Actually, Morrison’s grand gesture with taxpayer money makes LESS sense than Rudd’s did. Rudd acted in a financial crisis; money was tight. We are now in a health crisis - nothing to do with consumers’ buying power - and the only people silly enough to spend an undeserved windfall would probably blow it on toilet paper. Prudent people will hang onto it like grim death, given the way Morrison himself has treated pensioners, part-pensioners and self-funded retirees.

Morrison was an excellent Immigration Minister, but a dud Treasurer; and his lack of financial acumen has been carried forward into his Primeminstership.

Following Morrison’s announcement to pander further to the bloated building industry with taxpayer provision of ridiculously low deposit rates for a select group, and the more and larger loans, increasing house prices and housing bubble that will entail, he is now being referred to as the ‘Realty PM’.

What we need is a ‘Real PM’.

Support business (not just the spoilt building industry, which will bring about a prime mortgage disaster) to keep working and employing; but, leave it to someone who knows how to go about it. That someone is not Scott Morrison; he gives me the shivers. He is not the man to lead us out of the current situation. Recently, the medical community pleaded with him and his fellows to leave the virus to them. Someone should be asking him to do the same with the economy. Not Josh, though. He is another sad story.

I agree ttbn, the handouts to pensioners & dole receivers is a very foolish act, as bad as was the Rudd catastrophe. It would make a hell of a lot more sense to keep the powder dry, ready for use in what ever problem appears.

I can see very good reason for supporting employees, particularly casuals in hospitality who are being effected severely already, & apprentices for whom continued work & study is critical, but spending it on health care if required makes more sense than a hand out.

If China is shut down for long we are going to have huge loss of employment in coal & Iron ore, & the whole chain that supports them. With the loss of royalty payments & foreign exchange, we might have much better use for that cash than throwing it vaguely at the economy right now.

Dear Hasbeen,

Come on old cock, you have had empirical evidence that this works because of Rudd. The top down approach of giving those earning $45,000 or more tax cuts certainly didn't. The Libs were scratching their heads as to why it had not stimulus impact on the economy when a buffoon could have told them it would have gone straight of mortgage payments which it did.

The cash handout it the kind of trickle up economics which the Libs hate with a passion but it works every time.

But don't let the evidence stand in the was of an ideology hey.

On economic stimuli, I've just read this:-

"Despite the nonsense propagated by Kevin Rudd and the ALP, he and Swanny did not save Australia from a recession in 2007-8. It was the Chinese Government that saved Australia through their stimulus which sucked up any and all coal and iron ore that could be sucked out of the ground."

If that's true, and the Morrison stimulus is as ineffective, China, where our current problem started, won't saving us this time! OMG! Pass the toilet paper.

There is now a suggestion/claim that “Climate change loonies have increased your risk infection” with the ban on single use plastic bags and their replacement with “unsanitary” reusable ones.

Researchers have apparently been warning for years that renewable bags spread “deadly viral and and bacterial diseases”. The loonies, public officials and politicians have ignored the warnings.

Unless the bags are washed regularly, good old Chinese COVID-19 is one of the pathogens that can be spread by them. The bacteria can last in the bags for up to 9 days.

Bugs from the bags have been found on the hands of shoppers, check out chicks, packaged and unpackaged food and shopping trolleys etc.

It will take more than cash handouts to fix the damage done by the climate/carbon dioxide fraud.

another cash splash just adds to future pain. Somehow we think Governments can stop floods, fires, virus's and when they can't we expect them to pay for it. Billions wasted on Gonski to dumb people down, billions wasted on renewables to fill the pocket of thieves and make our electricity triple the price, billion plus on the abc to push marxist garbage, billions wasted on submarines that we will never get. Only tiny consolation is that Labour would of wasted much more. Pay day for our debt is coming and again it will be the average tax payer that foots the bill.

I can't quite see how this cash is going to end up supporting the building industry, but think of it, in a few months there will no longer be a need for a building industry: as the elderly 1-2% of the population dies of Covid-19, there will be more than enough vacant houses/flats to house the remaining.

