies, tells us just what a good judge you are.

Haven't you noticed his recent bit of comedy? To welcome Peter Slipper into his party smacks of expediency, but to then have him chucked out by the all new membership smacks of a Keystone Cops comedy, unfolding before our eyes.

And you would want this bloke running the country? Any more good ideas to guide our way there mate?

Praxidice,
Give us your opinion also on the antics of Beatty/Bligh which now make it so difficult to get Qld out of the Labor hole.
In my opinion anyone who still supports Labor in this day & age after their performances is getting pretty darn close to be a traitor.

Us lefty,s, that is other than some far right, contributors can take heart.
See while I found ample reason we Labor can not win.
Others wait in anticipation for Abbott to do miracles, on his first day.
Just as Swan, not my idea of a good performer, out side influences have a big part to play, and miracles are rare.
IF the Aussie dollar gets and stays below parity with the American one, we get an instant lift other than mining.
Asking a lot of a few, but if you even glimpse at some posts, you will see expectations no side is about to fill.
And too we may just learn in time some things are no ones fault.

Dear individual

GoAnna the Blight AKA the wicked witch of the north takes the cake for outright ineptitude. She was unquestionably one of the worst politicians ever to draw breath & and her tribe of incompetents simply had to be deposed. Remember Minister for Monumental Stuffups Richardson, Doofus Lucas (retarded version of Mr Bean), the nasty Judy Spence, Stirling Hinchcliffe (of certain 'interesting' development deals fame) and so on. Interestingly, she actually won her seat of South Brisbane but decided to resign (thereby costing Queenslanders a by-election) because she would have lost part of her retirement handout by continuing as a back-bencher. I have no doubt the possibility of being sued for incompetence was a deciding factor in her escape from Queensland. Unfortunately the combination of landslide win belong General Disaster, opposition which meets in the back seat of a prehistoric Tarago, lack of upper house & the most useless governor ever means we have a dictatorship 'Newman / Seeney / Nicholls with egos bigger than a T-Rex

I notice Slippery Pete now holds the record for the shortest political career in recorded history & more to the point, the stories about his UAP / PUP career differ markedly depending on who is doing the talking. Personally I wouldn't believe a word spoken by someone with such an 'interesting' background as the slippery one. The RAbbott earned my undying contempt by his shabby treatment of Pauline Hanson. In addition he distinguished himself by having qualifications as lawyer & priest, neither of which I rate highly in terms of people worthy of respect. Big Clive is one of precious few current or aspiring politicians who has achieved success in business, who is neither failed priest nor failed legal leech, and who has at least promised to slash handouts to has-been bloodsucking parasites. Those attributes alone render him far more worthy than any of the party hacks.

Queenslanders really haven't a clue how deep is the financial hole excavated by the Blighters, suffice to say its probably deep but nowhere near as bad as General Disaster & his crony Costello would have us believe. The Epstein Costello Gazard event is worthy of close scrutiny, more so since the CMC decided not to formally investigate a complaint from the dying duck amidst threats of dire consequences on the part of Newman / Seeney / Nicholls.

Yes belly, I think we all have our doubts. My main one comes from seeing him tone down on things he has previously shown he strongly believes. Starting to sound like a bit too much politician, & not enough man.

I expect a round of enquires to follow an election, to justify the direction they know they have to take. Personally I would prefer something a little more honest, even if it did frighten the horses, & result in a smaller majority after a win.

I guess they have to think about getting some green rag bags out of the Senate to get anything done.

On Clive praxidice, I have to wonder how much luck, [right time right place], comes into his success.

If we look back a little we could have seen an enormously successful Alan Bond, or Christopher Skase being recommended as a business man suitable for PM.

This is just a bit of a worry, not a firm belief, but his grasshopper performances, jumping from Coolam Resort to Titanic, to PM, among other things, make him a bit too erratic to give me any confidence in him

I sort of feel fairly similar about it as Hasbeen but I hope that if they do happen to get into some power that the clued up ones will take the reigns asap & Clive being the pragmatical think tank come engine & keep the bastards reasonably honest.

