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Swan the builder more of a maintenance man

Jessica Irvine

by Jessica Irvine

23 Oct 05:45am

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Filed under: Budget Surplus, Economy, Federal Budget, Myefo, Politics, Wayne Swan

63 comments

Wayne Swan is looking more Stepford wife than Bob the Builder. His mid-year budget update yesterday was largely an exercise in housekeeping – a massive spring clean to balance the budget books – rather than a major structural renovation to fix the fiscal house.

Cartoon: Peter Nicholson

It detailed a whopping 76 policy decisions taken since the budget to either increase revenue or cut spending to keep the budget in surplus – just – this financial year. While economic growth is at its historic average and joblessness still relatively low, it is prudent for the government to return to surplus.

The turn around in the budget from a big deficit to a slim surplus is already taking heat out of the economy and paving the way for the Reserve Bank to keep interest rates lower than otherwise.

This takes some pressure off the Australian dollar and helps industries like tourism, education and manufacturing struggling with a higher dollar.

But longer term, the federal budget house has a bad case of rising damp (increased spending) and dry rot (lower revenue) and yesterday’s budget update does little to tackle those underlying problems.

Big – if admirable – multi-billion dollar spending promise, like the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Gonski education reforms, remain off the books. Meanwhile, tumbling commodity prices have punched a significant hole in company tax revenues and the mining tax. The aging of the population will also put the squeeze on government resources.

Balancing the books in the longer term will require deeper “structural savings” - ongoing spending cuts or revenue hikes that build over time.

The closest the government came to major renovations yesterday were the decisions to reduce the baby bonus from $5000 to $3000 for second and subsequent kids and to limit increases in the private health insurance rebate. The later will go a long way in the longer term to reigning in one of the biggest ballooning costs in the health budget. But it’s hard to imagine the cut to the baby bonus will be the last.

The rest of the budget update was largely an exercise in wallpapering over cracks in revenue.

The biggest savings comes from simply “reprofiling” the timing of policies, including a whopping $8.3 billion saving over four years from getting business to pay company tax slightly earlier - monthly, not quarterly.

There are some clever cuts, like shifting the balance of lost super accounts under $2000 from super funds and onto the books of the Tax Office. This gives the government a new pool of funds on which it can earn a return, while savers get their funds protected from super fund’s fees and changes, plus interest at the rate of inflation. Win, win.

In total, yesterday’s budget changes will have only a modest impact on the economy and interest rates. The change in the size of this year’s budget surplus, from $1.5 billion to $1.1 billion represents a $400 million change in the stance of fiscal policy. To put that in the context of our $1.4 trillion dollar economy, that’s about 0.03 per cent – almost a rounding error.

The Reserve Bank was aware budget cuts of this magnitude were on the table when it cut interest rates earlier this month. Yesterday’s budget update is unlikely to have much bearing on whether the Reserve Bank stops the nation half an hour early on Melbourne Cup Day with an interest rate cut at 2:30pm.

Inflation figures due tomorrow hold the key to that.

Comments on this post will close at 8pm AEST.

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63 comments

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    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      04:59am | 23/10/12

      I don’t know how you can say joblessness remains low. I do hope you are not blindly relying on the figures put out by the Government; those are more accurately described as the number of people on benefits. 
       
      At the very least, add to that the number of previously dual-income families where the major breadwinner is now out of work. It might also give you some idea of why consumer spending is on the decline.

      Reply

    • Greg in Chengdu says:

      08:30am | 23/10/12

      Swan the builder, Swan the maintenance man more like Swan the demolition man

    • John of Abbottabab says:

      08:34am | 23/10/12

      So the way we measure unemployment is wrong?
      Yet it is the way we measured unemployment during the Howard years and it was OK then?
      Low unemployment, an economy the envy of the world and of course the conservatives aren’t happy. They’ll only be happy when they have a work choices controlling the workers and women are put back in their place

    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      09:12am | 23/10/12

      @John of Abbotabab

      In times of high employment, ie during the Howard reign, the figures were more accurate. Why? Because there were a higher number of families where two partners wanted to work and were working. 
       
      Currently, the number of families where two partners want to work, but only one IS working, is on the rise. 
       
      Also ...