Yuyutsu

The cash handout affair is separate from the building industry, which will benefit from the lowering of the deposit required to get a loan. More people with loans they will find difficult to repay. Another 'brilliant' politicians' idea. It's hard not to think of the prime mortgage debacle in America.

runner,

Yes to all of that, and what a wonderful opportunity for the nanny state to control us even more.

ttbn,
You've only just read the claim that it was the Chinese government who saved Australia from a recession during the GFC? I first heard it years ago, when it was easy to refute. Demand from China was still weak at the time; the huge increase came afterwards.

COVID19 is nothing to do with bacteria, and the plastic bag ban was nothing to do with climate change.

Isn't this $22 billion dollars going to those on the bottom of the heap a bit of a reversal of Morrisonomics which is all about money needing to trickle down from the top of the heap in order to drive jobs and growth?

Looks more like ScuMo spending more taxpayers' money to buy votes for himself. That plus the fact that he is unpopular with the hoi polloi for running off to Hawaii in the midst of the 2019-20 bushfire catastrophe so he thinks it might endear him with those who now have their minds set on voting him out come the next election.

If Morrison is buying votes, he is being even more wasteful of taxpayer money because it's all in vain. He is toast, I believe. Too many people have been rubbishing him for the wrong reasons - bushfires and so on - to see his real problem: he believes in nothing, stands for nothing, does nothing. He is PM only because of the pathetic Lefties who now infest the Liberal party; the ones who are literal liberals - left wing drones. Then only Conservative in the party; the only one distinguishable from a Labor politician, is Peter Dutton. For heaven's sake! 99% of the Liberals wouldn't look out of place in the Greens.

There was a stage where the Liberals at least differed from Labor on border protection. 'Nobody arriving on a boat .... blah blah blah'. But what about all the legal no hopers they are encouraging to be used as a crutch for the economy they have ruined with globalisation and de-industrialisation? Liberal, Labor, Greens: they are all the same. There is nobody worthy of a vote left in this country.

Morrison to win the next Federal erection.

Whether this will do much good is unknown and it always be unknown. Whatever the outcome and whatever the future holds, a year down the track there'll be people espousing evidence that it was a brilliant move and people espousing evidence that it was a waste of money.

And the beat goes on...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16LEElK1HhM ....La de da de de, la de da de da.

But this is what government does. They need to do something or more precisely they need to be seen doing something. And this is something.

It's the old my dog is a cat thinking.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trw1PbQt_Yo

We have to do something...this is something...therefore we have to do it.

All smoke and mirrors.

Australia's problems are=Australians !

Now would be an almost perfect time to kick of Bradfield type schemes to give the anticipated job losses a jab in the arm ! A perfect time to get many out & away from the cities !

individual,

Most people will always prefer cities no matter what schemes are dreamt up. They like the bright lights and entertainment

Today's prediction from business writer David Llewellen-Smith - by the end of the cash splash and business handout splurge, our Realty PM will own "pretty much everything: banks, mortgages, business loans, probably part of your house".

"A dream come true for the Realty PM", Smith says.

"A dream come true for the Realty PM", Smith says.
ttbn,
Smith sounds like a moron !

I don't know anything about Smith. Why is he a moron?

Why is he a moron?
ttbn,
Well, didn't you quote what he supposedly said ?

They like the bright lights and entertainment
ttbn,
Then let them wallow in their own mess !

individual,

So now it's moronic to criticise Morrison, is it?

I think we have to realise that, the fact that Albanese is so bad does not make Scott Morrison good; or the fact that Labor would wreck the joint means that the Coalition will not.

The Coalition has been on a downhill run since John Howard lost the plot, and his own seat. There is no political party in Australia that I would vote for. The differences between Labor and Liberal are slight, with the Liberals looking more like small 'l' liberals by the day. Labor can't do any damage in opposition. Liberal can because it has the power and, under Morrison, it looks as though damage will certainly be done, whether it's via the mishandling of the China virus, the pigheaded refusal to drop Paris and keep subsidising Mickey Mouse wind and solar, or the stupidity of mass immigration, multiculturalism and aboriginal separatism. Australia is rooted.