I'm sorry fellas but which country do you live in? Can't be Australia because here our unemployment figures fell again, the latest productivity figures were the best they have been in a decade and we had another interest rate cut?

Compared to so many other countries we are going great guns so why not give credit to the current 'world's greatest treasurer' and get over it.

why not give credit to the current 'world's greatest treasurer' and get over it.

The dying duck had nothing to do with any improvement, if it was up to that turkey we'd be back in the dark ages. How many budgets has it been now with increasing deficits ??

How easy it is to spin more Mc GMO burger flipper jobs as legit jobs and interest rate cuts as a good thing? Some are fooled so easily it makes you wanna puke!

More Mc GMO jobs does not cure my ills and interest rate cuts are to stimulate a falling economy.

By your reasoning, America and Europe should be flying. America having 0% interest rates and Europe having negative interest rates; ie, stealing depositor funds from bank accounts!

our unemployment figures fell again,
csteele,
I'd like to see you cope with 5 hours a week pay because that's what they now deem as employed full-time. Take away all those who don't work 76 hours & then look at the employment figures again.

Regardless of any spin created by the bloodsucking parasites, one doesn't need to open ones eyes too far to see the country isn't travelling well. The building industry is virtually moribund, retail is in a sad state, primary production is down on its knees & there simply aren't the job vacancies needed to soak up the tens of thousands displaced by General Disaster in Queensland. The mind doth boggle at what will inevitably happen should the RAbbott do a General Disaster trick & claim the red-headed witch left the joint in such financial faeces that he had no option but to sack 90% of the federal public service remaining after the dying duck does his bit in the next few weeks. Note that I'm not for a minute suggesting the public service should continue as the sheltered workshop it has been since the dawn of time, but quite obviously turfing tens or hundreds of thousands of people out onto the dole queue tends to upset the employed / unemployed balance slightly. I really don't know how we should deal with this situation. Whilst we clearly can't afford to support zillions of unproductive bureaucrazies, we can't afford to pay newstart to them all either. With business confidence at rock bottom, nobody is about to engage in new business ventures & even if they did, wage costs & gubmunt overheads in Australia are such that they wouldn't get past the planning stage anyway. From my perspective, a dramatic down-sizing of gubmunt is imperative, followed by a razor-gang attack on gubmunt dis-incentives to business, true simplification of taxation (flat rate income tax ??) & after all those are in place, re-alignment of incomes (yes Martha, thats cutting wages) so we are at least halfway competitive with the rest of the world. I have no doubt whatever there is sufficient money in the country for everyone to live well, especially if its distributed reasonably equitably (ie no twenty million dollar handouts to impossibly greedy public company executives)

The thread, many others, brings out the inflammatory right.
A matter that could concern me and others.
However just as the greens are a Royal P I A but are not linked to reality.
Those I highlight are of no real concern.
Showing very little understanding of what Liberal policy,s are, and less of the real reason we are in trouble.
Even not seeing how hard Abbott,s tasks will be.
I think while most are telling us what they think, and have every right to, some seem to be refugees from reality.
Has any one noticed our latest rude dude?
Why do we bring those who need to heave so much junk talk about?
Maybe, in posting in such threads we deserve what we get.
Not defending Labor, my history proves that,but are we all aware that yes we are changing government.
And yes Abbott,s task will be hard and long.
But if China falls over we and the world will too, then who will the usual suspects blame for what would be and one day will,a worldwide depression?

"""
Has any one noticed our latest rude dude?
"""

LOL! Because he talks a truth you couldn't even begin to imagine in that Marxist brain of yours?