      “The restrictions placed on the ABS definition of unemployment mean many thousands of Australians ready to start work are not considered ‘unemployed’. The Roy Morgan July unemployment estimate shows 9.7% of Australians are unemployed (compared to an ABS figure of 5.2%) while a further 7.8% of Australians are under-employed and 20.8% of Australians aged 18-24yrs old are unemployed and a further 14.1% are under-employed (a total of 34.9% looking for work or looking for more work). - Roy Morgan August 2012

      Meantime, the Government is handing out 457 visas to Indians like it is going out of fashion.

    • John of Abbottabab says:

      09:19am | 23/10/12

      It was a very easy question
      “Yet it is the way we measured unemployment during the Howard years and it was OK then?”

      Yes or No?

    • Greg in Chengdu says:

      09:53am | 23/10/12

      @ Tony. Now those unemployment figures actually make sense. I’ve been saying this for a long time that the government employment figures are ludicrously incorrect. Working 4 hours a week in fish and chip shop doesn’t equate to employment.

    • PJ says:

      04:07pm | 23/10/12

      Swan “The Job Creator.” Let me remind Aussie again Swan’s VOW to create jobs in the May 2011 Budget, so as to lower our unemployment to 4.5 percent.

      Remember we’ve got the Resource boom that is the “envy of the world.” So creating jobs in an economy thats fed and extra 17 percent on it’s GDP should be easy peasy tight?

      We’ve got what, 5.2 percent unemployment now?

      How crap is that? Way to Go Swanny!

    • Omar says:

      06:49pm | 23/10/12

      Actually babble-on we have an economy the envy of the world.

      Why don’t you just go away and make up some large numbers.
      It’s what you do best.

    • cheap white trash says:

      05:08am | 23/10/12

      Balancing the books in the longer term will require deeper “structural savings” - ongoing spending cuts or revenue hikes that build over time.

      And who will end up fixing this massive balls up,thats right it will be Abbott Abbott Abbott.
      The Goose is cooked,bye bye Swan thanks for coming,but we need a Doctor to run the Asylum,not the Lunatics.

      And please Doc can you rid us of this stupid Baby Bonus,it has to be the biggest rort the Howard Government ever had.
      Giving ppl money to have a Baby,WTF….............Dumb Dumb and Dumb.

      Reply

    • Debbie says:

      07:31am | 23/10/12

      But Abbott is totally opposed to the cuts to the baby bonus, remember it was the conservatives who introduced it and it remains one of their pets. He’s the one who also wants to increase the paid maternity leave. And nobody will mention the Costello introduced tax free super cash out without limits which punched the biggest hole ever in Govt revenues. There are no political parties in Australia who are willing to tackle real fundamental reforms.

    • PJ says:

      04:15pm | 23/10/12

      After 6 years of Federal Labor we have Pregnant women getting turned away from their Hospitals because there isn’t a bed.

      In Queensland, when Labor were in power there, during busy periods people received treatment in Ambulances.

      Welcome to socialist Australia, where Labor uphold the basic right of citizens to decent Healthcare.

    • Super D says:

      05:09am | 23/10/12

      If only Swannie was a maintenance man. He is more the tenant from hell. The garden is overgrown, the carpets need replacing, there is graffiti on the walls and an ungodly stench coming from the bathroom.

      Reply

    • TimB says:

      06:49am | 23/10/12

      This elevator only goes to the basement. And someone left an awful mess down there…

    • Esteban says:

      01:32pm | 23/10/12

      The stench from the bathroom is green and no body knows how to get rid of it.

      The house has super fast braodband but it has been cutoff because the bill is unpaid.

      There is a family of boat people living in the shed but they are getting unhappy with the accomodation.

    • TimB says:

      05:29am | 23/10/12

      ‘The closest the government came to major renovations yesterday were the decisions to reduce the baby bonus from $5000 to $3000 for second and subsequent kids ‘

      Credit where credit is due. This was a good move and long overdue. Too bad no-one had the guts to do it without the excuse of a budget mess, but better late than never. Lets see more of it.

      The super thing seems pretty smart too. As long as the Government doesn’t forget who is really entitled to those funds.

      Reply

    • pete says:

      07:28am | 23/10/12

      If it was a good move the whole scheme would have been given the neck.

    • FlyOnTheWall says:

      07:32am | 23/10/12

      I agree with those things TimB - but Jessica went on to say “The Reserve Bank was aware budget cuts of this magnitude were on the table when it cut interest rates earlier this month” - what cuts, Jessica? Or is she saying, the RBA was aware there would be no budget cuts, and those that were cut, were more than made up for in new spending.