"We live in an era of not just cynicism about the political class but, for many, of genuine hatred – of politicians who insist on solving problems we don’t have, who interfere in our lives, who tax us to the max only to squander our money on idiot schemes, who speak in talking points and gobbledegook, who talk about and, alas, act upon, issues that concern no one, who sell off our assets to foreign powers, who are tethered to ideologies when what we need is “club sensible” policies, and, above all , who don’t do what they say they will." (Paul Collits, Quadrant Online, 12/12/19).

Economics writer, Alan Moran, describes as FOLLY the Morrison government's economic stimulus - handouts to pensioners $4.8 billion; the Reserve Bank's $7 billion foray into the stock market.

The "leadership" some people are demanding would be better if it involved dismantling REGULATIONS on business

Wise and relevant words:

"The point that TAFKAS would however like to emphasise that, with the phenomenal growth in the size and scope of the Commonwealth government, the mental bandwidth and resources of government are diluted. Rather than focusing all energies and efforts on doing the things that government should be doing (like managing national health crises), the government spends too much time focusing on things it shouldn’t be doing (like allocating grants for change rooms and community pools). And when crises occur, resources, political capital and institutional credibility is severely diminished.

We cannot continue with the Commonwealth Government meddling in every nook and cranny of Australian life and regulating every human movement.

Communities and societies cannot build and maintain their resilience if every time there is an issue, a pseudo-benevolent authority in a distant swampland (somewhere between Sydney and Melbourne) jumps in, says there – there, throws other people’s money around and promises to fix everything, something that it generally can’t do."

the one upside to the Coronavirus is that foolish Governments might stop wasting billions on education that just dumbs people down, wasting billions on renewables that go to charlatons, wasting ? on the baby killing industry and other unnecessary public funded life style choices. With the economy on its knees we might have someone with the courage to stare down the foolish Green policies that spend money to stop mines, dams, infrastructure and indusrty that actually produces something. We might grow at least half a brain and mine more coal, mine uranium and any other mineral we have in demand. We need to grow more food and lock up vegan vandals and extremist like antifa and extinction rebellion. We need to rid corporate boards of virtue signalling fools who are more interested in promoting gay lifestyle than providing services and banking executives who virtue signal at every opportunity while doing over the average person. Ah! that feels better!

Hot on the heels of the mismanagement of the bushfire cries by the ScumO' government, we now have mismanagement by the same mob of the coronavirus pandemic. When the government needs to be proactive, and ahead of the curve, this mob are slow to react. Conflicting advice, and lack of preparedness is causing general panic in the community. If the public were properly informed then much of the panic would not eventuate

Hot on the heels of demonising Morrison for State responsibilities we see the same Morrision Derangement Syndrome with the Coronavirus. Yep people low enough to dance on the graves of others while picking cheap political points. Yep we certainly have a generation of regressive virtue signallers who stoop to any level in order to hide their own depravity and failed ideology. Any tweets from you Paul about Dutton or were they from the low lifes you seem to support on the abc and elsewhere.

runner, what are you on about? Dutton and tweets by me, got something to say, say it, you snivelling little rat!

3,500 doctors have signed an open letter to Morrison and other leaders urging immediate assertive action on the governments part to combat the Coronavirus

http://womensagenda.com.au/life/an-open-letter-to-the-pm-from-australian-doctors-is-circulating/

How many of you would support a reduction in salaries to fund the services needed to combat the present & future crisis ?
Right now I'm watching Q & A (painful) where the host is hammering the Govt Minister about being too late for an awareness campaign re COVID-19. For crying out loud ! WE"RE paying for "our" ABC to provide information in return for over a Billion Dollars/year ! WHY doesn't the ABC run an awareness campaign instead of blaming the Govt with the benefit of hindsight ?
The ABC is wasting valuable time by blaming instead of being proactive ! In fact, all Media is guilty of not being proactive, they're more focussed on hysteria & blaming Govt.
They're now screaming that the Govt should have acted sooner. Did the Media act sooner ? No !

