Also, best Speaker’s award (well, there was more than one) to the wonderful Anna Burke who was acting in the role for most of the year without the benefits that Slipper was still being paid. Great control with genuinely good humour.

“The hard hat/fluoro vest encouragement award” (sub award for media tart division) goes to Tony Abbott. How to keep junior Canberra journos in regular daily work … and ensure many businesses are boycotted by right-thinking voters. A big achievement for a small mind.

God I love that.

Also, as an aside, I don’t think that Shorten’s preemptive endorsement of the PM’s words is actually that embarrassing. Given the way party discipline works and the way the media pounces on politicians who deviate even a nanometre from the party line, particularly since, like teenage boys with sex, they can see a leadership challenge in absolutely anything, Shorten was pretty much saying the only words realistically available to him. It’s the main reason why I don’t bother watching interviews with major party politicians. Why bother when you know what they’ll say word for word before the interview has even started? Q&A also suffers from the same disease. The only episodes that are watchable are the ones where the politicians are absent.

Shorten’s crime wasn’t saying something stupid, it was showing what is behind the facade.

There was talk the RBA did that a few weeks ago with some 2 billion in purchases by taking the foreign purchases directly onto the RBA balance sheet. But when you look at the RBA foreign reserves they actually appear to going down the last 5 months. So who knows what the RBA is doing.

Just look at the figures - we don’t even come close to having the foreign reserves an economy our size should have today. So yes there is plenty the RBA and Treasury could do starting with hiring a senior banker from Zurich and get the inside running on how to play hardball in the currency wars. The mere act of doing such would send a message to the market.

As to cash depositors - well the difference between the workers and the self funded retirees is the former actually work for a living and pay taxes whereas the latter pay little if no tax nowadays and want to earn 6% and more for little or zero risk. All while going on yet another trip to Europe.

Vast slabs of the self funded retiree set made their money from the housing and stock market boom with a nice kicker from the early days of super. Now they don’t want to take any risk outside term deposits and instead want 6-8% all while paying no effective tax. What’s the current tax free threshold for retirees - 70K or thereabouts for couples. All along with discounted phone bills, discounted rates, free car rego, 2 dollar public transport, free medical services. Howard certainly knew how to pay off the Children of Menzies. And Abbott cannot wait to count their votes. Meanwhile, Gillard thinks the Bogans are going to vote for her because baked beans have never been cheaper and trips to Bali are so much cheaper than going to the Gold Coast.

Yer the Lucky Country is seriously drunk on the koolaid and BK is a major supplier in keeping the glass half full.

Simon Mansfield: ” What would happen if average PAYG workers had their earnings cut by 10%.”

In that case they should celebrate they’re not dependant on the cash term deposit market for their livelihood as the cut would be closer to 50%.

In that case they should celebrate they’re not relying on the cash term deposit market for their livelihood as the cut would be closer to 50%.

Also letting the internet filter die a thankful death was well handled. He may not be PM material, seemingly uninterested in looking human, but he is effective.

You’re right about JG, the second half of this year saw her emerge from her self/PR spun coccoon.

Mr Mansfield, your comments are strange at best. Perhaps I should just point out that the money market is factors larger than the Australian economy. Short of running the economy into the ground, there isn’t much that the govt can do. Are you suggesting they should be running the economy into the ground?

It’s not a reserve currency - it’s just a sure bet against a bunch of overpaid fools obsessed with economic ideology rather than national self interest.

Seriously, BK have you ever actually worked a day as an employer - let alone fired someone.

If Labor was not in office the dollar bubble would be the number issue of concern. Instead it’s an easy way to keep supermarket inflation low without doing squat about the structural problems Australian retail has to contend with each day. Meanwhile, tax receipts continue to fall as export earnings contract.

The difference between 1.05 and .95 is close enough to 10% to call it that. What would happen if average PAYG workers had their earnings cut by 10%. Try managing an SME export business with that type of revenue fluctuations. And please no more garbage about hedging - it’s expensive and eventually expires.

Most large corporations with international earning are able to hedge via internal cash flow means. SMEs simply don’t have the resources and expertise to manage long range currency hedges. But BK being a business expert of the first order always knows better.

Stephen Conroy is across his portfolio and makes a persuasive argument for the NBN - even the likeable Turnbull can’t win that debate when they go head to head. Nor do I find him a pain, there are other ministers way ahead of him in that regard.

But Roxon’s move left space for Tanya Plibersek who really does seem to get it.

The financial planning reforms are important and worthy. But in terms of what will be this Govt’s greatest legacy, they don’t even come close to the NBN.