      All this talk of global factors affecting the budget, and we get this crap?

      I’m sick of the mess these monkeys are creating, and making worse.
      Can anyone seriously believe that Wayne Swan is treasurer? Seriously?
      The man looks incompetent, has an incompetent record, and has not a single job of significantly responsibility under his belt - I really worry when someone completely devoid of experience is put in charge of our treasury. No wonder the budget is cactus - Jessica Irvine doesn’t help - still writing as though to impress her Fairfax colleagues.

    • GROBP says:

      05:39am | 23/10/12

      Everything’s sold, we’re at maximum personal debt, unemployment’s rising, manufacturing’s dead, mining boom’s over, and now all the coins from the back of the lounge have been spent to meet the budget (which bizarrely doesn’t include all the expenses).

      What’s to come is our wages to fall in line with our competitors (about a tenth what they are now). Australia and its’ citizens are broke, worse than broke and not too many people can see it.

      Where will money come from that’s even close to the mining boom that STILL wasn’t enough that we had to sell stuff and borrow to sustain our ridiculously opulent lives. In one or two generations we’ve spent all of Australia’s wealth and in addition borrowed from the future. There can not be a more selfish use of kids and grandkids futures in the history of humans.

      Instead of listening to smart people (some of them foreign economists) we listen to politicians. We will be Greece very soon.

      Reply

    • SC says:

      01:16pm | 23/10/12

      And yet the economy’s still growing at above long-term trend rates. Go figure!

      Or is the ABS in the grand global conspiracy as well?

    • GROBP says:

      02:21pm | 23/10/12

      @SC.

      I will always use my head and logic before the BS manipulated figures you refer to, logic has served me well, listening to other peoples lies will not. If it all sounds logical to you, go ahead as normal.

      The growth you refer to is all based on commodities that are increasingly being sourced from far cheaper places.

      Do a poll of people around you, do they all feel like the economy’s booming?

      I’m telling you SC, we will be Greece if people such as yourself ignore what’s going on and continue voting for either of these parties.

    • GROBP says:

      02:40pm | 23/10/12

      @SC

      “Housing markets are cooling a bit. Our expectation is that the decline in activity or the slowing in activity will be moderate, that house prices will probably continue to rise.” ........Ben Bernanke, February 15, 2006

      The data means very little, especially when the “experts” don’t know how to interpret it. Logic is always what matters.

    • Bazza says:

      06:30am | 23/10/12

      A good Nicholson cartoon…......now, can we run a poll on who ran the most surpluses and who did the best ‘treasuring’ for Australia.

      Reply

    • GROBP says:

      07:34am | 23/10/12

      None of them, they were and are bad for Australia’s future.

      Keating wrecked Australia with globalisation. There was nothing in it for us; we HAD all the wealth.

      Costello wrecked Australia with his pro business big Australia mantra.

      Swan wrecked Australia but needs no commentary.

      Overall, in a very short time frame, they have all had a hand in transferring all our wealth to the rest of the world.

    • Peter says:

      08:34am | 23/10/12

      GROBP - you are so right.  the nation is in the toilet.  our economy is wrecked. we are all going over the edge to our doom.  and my new 56 inch 3d smart plasma tv is not as good as it should be.  we got it bad, real bad.

    • GROBP says:

      09:22am | 23/10/12

      @Peter

      You’re making the mistake of looking at right now. You need to smarten up buddy and look at what’s coming. If you have a mortgage and need a job to pay for it, you might not have anywhere to watch that tele you so love.

      Actually you might not get time to watch that tele because you’ll be in the fields working for your money. It is no surprise with comments such as yours we are where we are.

    • Peter says:

      11:30am | 23/10/12

      @GROBP - Joe Hockey, is that you?  I so wish you were in charge of our finances, Joe.  You have the right attitude.

    • andrew says:

      12:07pm | 23/10/12

      when I read an article the other day telling us that Australians were (on average) the richest people in the world , my first thought was - only one way to go from there. Clearly this is as good financially as it will ever be for the average Australian - the message there is to ensure that you do not remain average.

    • GROBP says:

      12:34pm | 23/10/12

      No, I’m not Joe, but like Joe I know what’s going on. I am certain by what you write, you unfortunately do not. I’m not saying Joe will take us good places either because he won’t; but he knows what’s going on.

      When it hits the fan Peter, I’ll buy your TV for 20 bucks. You’ll jump at it.