Keep posting, praxidice. It's a breath of fresh air in here amongst the Marxists! And I just love seeing their feathers ruffled :~)

Dear Betty

I don't believe any but the most devout major party faithful truly believe we'll avoid a major economic realignment / recession / depression (insert whatever you favour) in the forseeable future. That said, neither of the major parties are capable of doing anything at all to stave off the inevitable. More to the point, they are actually encouraging the end of the present system by their unthinking support of multinationalism / globalism / economic growth. Our political system in the past twenty years or so has glorified consumerism, the yankee way, avarice, whatever one chooses to call it. Blind Freddie can see this simply can't continue despite the printing presses churning out more and more money. There is more than enough money for every single citizen to have a roof over their head, plenty of food & ready access to the necessities of life. Unfortunately we also have unbelievably greedy 'captains of industry' on twenty million per annum (I'm talking about banksters etc, NOT self-made billionaires). We also have a glut of upstart politicians (typically failed lawyers) with stuff-all ability who do nothing but figure ways to line their own pockets. The 'economic growth' paradigm that ostensibly promises things will get bigger and better ad infinitum is one of the favourites of modern politics, but lets just ignore the fact that there is only one example of unlimited growth in nature ..... its called C A N C E R !!

LOL! Because he talks a truth you couldn't even begin to imagine in that Marxist brain of yours?

Actually there was a time when I would have welcomed a bunch of really devoted red-flag-waving communists to Queensland. Toward the end of the Joe Peanut era (remember the reds under the beds hysteria ??), the National Party & their Labor compatriots had a few very comfortable 'agreements' going. I figured a few good little Chairman Mao clones mit the little book et al would have provided a smidgin of accountability by letting hitherto captive felines out of the bag. There was however a certain Liberal politician Rosemary Kyburz (Salisbury I believe) who formed a serious dislike to Labors Kev Hooper (Archerfield or thereabouts) & managed to upset the clown to the point where he divulged snippets intended to be kept secret. It didn't last long though, as I recall poor Rosemary was quietly moved off stage (we can't have people rocking the boat now can we ??) The 'agreements / arrangments' between major parties undoubtedly continues to this day, most obvious when parliamentary renumeration is being 'debated' but, nevertheless just under wraps the rest of the time. Unfortunately the party faithful sheeple still choose to believe they can vote for their favourite flavour of bloodsucking parasite & the clowns will look after their interests .... hmmmmmm

Praxidice,
I find your posts amusing, probably because you hit all politicians and not just one party.

But do me a favour. Set your posts out with more space and make paragraphs. Right now they are hard to comphrehend and come over as just one long rant.

<< ...there is only one example of unlimited growth in nature ..... its called C A N C E R !! >>

There is no example of unlimited growth in nature. Cancer stops growing when it kills its host!

But yes praxidice, unlimited growth is absolutely core to the issue at hand.

It’s no good denigrating Swannie. I doubt that anyone could do a significantly better job in the circumstances. They might have been able to make it sound a little less ridiculous, but the major budgetary issues would remain.

One of the really big things… and I’m not saying it is the only thing… is to address growth - to strive to curtail the ever-increasing demand for everything that is being imposed upon us via very high immigration by our stupid government, of either persuasion.

The nature of this discussion and most others like it on OLO gives a pretty good indication of how the whole community feels about the issue….. and there is scant little concern being expressed about the constant pursuance of growth, and forever faster growth at that.

We certainly need a new political paradigm – one that will strive with a vengeance to balance the demand for everything with the supply capability, with a big safety margin. That is; to achieve a sustainable future.

The roots of this are within Labor. There's no sign of it within the Lib camp. Bob Carr is excellent on this subject and Gillard has expressed a genuine desire to achieve a sustainable Australia.

But they are a million miles away from doing this.

Well perhaps if all those that commented on the budget, finances, and anything pertaining to these, would call for an end to mindless expansionism, we might have a chance of positively influencing government.

It's not just the government that is at fault here. The people, the ordinary citizens, are sadly letting themselves down by not urging their guvment along in the right direction.

THIS is what we need to concentrate on. Anything else, in the absence of this, is just rearranging the deck-chairs!

Most of the comments so far have shown that the poster does not understand money theory.

Warren Mosler, an American billionaire supporter of the University of Missouri, Kansas City, was the subject of a SMH article Saturday. Every poster on this article should read what was said. The article is at;

http://www.smh.com.au/business/-2jdfz.html

New Economic Perspectives has an excellent short article on the subject generally at;

http://neweconomicperspectives.org/category/stephanie-kelton

Modern theory has shown conclusively that budget surpluses are bound to reduce employment and reduce private financial holdings when foreign trade is in balance.