And here I was thinking all the empathy hinted at here by idealists would jump at the opportunity to help others. Alas !

runner,

Like everything else they put their oars into, the looney Left is trying to make political capital out of the China virus. I'm not fan of Scott Morrison, but just what do these jerks want of him that he hasn't already done in circumstances where they would be totally useless themselves?

I'm calling it the China virus because I read last night that the Chinese Communists hate it being called that. Anyone would thing that did not emanate from their country, probably because through incompetence or, dare I say it, intent.

ttbn, you're only following that fool Trump, he called it, firstly "nothing" then he called it the "China virus", just a bit of deflection. Since the US found out China was making everything, and they were losing the Economic War, maybe the Yanks though, well lets make a virus and see if we can stop the Chinese from making everything. Unfortunately for the Yanks.....its backfired! Now they are doing their headless chook impersonation, including top chook Trump. Not Trump, everything he says is wrong. "The stock market will love me for what I do!" then it plungers 30%. What a Wally!

The stupidity of having a petrol reserve of only 28 days - that most people seemed to think didn't matter when I raised it - has come up this morning on radio with the question of 'what happens if the China virus stops the tankers coming from Singapore' after a mere 28 days.

More than 99% of deaths of people infected by China virus in Italy had pre-existing health issues. So, healthy older people are unlikely to be more at risk than anyone else.

Thanks to the marauding animals (they look human) panic buying and boarding, Woolworths now have police patrolling supermarket aisles. Shameful.

yes Paul we know the degenerate Greens has everything back the front. Now blaming the US for the virus that came out of China. Have you written your letter to Greta yet to get a solutuion for the virus.

China basically kills doctor whistleblower for exposes Wuhan virus
China stays in denial and could of easily contained virus and only reluntantly advises World Health
and Paul and his idiot friends with Trump Derangement Sydrome dances on the graves of thousands of dead and misery again.

Paul backs the Human Rights Champion (Chinese Government) through his delusional hatred. And people don't think the Greens are a nasty death wishing hypocrites.

Chinese gangs have been identified bussing out into rural areas, stripping the shelves of country supermarkets. We must start distancing Australia from these Communist criminals and the Chinese Communist Party that, for all intents and purposes, IS China.

A worker has photographed huge pallet loads of baby formula waiting for flights to China.

We need to start rebuilding our independence; recommence manufacturing and shake China off our back. Politicians and public servants who have enslaved us to a vile, totalitarian regime should be prosecuted and sacked.

ttbn, a big claim, have you got evidence?

Ok, all Chinese haters now discard everything you bought from China because it was either cheaper or more precisely, not made here ! The human factor is only present whilst
things are exploitable !
Dog Pack mentality !

It will be interesting to see how this pandemic will affect the attitudes people around the world will now have towards China and Chinese people.

Some commentators are saying that governments and corporations will no longer have confidence in China and will probably withdraw capital and investments from it. A case of not putting all of your eggs in the one basket.

The Chinese have never been liked in Australia and the pandemic will only make their social position less tenable. I say give them their marching orders. And definitely put a stop to further Chinese immigration! We only brought them into country to get our hands on their money and ended up with their virus. The joke's on us!

Me thinks today ScumO' and his motley crew are going to have to make a very big cash splash, stimulus 2.0, even before stimulus 1.0 has passed parliament. Today will most certainly not be the last of it, over the next few months there will be little option for the government other than to dole out the cash, as the recession bits hard into the everyday lives of Australians. I can't see much change from $100 billion over the next few months.

ScumO'; Hot on the heels of a series of bushfire clangers, ScumO' came out with this gem last, re coronavirus and leadership, when asked what he was doing for the weekend ScumO' said; : I'm going to the footy!" Wow, how bad that sounds now! Me thinks he needs a permanent holiday, and not in Hawaii.