    • GROBP says:

      12:58pm | 23/10/12

      @andrew

      True.

      It’s funny how different people take the same info and can come to two extreme conclusions.

      I remember a NZ, Queenstown RE agent telling me, it’s a great time to buy, it went up 15% this year, 12 the year before and 16 the year before that…....With that information I thought the run’s over…and of course it was.

      Australia has spent all of its’ money and more. How can things ever possibly be as good as it is now? Perhaps Peter, you can tell us where the money will come from.

    • Bazza says:

      06:34am | 23/10/12

      Ask a guy who goes by the ‘name’ Bruce Rugby, (he’s an old mate of a real stalwart of the Labor party, Tom Burns,) ask him what he thinks of Wayne Swan’s ability. Get the opinion of someone in the know.

      Reply

    • Gregg says:

      06:39am | 23/10/12

      All that recent big spending and cash throw aways is returning to haunt them some it seems.
      Good at least to see that even Labor now may relaise you cannot just keep borrowing and borrowing.
      All we need next is for them to realise it’d be prudent to be repaying borrowings at earliest possible time to minimise interest as just more throw away.

      Reply

    • Sports Fan says:

      06:41am | 23/10/12

      Swanny just wants to go into the next election with a surplus. Removing another complaint from the Negative Noalition. However many young Australian families are struggling NOW due to rising costs and ridiculous housing prices.

      Reply

    • Craig Mc says:

      06:46am | 23/10/12

      I don’t know who wrote the headline, but try “Swan The Wrecker” instead.

      By the time this clown show of a government is driven from office it will have racked up $250B of debt.  It will take a generation to repair the damage.  Swan makes Jim Cairns look competent.

      Reply

    • Mahhrat says:

      07:00am | 23/10/12

      I am a public servant, so I have a fair understand of using resources to produce an service.  I grew up within a family business, so I also understand using resources to make a profit.  The two goals are often polar opposites in terms of what actually happens.

      Based on that limited understanding, is there any validity to the idea of removing budget solely from government and handing it to a government-appointed board, made up of Treasury, the Treasurer, and senior private enterprise boards?

      At the moment you’ve got one party beholden to unions, and the other beholden to big business.  Is the solution to sit reps of both sides together and get THEM to make the budget?

      I may be sky-pieing somewhat, but I consider that the real problem right now is we’re continually voting for who we think will do the least damage to our way of life.  The budget is a huge part of that; I’d be interested in not trusting it solely to politicians.

      Reply

    • Super D says:

      07:25am | 23/10/12

      I don’t know why you think the Coalition is beholden to big business.  Perhaps that was the case back in the day but it certainly isn’t anymore.  The Coalition is the party of small business.  Big business favors both parties,if anything organisations such as the BCA are left leaning.  The fact is that big business is far more able to deal with red tape and are more than happy to see it stifle their smaller competitiors.

    • Gregg says:

      07:39am | 23/10/12

      We all have our beliefs and we have when of voting age the right to elect those into governments who we expect will be able to best serve us in generating the best environment in many areas, the budget just a tallying of revenues and costs attributable to the many areas, it all being about acknowledging prevailing conditions, having some foresight and setting priorities just as we as individuals often do in handling the various matters of our own lives.

      We recently saw Julia Gillard set up a committee because she was not prepared to come out and acknowledge that mistakes had been made that have allowed the people smuggling situation to blow out of control and we would hardly want another committee used because of inept government.
      If a government finds it too hot in the kitchen they always pack up and go off somewhere else.

      So yes, you are pieskying and need to acknowledge that unions and a union supported government never do a great longer term service for Australia, that writing having been on the wall through a number of economic cycles of the past half century and beyond.
      Perhaps as a public servant you will fail to appreciate that and would need to get back into a family business to have a better understanding.

    • maria says:

      11:17am | 23/10/12

      At the moment you’ve got one party beholden to unions, and the other beholden to big business.

      That’s what is a mafiacracy a game to screw the working families.

      If you really want to stop this game direct democracy is the only solution.

      What we have now is a common system of government directed by the whims of mobs and marked by lies and frauds….. a government ruled by the political law of a few elite (Oligarchy).

      As Alan Coren said;
      “Democracy consists of choosing your dictators, after they’ve told you what you think it is you want to hear.”
      That would have never existed under a direct democracy.

