Comments on: Hockey on four-point plans and a falling economy

By: t p

t p — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 23:20:59 +0000

Australia can not afford Abbott’s paid parental leave scheme. That’s the first thing to go. No more middle class welfare.

By: t p

t p — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 23:06:16 +0000

Joe Hockey as Treasurer ? Now that is really scary.

By: مكينMrGibberish

مكينMrGibberish — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 12:07:53 +0000

$$$$watshudrbado???

By: ماكين

ماكين — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 07:55:50 +0000

thanx

By: Rodney Harris

Rodney Harris — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 06:25:55 +0000

Iggy that’s a really interesting study. It does appear we can learn a lot from Canadian experiences. The rise of the oil sands industry and the Canadian currency are a few years ahead of us, but similar to our LNG, coal and iron ore boom. The paper argues that smart government intervention in key areas is needed as opposed to the unrestrained pursuit of lower taxes and deregulation. They’ve tried that approach and it has caused a few issues.
It does seem they have at least a mild case of Dutch disease and they don’t like it. Their reliance on a pretty environmentally unfriendly industry in oil sands is a cause for long term concern.

Thanks for the link.

By: iggy648

iggy648 — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 09:44:54 +0000

Tom and Rodney, here’s a Canadian take on Dutch Disease
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2012/04/Cure%20For%20Dutch%20Disease.pdf

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 22:01:13 +0000

Achmed - “Hockey claiming that interest rates are now at ‘emergency level’.” Saw an interesting thing on the ABC news a couple of nights ago showing when 3% was actually “emergency” levels in the GFC govt spending was adding 6% to GDP, now govt spending is removing 3% from GDP - so while previously it was a global catastrophe causing interest rates to drop now it is actually govt policy (well at least in part) that it driving interest rates down.

Now the govt could choose to start spending again if that is what Mr Hockey wants but that is in contradiction to his calls for a bigger surplus.

By: John Kotsopoulos

John Kotsopoulos — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:59:55 +0000

Achmed, Hockey is a total fool. Interest rates set by the RBA are not a reflection of the rate businesses are being charged for their overdrafts and business loans.

If the banks were not as greedy or needy take your pick) the RBA rate would be another 0.5 - 1% higher.

As it is an RBA rate of 3% when inflation is running at 2.5% is hardly expansionary in effect.

Try the Japanese rate of 0% if you want expansionary

By: Achmed

Achmed — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 08:13:00 +0000

Hockey claiming that interest rates are now at ‘emergency level’. He fails to understand that the RBA has lowered rates, in part, to lower the Aussie dollar. The high Aussie dollar in having a detrimental effect on the economy. Exporters are suffering which is pushing manufacturing down. Even tourism is suffering, Aussies are going overseas rather than travel in Australia

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 05:32:32 +0000

““The Reserve Bank is trying to catch a falling Australian economy. The government is making it worse by going on a big taxing, big spending program.”

The Libs answer to this is to bring in a big spending paid parental leave scheme funded by increasing company tax?

Or to embark on a big spending “direct action plan” funded by nothing?

By: qwerty bluett

qwerty bluett — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 05:29:21 +0000

labor’s still going to lose office. so just try and sit back and enjoy it. i for one am looking forward to the spin as to exactly why the carbon tax is not going to be repealed. “It’s an ETS, not a carbon tax!” uh huh

By: qwerty bluett

qwerty bluett — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 05:22:31 +0000

four point plan:

1. be awesome
2. do awesome stuff
3. boot labor out
4. profit

i don’t see wats so hard to understand about how awesome that is and how everything’s going to be awesome after doing it. typical lefties.

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 05:08:46 +0000

Steve777 - “unemployment at 5%” see unemployment came down today, about 14k jobs created last month.

And for all the poor consumer & business sentiment why are new car sales at record highs?

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 05:04:35 +0000

I find it amusing that the Libs “4 point plan” includes a point that is “a six point plan”, I wonder wheterh one of the 6 points is actually a 10 point plan?

As for the actual plan - vague cathc phrases aren’t a plan, they are not even a goal, and when the cath phrases directly contradict what little stated policy the Libs have surely no one could take them seriously.

By: Rodney Harris

Rodney Harris — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 02:41:22 +0000

Tom, you make a good point about the lack of tertiary industries on the back of our mining. I think the balance between unions and employers isn’t far off being right though. Having much greater than usual mining related construction does probably support allowing some temporary workers in from overseas. When the inevitablke slowdown happens it won’t be such a big adjustment for workers. If we do get the continued slowdown that many are predicting, labour cost growth should moderate and there are signs of that already. I think one of the biggest drivers for the cost growth was the bidding up of labour on the back of high prices for our exports. Oh, of course the dollar’s high valuation automatically puts our wages up relative to others.

In Western Australia there is/was a cap set on the minimum amount of gas that must be reserved for the domestic market. This is a policy that can drive increases in tertiary industries on the back of cheap energy and hyrdocarbons. In the US they have this percentage at around 100% at the moment. In the pilbara there is an ammonia factory and plans to extend processing to explosives. There is still a lot more gas to come on stream so presumably a lot of scope for new industries if the policy is maintained.

By: Apollo

Apollo — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 01:02:47 +0000

Wizzy, unemployment rate drops to 5.2%, they may hit that target if the MRRT does raise revenue.

I can’t bel.i.e.ve I was right, earl.i.er in the year I said that I did not think unemployment rate will get worse, but the government needs to bring IR law back to the middle to target 4-4.5%.

By: Tom Makin

Tom Makin — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:26:22 +0000

while i agree with most of your points rodney harris there are a few things we need to recognise. Ozis are bogans, the economy depends on mining that doesn’t progress through to secondary and tertiary industries. the unions over use their power in the mining sectors causing cost blow outs, the miners recruit workers from overseas and give the jobs to them instead for a fair price and Ozi workers miss out, they recruit cleaners from overseas as if there is no Ozi who can do the job. the Swiss are specialised in up scale service and finance industries, their agri industry does get protection while there’s also a decent manufacturing industry.

By: John Kotsopoulos

John Kotsopoulos — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:11:37 +0000

Zut alors Abbott deliberately used the pensioner’ s bill in an effort to mislead. Only Stevie Wonder could have missed the graph on such bill which would have shown a doubling of use compared with the last billing cycle.

He made a big play of wanting to table the bill and got the shock of his life when Albanese agreed and joyfully pointed out the attempted subterfuge.

By: zut alors

zut alors — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:04:12 +0000

Hockey and his Coalition colleagues combined their brainpower and still couldn’t fathom a simple electricity bill. Our nation’s economic saviours? Credibility, nil.

By: Mike Smith

Mike Smith — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:59:29 +0000

Thinking about betting for or against it happening, GeeWizz?

I reckon 2:1 for it happening.

By: AR

AR — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:53:26 +0000

His “could be the single dumbest comment…” - a big call with so much stupidity to sort.
My personal favourite was his “sure the numbers are good but think how much better they would if we we
re in office!”, something I dread to think.

By: Rodney Harris

Rodney Harris — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:00:04 +0000

I think the numbers aren’t just good compared to the rest of the world, they are actually good in Australian historical terms. I can’t recall a time where we’ve actually had low unemployment, inflation and interest rates, low tax rates, a balanced budget, a high dollar and decent economic growth. While they’re not all the best they’ve ever been, many are and you would be hard pressed to find a time in the past when we haven’t had one or more of these key indicators looking bad.
I sense that if many people stopped talking the country down we could be doing even better. Switzerland has been able to do ok for decades with high wages and a high currency. Often perceptions become reality and these do carry weight, so our performance relative to the rest of the world may mean that we can carry a premium in terms of how we are valued against our overseas competitors. Still, no room for complacency but I’m confident in the future. Would hate to see us focus on low wages and conditions, mindless government job cuts and unnecessary austerity that may undermine the premium we’ve been able to build up in the last few years.

By: CML

CML — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:44:01 +0000

@ taylormade - I understand what you say, and agree that Swan sounds like a broken record, but surely the runs are on the board? Doesn’t the media (read Ltd News, for one) have some responsibility to present the very good economic conditions which exist in this country, when compared with many of the first world economies? A few facts would be good.
All day, Wednesday, the ABC had Joe Hockey on radio and TV spewing out his usual rubbish. No hard questions from anyone about his “Alice in Wonderland” so called 4 point plan, or 6 point plan or whatever… I sometimes think Joe and the media are living on another planet!

By: taylormade

taylormade — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:41:46 +0000

CML “I just don’t understand why the majority of the Oz electorate thinks the coalition can run the Oz economy better than Labor”

A lot of it would have to do with the poor commuincation skills of Wayne Swan. Seen him on 7.30 report the other night on the latest rate cut, was just one rehearsed line after the other. No matter the question, his answers were still the same. Yes labour have good stories to tell on the economy, but Swan is simply unable to do so and blaming the oppostion for talking down the economy every chance he gets just illustrates that point.

By: Achmed

Achmed — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:23:36 +0000

Business tax will rise 2% to pay for maternity leave. Abbott plans to keep the current tax cuts and CT compensation payments but repeal the carbon “tax” that provides the “income” to pay for these. He then intends to give taxpayer money to the big business polluters, because they can be trusted to spend taxpayer appropriately. Hos carbon reduction plan which has the same targets as the Labor plan will cost around $3.2 billion a year. He will get the money to cover this cost by resducing the number of public servants. If my math is right, if the public servants were paid $1million per year that would mean 32 million public servants will be sacked.