Is anybody thinking that it is looking like we might be heading into not a recession but an economic depression similar to what the world experienced in the 1930s?

Hi Mr O,

I'll be accused of Yank bashing by the Donald lovers, but so be it. There is nothing like a crises to show the leadership qualities of the political elite. The Great Depression gave us Roosevelt (A Yank), and WWII gave us Churchill (A conservative Pom), leaders with outstanding qualities, men for their times. There is a saying "America sneezes, and the rest of the world catches cold", how prophetic is that saying today. Under Trump, America is doing more than sneezing, it coughing up its lungs!

Some world leaders have been on the front foot with the coronavirus, not that many, some like Morrison have been caught napping, and on the back foot, The Donald however is neither, front or back footed, the fool has been found to be flat on his arse on this. Trump has absolutely no idea what to do! The other conservative fool on this side has been Boris Johnson in the UK. Unfortunately, and lets call a spade a spade, these fools inaction, and bad decisions are costing peoples lives, Morrison take note!

BTW; Did you get the joke from Josh Friedbrain the other day, talking about the Australian economy good old Josh, pointed to the unemployment figure for February, wanting us to note it had fallen from 5.3% to 5.1%, golly gee said the passengers! A bit like the Captain of the Titanic noting that the sea is rather calm tonight, just after the ship hit the iceberg, golly gee said the passengers!

All ties with the Chinese Communist Party, which have always been disgraceful, must be cut as soon as possible. We need to restart our discarded manufacturing industry and employing the 0.7 million out of work Australians. If ever there was a sign that it is stupid to indulge in globalisation and throw away our independence, it is the China virus. We must never forget where the China virus came from after it is dealt with. The Chinese Communist Party and President Xi are the greatest threat to the world that has ever been.

And let's not beat about the bush. We all know who it is that Dutton and the AFP are gunning for in the matter of stripping supermarket shelves for profit.

Paul1405,

This is an amazing event. I only hope I'm one of the lucky ones who manage to live through it.

I think people are going to be so angry about what is happening that come the next election virtually no one will be voting to put ScuMo back in office no matter how good he looks in an Hawaiian floral shirt.

PS I don't think his $66b trickle down stimulus package will do anything to prevent widespread unemployment and poverty. I think the small business owners will pocket the money and cut back on staff. Because most are casual and part-time workers their bosses will simply reduce their hours. This means that the business owners will be able to show that they are retaining staff while at the same time putting the stimulus dollars into their own pockets to keep their personal assets afloat. And I think ScuMo and his merry men and women know that is exactly what is going to happen.

I think what ScuMo will do to keep Australia from going down the gurgle is to sell off more of the nation to China.

Whereas countries still with manufacturers can call on diverse companies to produce much-needed ventilators, Australia CANNOT, thanks to its divesting of our manufacturing industries to China. The best we can do is get booze producers to do some hand sanitiser, which is no better than soap and water.

It's interesting, but not surprising, that the usual suspects here continue defending their own fragile egos against each other instead saying anything useful. It's all about them and their political views; all about ridiculing the people out there trying to do something. I suppose we can be thankful that we don't have to rely on them to solve the problem.

Mr. Opinion,

The only thing that you and I agree on is the Chinese Curse. Occasionally we are at one on Morrison, but I am more ambivalent, and admit that he does some things to an OK degree. I think he is doing as well as can be expected with the China virus, but you don't, intimating that he will get the big A at the next election over virus.

Now, we have only two choices of leader. Do you think that Albanese would have done any better. If so, why. He has hardly spoken on the subject, and I believe that I saw a media report indicating that he actually commended Morrison.

..... instead saying anything useful.
ttbn,
It is rather challenging to resist the perpetual sarcasm of some posters even though it goes against my own Principals, I fall into the trap of replying in that manner to those who choose to incessantly do as you described !