A reduction in government expenditure cannot help but reduce demand as will an increase in tax, particularly a tax imposed on the lower end of the income spectrum. The budget can only be balanced by one or the other or mixtures of both.

The trick for a competent government is to get as close as possible to full employment (2-4% of total underemployment?)and keep inflation low. The Labor Government has kept inflation reasonable and it would be a game Reserve Bank which didn't closely follow what the government wants in that regard.

Australia needs a deficit budget to try and further reduce total underemployment which is currently 12+%.

Over the business cycle the total budget deficit can be at least as great as the increase in GDP.

Peter Costello claims that he and Howard produced an overall budget surplus. If they did it was by selling assets and who would suggest the Future Fund could by back, with $60 billion, the Commonwealth Bank, Telstra, various airports and everything else sold. They also allowed private debt, particularly on home mortgages and credit cards, to increase alarmingly

If those assets were still owned by and for the Common Good how much would they be returning to the income side of the Federal Budget.

Please do some sensible thinking about the facts.

No problem :)

I really don't perceive any significant difference between any of the existing political parties, even the smaller ones like the Greens, the CDP & the KAP. They are all primarily there for their own benefit and that of their friends / cronies / campaign contributors / whatever multinational. None of the clowns give a rats about their constituents. They are all full of male bovine droppings. All major parties are the home of failed lawyers (easily the most avaricious species ever to evolve on planet earth).

How any supposedly sentient being can favour one particular mob of bloodsucking parasites over an other escapes me. I used to think a parliament composed wholly of intependents would be a good thing, but then that hitherto halfway 'respectable' clown Peter Wellington (some Sunshine Coast electorate) sided with GoAnna the Blight to repeal double jeopardy law in Queensland. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

I think whats even more relevant these days is that few if any significant decisions (particularly at a federal level) are made by the bloodsucking parasites we've installed in Canberra. Example, I have a problem with companies like Tel$tra / Optu$ etc making their money here but employing 'cheap' offshore labour. Thats both morally unethical but also discriminatory in my book. I was told by the QLD Discrimination mob that they are only interested in male / female & straight / gay discrimination. The federal tribe informed me that there can be no offence of racial discrimination because 'Australians are not a race'. OK, look a little further & one finds virtually identical wording in UK, US, Irish republic & Canadian laws.

What lunatic is promoting what amounts to treasonous laws ?? ... gotta be the United Nations. What bothers me is what else is the UN up to in so called 'developed' countries ?? Meanwhile the sheeple are paying the red-headed witch, the dying duck, the RAbbott & a host more utter incompetents a kings ransom supposedly to run the country on behalf of said sheeple, but in reality they are merely figureheads & someone else is pulling the strings.

I notice that the government supporters on here are saying how bad it
will be under the coalition, and do the rest of us expect it all to be perfect.
Well, no, I think the majority of us are more realistic, which is why we do not support the Labour/Greens coalition.
There will be quite significant problems as they try to wind down the excessive expenditure, such as borrowing from China to give aid to China !
All parties have ignored the observable fact that growth the world over is declining. It is greatest in the southern European states and less here, but the politicians will struggle to rebuild the economy while they do not recognise the cause of the problem.

The Labour/Greens will have an absolute party as they tear strips off the new government for every "attack on the working class" but they themselves do not understand what is going on right under their noses.

The decline in growth is as inevitable as the sun coming up in the morning and all we can hope is that the Lib/Nats realise it quicker than Labour ever would. There are solutions to the problem that would give a very happy and satisfactory life for people but I am afraid it will have to be imposed on the government by the people going ahead with the necessary changes while the government still thinks it is running the show.

Mr Swan has deserved every bit of criticism for Labours total economic incompetence. Don't forget however the Greens wanted the lying deceitful carbon price at $50 tonne. Besides being incompetent, being in bed with the Greens has been Labours biggest crimes. How proud Oakshott and Windsor must feel supporting open and unaccountable incompetence.