    • Mahhrat says:

      12:28pm | 23/10/12

      @SuperD:  Workchoices, mate.  Workchoices.  You might have forgotten that rather innocent little cockup of John Howard when he thought he was unassailable, but I recall it as the moment the LNP handed two terms of government to the ALP.  So do an awful lot of people.

      While I think it’s detestable, I guarantee we’ll have a “Tony Abbott = Workchoices” ad out of the ALP once the electioneering gains momentum.  It was that big a problem.

    • NESLIHAN KUROSAWA says:

      07:17am | 23/10/12

      Hi Jessica,

      This must be a good day for Australian voters, right?  And Mr Wayne Swan the treasurer of Australia must be feeling good about himself and his maintenance skills.  Even though there might be very conflicting and mixed messages on either side. We are somewhat lucky compared to the people of USA and some parts of Europe where one out of four young adults is actually looking for a job. I only wonder if it is pure luck on Australians’ side or that Australia happens to be a rich nation with lots of money to save us from the troubles ahead for now?  What about in 5-10 years time? Will it change for the better or for the worse?

      I am certain that most Greeks with their population standing at 11 million, could not envisage the current economic crisis and the harsh austerity measures taken recently, about three - five years ago.  I am only curious if our leaders and politicians do make five year plans of where they actually want to see Australia in 3-5 years time!  And the same truth could be said about the Spanish, Italians and the Portuguese as well.  If only we had a chance to look at the future of Australia up close and personal, to actually see what is in store for the average Australian workers as well as the potential voters of the ALP and the Liberal Party both equally.  Kind regards.

      Reply

    • Gregg says:

      02:57pm | 23/10/12

      If only we had a reliable crystal ball Neshlihan and people believed the ball readers.
      Even though it is a commonly held belief that no one saw the GFC coming, there were a few people writing at various times about things not being so good and I’d reckon a lot of people who were working in the business of bundling up mortgages and flogging them off to the unsuspecting and meanwhile earning heaps themselves might have had an inkling that their good times were not going to last forever and that a lot of people were going to get burnt.

      The supposed good times we have now are declining and I’ve often commented myself on The Punch for a couple of years now re the dominoe principle which is basically:
      . buyers in financial difficulties stop buying
      . manufacturers get a stockpile and limited cash and so stop manufacturing.
      . less raw material needed
      . Australia’s resources of less demand.

      The GFC started in 2008 and there’s still no real recovery and more and more of those resource investments we hear of in the pipeline will either be delayed or cancelled.
      Governments certainly have some longer term aspirations and the NBN is one example even if the value is questionable and obviously politicians hope for a couple of terms or more and often promise so much that would be falling outside of when they may not be in government and hence the doubts on where the Gonski and NDIS money would come from.
      And then more practically though treasurey do forward estimates stuff, the government really only engage with detail in one year plans, from one budget to the next and as you casn see with the Swann fiddling now, plans can be up for changing within a matter of months.

      That’s the reality and even in Australia you’ll find some areas where youth unemployment is a lot higher than the overall figures.
      And yes, Australia has been lucky in that we have been riding on the back of the China boom but that is also slowly becoming less of a boom and the MRRT and Carbon Tax are going to make much more difficult for Australia to be competitive internationally.

    • gof says:

      07:19am | 23/10/12

      Will there be an increase in the dole? I wanna know what is in t for me.

      Reply

    • P. Walker says:

      03:25pm | 23/10/12

      gof asks: “Will there be an increase in the dole? I wanna know what is in t for me”

      I suggest you are doing extremely well if you have the Internet connected.  I sincerely hope I’m not paying taxes for this in your lounge!

    • PJ says:

      04:02pm | 23/10/12

      ha ha Swans ‘entitlements’ to lower and middle income families in exchange for votes are exactly what’s getting him the reputation of being the worst Treasurer in the Universe.

      He’s Taxing working families then giving the money back through Family incentives.

      It all rests on the Mining Boom and in particular commodity prices.

      For Commodity Traders the emphasis is keep trading on any reasonable price.

      But Swan can only trade of a specific commodity price because he has to cover the cost of the vote buying entitlements.

      His MRRT and Carbon tax have seen off the Mining Boom. It’s not stalled because of low commodities as they say, its alive and well in Africa now. Growth in Africa over the past 6 months -16.8 to plus 32 percent!!! The African economy grew 3.2 percent Q2 and of course we tripled AID to them. Mugs eh LOL!