I just hope that this crisis is seen as what it can be, the biggest wake-up call we've faced to-date.
If this doesn't shake Govts into reestablishing local enterprise & move away from having everything outsourced to other countries then COVID-19 will be a double whammy !
To achieve that, Govts need the genuine support & cooperation of its citizens & residents !
This is no time for manipulation !

individual,

I know what you mean; but the sillier and more irritating the posts, the harder it is to talk sense to the poster. And, their opinions are just as firmly held as yours, no matter how mad you think they are.

Like you, I hope that a resolution to reboot our sovereignty, our industrial capacity, and back away from China will prevail after the China virus is beaten. The problem is, I don't have much faith in politicians unless they are under pressure. And Australian voters are not much good at pressuring. Or, more truthfully, they are too bloody complacent and ovine.

ttbn and the other Trump lovers, is my opinion of Trump and his leadership qualities on this virus issue not true? Like during the bushfire crises, you don't want to talk about the failings of the conservative leadership, oh no, its not the appropriate time, oh dear when is the appropriate time? We are not the leaders, Morrison and his motley crew put their hands up for that job, and now they have to wear the consequences. The problem with Morrison is rather than lead, he prefers to be led, this has put Australia 7 to 10 days behind the curve, a very bad place to be. Morrison firstly seen the problem as an economic priority, minimise profit loss for business, when it was overwhelmingly a health issue. Remember a week ago Scumo' declared he was off to the football! Australia had the luxury of being behind most of the world with the spread of this virus, so Morrison, could have noted what was right, and what was wrong with how to deal with this health crises, he didn't take it seriously, and that's put us where we are now.

Now for another of your favourites, your pin up gal in NSW, Big Nose Berejiklian, her government in allowing 2700 passengers to walk off the cruse ship 'Ruby Princess' in Sydney without testing, without any proper procedures was a criminal act of incompetence, 4 passengers out in the community later tested positive to the virus. The consequences of this conservative governments stuff up may well be peoples lives are lost! Tut tut, don't talk about it, it might upset Gladys, but I doubt it.

'Now for another of your favourites, your pin up gal in NSW, Big Nose Berejiklian, her government in allowing 2700 passengers to walk off the cruse ship 'Ruby Princess' in Sydney without testing, without any proper procedures was a criminal act of incompetence, 4 passengers out in the community later tested positive to the virus'

well Paul anyone willing to do a filthy deal with the Greens/Independants and others to kill the unborn up to birth is not fit to govern in my eyes.

"There is a saying "America sneezes, and the rest of the world catches cold", how prophetic is that saying today. Under Trump, America is doing more than sneezing, it coughing up its lungs!"

You do realise that the virus originated in China and if not for the lies and utter contempt for human life shown by the China Communist Party, there'd be no crisis?

Or did "The Socialist" magazine decide that was something you didn't need to know?

You do realise that the virus originated in China
mhaze,
I'm in two ways about that analysis, it was in China where the virus was first identified. Many, many Westerners travelled to that region so, don't rule out of it originating from a supposedly cleaner Nation !

I want to say, I know there are many on the Forum who are in the "high risk category for complication from the coronavirus", and we all have love ones, young and old, who are also at risk, no one is immune from the dangers of this virus. I wish everyone well and I hope we all come out of this with as little impact on our lives as possible. Please treat it seriously, and follow all instructions given by the medical experts, and political leadership, to try and keep yourselves and others as safe as possible. Don't listen to rubbish talk and scuttlebutt that is crating unnecessary fear and panic in the community. Economically and of secondary impotence I hope those who lose their jobs, and/or their businesses and suffer an impact from that, they to are looked after and come out of this crises able to resume and go on with a normal life once more.

Whether or not you believe coronavirus originally was a Chinese virus, or an American virus, unfortunately it very much now an Australian virus, and making its home here rapidly. One thing is for certain, it will impact our lives for sometime to come, it will be many months until a vaccine is developed, or the virus takes it natural course. Please take care one and all.

Back on topic.