I found that interesting!
Runner talking about who is in bed with who.
Parentage seems to be often on runners mind.
Do we all, well answer is no! silly question, understand both Oakshot and the member for northern table lands took National party seats, in both state then federal, and held/hold them?
Those cow cockys knew and liked both.
Windsor was a legend when he propped up a state Liberal coalition government.
But LOL! Traitor for not doing other than he thought right.

....It’s no good denigrating Swannie. I doubt that anyone could do a significantly better job in the circumstances. They might have been able to make it sound a little less ridiculous, but the major budgetary issues would remain.

Rubbish Ludwig. Even I knew we wouldn't return to surplus,(check my post history) simply because of the amoun of money wasted by labor, in such a short time, combined with the fact that they were a walk up start to be out smarted by the miners, combined with the amount needed to fund the illegals debacle and I'm just an
X butcher for crying out loud.

In any case, this thread is not so much about returning to surplus now, as it is about this failed mans promises to return in the near future.

Even those brain washed followers, the ones who were sucked in this time will be having second thoughts, especially given labor's appauling record of delivering surpluses.

In any case, this thread is not so much about returning to surplus now, as it is about this failed mans promises to return in the near future.

Highly unlikely given the prevailing mood in Lilley. The constituents have had their fill of that clown so a return would necessarily entail finding another 'safe' seat. Those will undoubtedly be in short supply after September.

Swannie just said, "the economic forecasts are prepared by the treasury, the same treasury that forecasted the economic outlook for the coalition when they were in Power"

So, mr Swan, if it is treasury who makes the predictions for deficit/surplus, one would assume it was they also who forecasted the last failed surplus.

So tell me Mr Swan, if you dont make the forecasts, then how on earth can you predict what's going to happen, as you are now, by saying YOU will be delivering a surplus.

I'm confused!

He then went on to warn us about a Campbell Newman style election, where he says they will go to the election without telling the voters just what's really on the agenda.

So tell me Mr Swan, how else, other than by spending cuts, do you propose we pay back this huge debt created by you and your party?

And Belly, he also took another swipe at Tony Abbotts IR policy.

Care to change your position there old mate! And accept that you are I'll informed when it comes to IR having no part in the Sep election?

Of cause, I will understand if you don't reply. It's becoming a habit"

At least part of the reason the dying duck can't make his stories 'appear' consistent is that unlike most of his compatriots, he doesn't have legal training and hence isn't proficient in the fine art of saying one thing & meaning something completely different. For what its worth, its quite possible, even simple, to produce a budget surplus. I've played with the various websites that allow viewers to adjust expenditures and had no problem with creating a surplus every time. In previous years the Treasury Department offered more elaborate websites however I haven't seen such this time. With those fancier sites, I've invariably cleared the national debt within 15 minutes & created such a ginormous surplus that income tax & GST could be dispensed with. OK now, I make no claim to accounting / financial / economic qualifications, however if a total novice can sort out the economy that easily, why can't the $400,000pa 'worlds best treasurer' ??

As for the Mad Monk, assuming he doesn't get pipped at the post by a coalition of minor players, it appears highly likely we'll see a near carbon-copy of the Newman / Seeney / Nicholls dictatorship. Dunno who will be the 'financial expert' but the RAbbott could well retain Costello again (Abbott & Costello ... hmmmm). Whatever, there will be a hue & cry about the deplorable state of the federal finances due completely to the mismanagement of the worlds best treasurer. Massive job cuts will ensue, together with cutbacks in everything imaginable. Any pre-election 'promises' by the RAbbott will be (regretfully) canned because 'we didn't realize what a mess we would inherit'.

Might I suggest the federal LNP save us the time, trouble & expense, just edit slightly the audiotape of Newman / Seeney / Nicholls and re-play that. Since its a certainty that the end result will be virtually identical to what happened in Queensland, we can hear the excuses earlier & get back to whatever we were doing.