Avoiding a recession has become both a gift and a burden to the Rudd government, writes Paul Kelly. Expect a battle between managing the economy recovery and spending on big ticket election issues — climate change, health and households. Can Swan reign in spending?
Economic stimulus package
Hartcher: Is Swan the anti-Keating?
Wayne Swan is acting a lot more modest over the Australian economy’s GFC rebound than Paul “the recession we had to have” Keating, writes Peter Hartcher. But it’s thanks to Keating and Peter Costello that we avoided further trouble
Ask the economists: tomorrow’s RBA announcement
We asked the economists for their punt on the RBA’s interest rate announcement tomorrow, just ahead of the race that stops a nation. They say that the numbers will just keep going up…
Our Kev: the ultimate political chameleon?
Kevin Rudd is a man of many faces. Mister tough guy on asylum seekers, the friendly benefactor of $900 tax free cheques, a major global leader. What’s his real side? asks Malcolm Colless.
Pollies make terrible gardeners: let the economy grow
John Howard may have wasted the Aussie economy boom, but is Kevin Rudd now squandering the bust? This is Australia’s chance to stop the government funding the economy, writes Henry Ergas.
What the GFC failed to teach Wayne Swan
When Washington meddled in the mortgage market, the end result was the Global Financial Crisis. So why is the Rudd government continuing to invest in housing finance — and putting taxpayers at risk?
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Stimulus and employment
Crikey readers weigh in on the economic stimulus package and jobs as an economic indicator. Plus, Bernard Keane’s alleged jealousy of Joe Hockey.
Milne: Leave Ken Henry alone!
“Public servant, private citizen”? Not anymore. The Coalition has made the national economic debate all about Treasury Secretary Ken Henry, says Glenn Milne.
Cut stimulus, cut 100,000 jobs, says Henry
Ken Henry has warned that the withdrawal of stimulus spending would cost 100,000 jobs and 1.5 percentage points in GDP growth in 2010.
Crikey Says: Stimulus is doing its job
The benefits of the stimulus package are being examined right now by the Economics Committee. But it’s the jobs saved or supported by the stimuli that are the only important economic indicators at the moment.
Henry: Stimulus cut will kill jobs
The removal of the governments fiscal stimulus now would cost Australia 100,000 more jobs, Treasury Secretary Ken Henry has told the Senate Economics Committee this morning.
Stimulus isn’t money for nothing. Time to wind it back
Calls are mounting for the Federal Government to reduce its wide-ranging fiscal stimulus package as economists continue to upgrade the prospects for the Australian economy.
It looks awfully like unemployment is peaking
Not even Glenn Stevens in his wildest dreams thought vindication would come so quickly and comprehensively as it did in today’s jobless data.
Costello: Why I quit
Peter Costello gives his final bow to politics, refusing to indulge in leadership speculation but claiming the Liberal Party saved Australia from recession in the GFC.
Why we’re nowhere near out of the woods yet
Global share markets and federal banks are hailing the end of the recession — but they make a living out of telling people what they want to hear. Some other commentators are singing a very different tune.
Why Swan was right on stimulus
It made sense for policy makers everywhere to use all available counter-cyclical tools in an urgent attempt to lessen the serious risk of economic disaster, says Rory Robertson. But the economy story is not all good.
Political economy: the jobs challenge
The good news is that the US downturn is in the process of bottoming, though jobs are still falling, with around 15 million workers unemployed, writes Henry Thornton.
Rudd’s stimulus gets RBA tick of approval
So, which bright spark in the Coalition thought it was a good idea to support Bob Brown’s inquiry into the Government’s stimulus packages?
DJ’s rich pickings from the PM’s cash splash
The naysayers who claim the Rudd government’s cash splash didn’t impact, need only consult the latest retail sector profit results.
Did Rudd’s household handouts actually help?
Can government handouts actually help kickstart a flagging economy? Possibly, says Andrew Leigh, but it all depends on how you measure it…
Political economy: Financial stress on the rise
Kevin Rudd is in New York with Penny Wong fighting valiantly to fix the world’s climate. Meanwhile, back home, financial stress for families on the rise, writes Henry Thornton.
Rudd’s stimulus furphy won’t create jobs
The government is arguing that their stimulus packages have “saved jobs”. But it is difficult to reconcile that statement with this data, writes Sinclair Davidson.
‘$X per job saved’: the ultimate stimulus lie
When you dump a bucket of money into an economy like the government did, it has consequences. But to trot out the cliché that the stimulus has “cost $X for every projected job saved” is facile and dishonest, says Possum Comitatus.
How Kevin Rudd saved 200,000 Australian jobs
The OECD has released a glowing report for the Federal Government’s stimulus package, estimating the economy will benefit for another decade and up to 200,000 jobs have been saved from the axe.