      Carr and Swan will tell you that we do not need the Mining Boom, who cares! They would say that because they lost it right!

      Fact is without the Mining boom the Gillard Government is going to struggle to keep up the ‘Freebees for Votes’. Attacking the Baby bonuses and Medical Rebates is just the tip.

      Swan is demonstrating his desperation now, no one would make drastic cuts of $20 billion at the beginning of an election year right? Unless they’d f&8ked; it right up ha ahaha

    • KimL says:

      07:34am | 23/10/12

      I think that baby bonus should be for the first child only. If your not smart enough to buy all you need for your child then save it for the next child, then you deserve to have to find the money for strollers ect yourself. The baby bonus is being spent on overseas trips, so the money is not even staying onshore, and big screen tv’s ect. That money could be put to better use, little mundane things like infrastructure, but at least Swan cut it back for any child after the first.

      Reply

    • ibast says:

      07:36am | 23/10/12

      The mid-year budget review is only ever meant to be an adjustment.  In fact I’d be worried if the government of the day did any more than that.  Not only that, if they did make major changes the opposition and right wing media would be screaming from the rooftops.

      And as far as hand-off treasures, nobody takes the cake like Costello.

      This article dumb, because it’s a damned if you don’t criticism.

      Reply

    • GROBP says:

      07:47am | 23/10/12

      Uhoh….This will not end well.

      ..................“The IMF’s database shows goods and services costing $US100 ($A97) to produce in the US now cost $US41 to produce in India, $US67 in China, $US105 in Germany or Britain - but $US161 in Australia.”......................

      Reply

    • FINK says:

      08:14am | 23/10/12

      So what you’re saying is buy from India and not China… Thanks for the heads up.

    • GROBP says:

      08:45am | 23/10/12

      You may as well look after yourself FINK. The government aren’t.

      But really what I’m saying is don’t spend a cent you don’t have to. That thousand dollars spent will mean a lot when wages are that much a month.

    • Achmed says:

      08:20am | 23/10/12

      Its a shame that the decision to return to a surplus so quickly after the GFC is a political decision and not an economic one.  Labor has allowed itself to be bullied into the position that a surplus is the only measure of good economic management.
      Howards surplus was built around the sale of assetts, lack of spending on infrastructure, health and education and a mining boom that lasted longer that this one.  No assetts left, except Medicare that Abbott plans to sell off.  Labor are trying to rebuild health by increasing training positions after Abbot as Health Minister reduced the number of training positions and not caring about Aussie health handed $1 billion to add to that surplus.
      Now Aust needs to get real and reign that middle class welfare that Howard started in order to buy votes.  The reduction in the baby bobus was a small step but needs to go further.

      Reply

    • nihonin says:

      09:45am | 23/10/12

      ‘Labor has allowed itself to be bullied into the position that a surplus is the only measure of good economic management.’

      Current Labor Government = Gullible in that case.

    • SOTON says:

      09:58am | 23/10/12

      Achmed says:  //  Howard’s surplus was built around the sale of assets.

      But then forgets to mention that it was the Hawke and Keating govt that sold the Commonwealth Bank as well as Qantas - Now were they not both members of the then ALP govt.. Just saying.

    • I hate pies says:

      10:05am | 23/10/12

      Which infrastructure is the federal government responsible for Achmed? If we’re talking NBN, I’d rather no spend than that monstrous waste of money.

    • Achmed says:

      12:11pm | 23/10/12

      nihonin - agree

      SOTON I didn’t forget to mention the sale of Qantas or the Commonwealth Bank.  I chose not to because it was not relevant to the Liberal rants regarding Howards surplus.

      I hate pies - one very close to heart is roads.  It wasn’t until Labor gained power that we have seen improvements in Aust No.1 highway where it runs through the Kimberley.  Single lane traffic bridges are being made into two lane and improved so they don’t get flooded and closed during cyclone season.  Admittedly the Labor Govt are only doing it to assist the mining companies so they can get the ore to the ports but then with the MRRT we should see some of that money being returned.