I am not a fan of hand outs, but with thousands & perhaps millions loosing their jobs by government edicts there is no question that we must support them & do it adequately.

thanks for your sentiments Paul. I pray all stay safe.

You and my wife both runner, she attended her last "church" (Anglican) for a while on Sunday morning, only 20 turned up, see we are not all atheists in this house. The latest is they have had to shut 'Monday Breakfast' for the homeless and needy, something they run as part of a group thing, her day is Mondays, but they also have 'Thursday Breakfast' its gone as well. The best God can supply at the moment is 'instant noddles'. People in need can still access "The Pantry" where they can take 5 items max, donated tins and packets. Their Op-shop has also closed, which was worth about $100/day, so that money is cut off, not sure about the monthly car boot sale, me thinks the annual Fete (a biggie), worth nearly $10k last year, might also meet its fate later this year.

The wife, against my better judgement, and without my knowledge, has put me down as a "helper" when needed, in lieu of my $5 I give to her for the plate each Sunday, she insists I contribute. Seems the Minister is calling around shortly to discuss action of some kind, whatever that means.

BTW runner, although my wife prays to your Christian God, she also prays to the Maori gods as well (in her bedroom)....strange! She thinks there is strength in numbers. She says their chief God the 'Sky Father' is the same god as the Christian God....interesting! She says there is no conflict of gods. Okay with me.

People in need can still access "The Pantry"
Paul1405,
My Kitchen Rules would not be too enthused about that. I mean such an important show ?
Frivolity should be the # 2 casualty of this virus after greed !

Indy, I'm not familiar with the TV show you refer to, "T" said that's what they call the cupboard they keep donated food items in, "The Pantry".

Back in the good old days, last week, I would now and then go along with the wife, and have a brekkie at the centre, that's all stopped, no more toast and tea for me.

I think Rudd proved conclusively that the cash splash didn't work as the auditor general's assessment was that the vast majority of the money was spent on white goods sourced from overseas and helped to prop up the retail sector for a month or two only.

Any further cash splash needs to be focused on those who need it to pay rent etc from job losses.

Shadow, you suggest that the "bond holders must be paid", in this case landlords. As a landlord myself, we have an investment property in Sydney (a unit), we are prepared to have the tenant live in the property rent free for a period of time, if they are unable to pay the rent. We have no mortgage on the property, so that's an advantage. Others took out a mortgage to negatively gear a property hoping to reap windfall profits, win some lose some, that's the game.

Got lucky before Xmas, moving our managed investment out of shares and into a cash fixed deposit, despite advice from our accountant that, that was the wrong thing to do. I felt the stock market was way over heated and Australia was heading for recession. Lucky us $100k our way, win some lose some, that't the game.

'She says their chief God the 'Sky Father' is the same god as the Christian God....interesting! She says there is no conflict of gods. Okay with me.'

It's a free country Paul and I am pretty sure your wife is a nice person. She has however made up a god in her head if she thinks that the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ or the God of Israel has any equal. I have met a number of Maories that would agree with your wife and many that hold to the God spoken of throughout the Scriptures. I think even you know that Jesus claimed to be the Only access to God. Either He lied or tolod the truth. No amount of twisting can change His words.

Paul,

What jibberish are you talking, I never said anything of the sort.

On the subject of rents and other things. Solly Lew whose principal commercial activities involve importing apparel, toys and other goods into Australia from third world countries along with share market investments, principally in retail companies who import goods mainly from Asia. Lew is a billionaire and his company Premier Investments is the largest shareholder in Myers. Law is demanding free rent from shopping centres, like the Westfield group run by the Lowey family.

Not so long ago these high end rag trade retailers, Myer was one, were refusing to pay a little more for garments, as low as 10c per item, sourced from sweatshops in such places as Bangladesh. The increase was in order to pay workers there a bit better of a subsistence wage. Should these retailers go to the wall, and Lew and Lowey crash and burn, whose going to cry for them? Not me.

Paul,

As it is the employees that would suffer with your capitalist purge perhaps you should think again.