http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/treasury/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/brown-bank-more-jimmy-buffett-than-warren-buffett/ In the general pandemonium surrounding the unveiling of the carbon tax package last week, it was easy to overlook the dodgy little purchase incentive that came as part of the bundle.  Shrink-wrapped to the side of the carbon tax box was something called the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). Behind the feel good name, this new bureaucracy is little more than a $10 billion, off-the-books venture capital fund, underwritten by the taxpayers and created for the sole purpose of providing generous loans and guarantees to highly speculative startups in the renewable energy sector.  This shonky “Gillard Bank” will involve an unelected board, chosen by Julia Gillard and Bob Brown, picking winners with minimal public scrutiny, no apparent requirement for cost benefit analyses and no apparent tender processes with objective criteria to ensure value for money. In all probability the CEFC will direct funds to projects that conventional financiers wouldn’t touch because they would be deemed too risky. While the actual policy documents are silent on where the $10 billion will come from, Government sources have suggested the money will come from the issue of billions of dollars in government bonds. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/brown-bank-more-jimmy-buffett-than-warren-buffett/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/brown-bank-more-jimmy-buffett-than-warren-buffett/#item6330 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival. This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say. Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/abbotts-been-freewheelin-with-the-truth/ When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival. This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say. Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/abbotts-been-freewheelin-with-the-truth/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/abbotts-been-freewheelin-with-the-truth/#item6161 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival. This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say. Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-about-the-spending-stupid/ For all its flaws, there is one thing this Labor Government can be proud of – a cohesive ability to ignore the reality of its spending addiction.  I applaud every Labor Member of Parliament who has successfully stood in front of a camera and said with a straight face that Wayne Swan is a good economic manager.  It must be tough, because a close look at the Budget’s spending column clearly proves otherwise.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-about-the-spending-stupid/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-about-the-spending-stupid/#item6135 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival. This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say. Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Forget-the-cat-calls-the-economy-still-has-claws/ Australia is not heading for a recession but our precise economic destination over the next few years can’t be forecast because of the swirl of factors buffeting certainty around the globe. We simply don’t know exactly what is going to happen in Greece, Spain, Portugal, the United States and China. Or even in Australia. This means the Government will have to be careful as it tip-toes towards a Budget surplus in 2012-2013; and the Opposition will have to use caution when predicting calamity from carbon pricing. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Forget-the-cat-calls-the-economy-still-has-claws/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Forget-the-cat-calls-the-economy-still-has-claws/#item5997 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival. This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say. Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-budget-for-our-crazy-economic-times/ New Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson got married last Saturday and had a splendid ceremony and celebration in the tourist-depleted north Queensland resort of Port Douglas. He will now spend time which might have been allocated to a honeymoon doing all-nighters in the Treasury Building as the May 10 Budget is locked into place. Crazy honeymoon. And it will be a crazy Budget in crazy economic times. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-budget-for-our-crazy-economic-times/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-budget-for-our-crazy-economic-times/#item5724 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival. This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say. Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/super-swan-ready-to-hang-tough-on-budget/ Wayne Swan could be forgiven if he puffed out his chest a little during a TV interview in New York couple of days ago. “You’re a combination of what, in the US, would be Timothy Geithner and Joe Biden all in one person,” said CNBC business anchor Erin Burnett. Geithner is the US Treasury Secretary, Biden the Vice-President. All Burnett was trying to do was explain Swan’s twin roles as Australia’s Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister, but she made him sound like some kind of super-politician. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/super-swan-ready-to-hang-tough-on-budget/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/super-swan-ready-to-hang-tough-on-budget/#item5647 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival. This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say. Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/give-me-my-money-back/ If the worst of the global financial crisis is behind us and Wayne Swan’s bank deposit guarantee no longer exists, why are many Australians still fighting with investment firms over frozen funds which have been locked away for almost two years?  The government’s bank deposit guarantee, introduced at the height of the financial crisis, was meant to stabilise financial markets and restore the flow of credit.  It covered all deposits of banks but excluded investment funds.  This triggered a lockdown of deposits in investment funds and left hundreds of thousands of Australians in the lurch.  When the government decided to remove the bank deposit guarantee in March this year, sighting improved conditions in the banking sector, many expected it to facilitate the release of frozen funds, particularly those smaller funds held by ordinary Australians.  This decision was a sign and an expectation that things would start to return to normal.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/give-me-my-money-back/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/give-me-my-money-back/#item4203 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival. This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say. Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-spending-equals-high-rates-no-buts-about-it/ The likelihood of interest rates rising is back on the agenda, following explicit warnings from the Reserve Bank that it is considering the need for tighter monetary policy. The Coalition has consistently warned that the Labor Government’s heavy borrowing and build up of debt will put upward pressure on interest rates. These warnings have been rejected by the government and by a few select commentators in the media. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-spending-equals-high-rates-no-buts-about-it/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-spending-equals-high-rates-no-buts-about-it/#item4106 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival. This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say. Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-could-abbott-be-thinking/ There are a couple of reasons why Tony Abbott rebuffed the independents demands to have Treasury and finance cost their policies: they probably are a bit dodgy, he doesn’t trust treasury not to leak it and it’s an attempt at a show of strength from someone who’ll probably end up on top in the seat count. During the campaign Abbott refused to submit his policies to Treasury under the Charter of Budget Honesty because he couldn’t trust treasury, or more specifically the Treasurer’s office, not to leak the findings. Abbott appeared to refine his argument for not releasing the costings down to this reason this morning on ABC radio, calling a leak during the campaign from Treasury on Coalition costings: “an act of political bastardry”. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-could-abbott-be-thinking/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-could-abbott-be-thinking/#item3905 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival. This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say. Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/brendan-brown/ Taxation reform as a political issue may not float many people’s boat but in an election year it promises to be as entertaining as a day in the life of Jack Bauer. We have two political leaders - Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott - who are equally unconvincing on the economy and who must grapple with a political hot potato. The Rudd Government will soon respond to the final report of Australia’s Tax System Review Panel. The Panel, headed by Treasury Secretary Ken Henry, will recommend the most comprehensive reform of the tax system in a generation. Taxation reform is a policy challenge more complex than quantum mechanics.  Australia’s existing tax system has outdated Commonwealth-State financial arrangements and effective marginal tax rates that discourage people on welfare from participating in the workforce. Australia also faces significant economic challenges that are intimately related to the taxation system, such as an over-reliance on mining for national wealth; an aging population; and the need to reduce the carbon output of the economy. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/brendan-brown/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/brendan-brown/#item2264 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival. This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say. Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies.