Please read this folks. It proves that under the Coalition, our country now has a deficit that's TWICE as large since they gained government.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-06/has-the-government-doubled-the-budget-defecit-/5423392

The claim: "Chris Bowen says Joe Hockey has doubled the defect by changes to government spending and government assumptions".

The verdict: "Since the election the official deficit has doubled. Spending decisions have been made that were not in the previous forecasts, and the economic assumptions are different from those used before the election. Mr Bowen's claim checks out."

The Coalition = economically incompetent. Only 7 months in office and they've DOUBLED our deficit.

Question: "Mr Abbott, Julie Bishop said on TV that... you would have to do both raising taxes and cutting spending to bring the budget back to black. What taxes do you propose to raise?"
Mr Abbott: "The only party that will raise taxes after the election is the Labor Party."

Nhoj

do u suggest we go back to those who every year promised with straight faces to produce a surplus? Shameless supporters should really be removing planks from their own eyes before didtorting specs in others.

Runner, I notice you had nothing whatsoever to say about the *DOUBLED* deficit. Disagree with the findings in the link? If so, produce "your" detailed figures to prove the finding wrong.

And through all of this analysis, there is not a single thought of the ongoing massive rate of increase in the need for expenditure on basic infrastructure.

Very high immigration demands very high expenditure on infrastructure (and services), just to provide the same standard of living for ever-more people.

This is a HUGE factor in the burgeoning deficit and the desire to balance the books. There are also other huge factors associated with this rate of immigration which affect our budgetary position.

When Abbott/Hockey or Shorten/Bowen come out and say something about this, and suggest that a cut in immigration would be a good idea, then I will start to listen. But for them to talk about the need to reduce the deficit and eventually achieve a surplus, while continuing to facilitate very high population growth, is just the epitome of hypocrisy.

Whether Bowen’s claim is entirely true or true to some extent or not at all, is largely beside the point. The most important fact is that the Libs and Labs are very similar political animals, both utterly devoted to continuous growth and forever in pursuance of higher growth, and both utterly under the thumb of big business, its donations regime and its profit motive.

Until this changes, and one or both of them embraces a paradigm of genuine sustainability, they are not going to get the budget into order.

BTW, good thread Nhoj.

Ludwig, immigration ADDS to Australia's GPD, not subtracts from it. I'll simplify it --- when over 20 years a $10 investment produces a $15 dollar return, that's not a $10 loss, it's a $5 GAIN. That's how the financial benefits of immigration have worked in our country for centuries. Over time, it doesn't subtract from our GDP, it ADDS to our GDP.

Please don't blame immigrants for Joe Hockey's almost IMMEDIATE DOUBLING of the deficit.