The last four years have demonstrated that Labour cannot have a fully funded policy with their vain promises of being out of debt. They even had to raid reserve bank accounts not touched for the past two years of investers, their mining and carbon taxes have failed to do the trick. They are incompentent managers of an economy, another three years of the same - means more of the same increase in debt.

All jokes aside.
Did any body else apart from me notice the prominence Rudd gave for the well worn Bible he was carrying all through the swearing in ceremony?

Dear SOG,

We've covered this ground many times.
Indeed the Howard government did achieve a series
of surplus budgets. That is not very difficult in
a time of strong economic growth which delivered
very high tax revenues. But as always you leave out
certain facts. The howard government also left
Australia with significant liabilities in
terms of our physical and intangible assets - our
common wealth. It negleglected so much. It let
fiscal impression management displace sound economic
management and directed political attention to only
one side of the public balance sheet - the debt side
while ignoring the asset side.

If the Howard cabinet had been the board of a publicly
listed company the shareholders would have thrown them out
for weakening the company's asset base.

As for the current government's economic profile the
following link sums things up rather well:

http://www.indexmundi.com/australia/economy_profile.html

It is easy to have a surplus if you don't spend any of it on infrastructure. Health, education, roads and other infrastructure were run down considerably under Howard and this is what the ALP inherited in 2007 along with the GFC.

Taxes are to provide services. If you hoard revenue just to say what a wonderful little duck am I, it begs the question why are taxes so high if they are not being used to fund services.

Dear SOG,

Talking about "personality" politics.
I thought that this is what this discussion
was actually about. The personality and
character of Mr Abbott - and what he stands
for which seems fair enough seeing as he wants
to be our next PM. And with that thought -
as you continue to point out the failures of
the government - here's a few of Mr Abbott's
just to balance things out:

http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/tony-abbotts-catalogue-of-failures/

Dear SPQR,

Here comes the judge, here comes the judge ...

Thanks SPQR, facts are facts, but some facts are orphans, particularly to the Labor acolytes on OLO.

Not being partisan to any party, I might take this opportunity to relay some facts on the one year old NSW O'Farrell Liberal govt. He and his government are liars.
O'Farrell regurgitated a load of lies in his policy speeches regarding the rights of landowners and the CSG licence renewal caveats…he did a Gillard…he just plain lied.
O’Farrell gave undertakings re the failed Labor solar scheme, another Gillard…plain lies. We will see what Abbott lies about, if he does lie. We will see if Abbott’s utterances are worth the kilojoules it cost to produce them.

If they are not, we are in trouble, no real servants of the people in either camp.