    • George says:

      08:26am | 23/10/12

      People bang on about Howards paying off the debt and having a surplus.  The debt was domestic.  They ignore that foriegn debt grew whileHoward was in Govt

      Reply

    • Carl Palmer says:

      09:02am | 23/10/12

      When Swan was appointed treasure, he displayed his incompetence by having Ken Henry at his side everywhere he went. At one stage I didn’t know who the treasurer was because Henry was doing most of the talking / explaining. I felt embarrassed, a public servant explaining treasury matters / policy to the media / public. The penny must have dropped or someone must have tapped him on the shoulder and Henry was quickly ditched. He has continued with this incompetence by bowing to the demands of Gillard / ALP rather than the interest of the country. Did he / they ever put the interest of the country first and foremost?  No! As everyone knows, this is all about attempting to fulfill a promise – their last ditch attempt to say they delivered something when the election campaign begins.

      Reply

    • Tim says:

      11:37am | 23/10/12

      Are you serious?
      You felt embarrassed that the head of the Treasury department was explaining their work?

      So you’d rather a politician (of any party) with comparatively limited knowledge doing it?

    • Carl Palmer says:

      12:54pm | 23/10/12

      @ Tim says:11:37am | 23/10/12
      Thanks Tim, you hit the nail smack bang in the middle – “…comparatively limited knowledge…” He is called your Treasurer. Be afraid, very afraid.

    • St. Michael says:

      11:04am | 23/10/12

      “The turn around in the budget from a big deficit to a slim surplus is already taking heat out of the economy and paving the way for the Reserve Bank to keep interest rates lower than otherwise. This takes some pressure off the Australian dollar and helps industries like tourism, education and manufacturing struggling with a higher dollar.”

      But it also screws anyone living off interest—in particular, most people relying on superannuation rather than the age pension.  It also disincentivises saving and encourages people to borrow more, which frankly is a stupid move, because with the global economic picture as it is we should be stuffing every spare Australian dollar we’ve got into bank accounts.

      Tourism and education deserve to die off.  Like mining, they are cyclical industries, which it’s stupid to subsidise since doing so can be seen as analogous to trying to subsidise the tide not to go out.  More importantly, they are not value-adding industries to this country and we have been foolish to ride them and the mining boom for so long.

      Reply

    • esteban says:

      01:56pm | 23/10/12

      There is far too much focus on the baby bonus. By reducing the baby bonus it will save $461 million over 3 years. That is a saving of $153 million per year.

      to put that in perspective Swann’s first 4 deficits totalled $173,000 million dollars.

      Good ,reduce the bonus but no more awards for this paltry saving.

      If taxes are increased now it will strangle the economy.

      The only way to sustainably get a better fiscal position is to start progressively reducing the public service.

      What exactly do we get for our money from the 5000 public servants in the federal health and education departments that we are often reminded don’t run a single school or hospital?

      What exactly are the 2000 public servants in Canberra who earn over $280,000 a year doing?

      The captive breeding program of public servants needs to be tackled. Release the public servants back into the wild so they can be a part of the productive private sector.

      For every public servant we need about three private sector workers to pay for the public servant.

      Taking money out of productive business via taxation to employ unproductive public servants reduces the capacity of business to employ people.

      Reducing the public service will fix our problems but would be very difficult for any government to achieve.

      Reducing the baby bonus is easy to do but will do close to nothing regarding the fiscal challenges we now face.

      Reply

    • Pensioner Advocate says:

      03:38pm | 23/10/12

      Interest rates have been cut five times since March 2010, however pensioners continue to suffer having had no reduction in centrelink deeming rates during this time. (More than TWO and a HALF YEARS!!)

      They get hit by a reduction in their savings interest rates as well as not passing on deeming rate cuts when interest rates fall.  This is a forgotten group of people who have contributed dearly for many years to our society.  Wayne Swan and JuLiar should hang their heads in shame.

      Reply

    • Just Me says:

      05:00pm | 23/10/12

      Hear, hear! Add to that, the losses so many incurred with thousands in superannuation and Swan’s intention to hit that as well.

      Any further hits to super will force many over the poverty line. The Opposition should strenously oppose implementation.

      Australians deserve better!

    • Richard says:

      05:52pm | 23/10/12

      Defence retirees having their retirement pay (pension) indexed to CPI also means we are suffering. At least the AGE pension is indexed to MTAWE, PBCLI or CPI whatever is the higher. Our pension is tied to CPI (lowest level) and by the way our retirement pay was NOT a gift , it was paid for every fortnight out of pre tax salary. Defence retirees also contributed to society.

    • ChrisW says:

      04:36pm | 23/10/12

      THERE IS NO SURPLUS - a surplus is being “manufactured” but that does not mean there is an actual surplus. The sooner everyone understands that the better!

      Reply
 
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