Nielsen: Aussies want more This month’s Nielsen poll comes in with a two-party preferred of 55-45 –- a 1 point drop for the ALP — and finds widespread support for the government continuing on with its stimulus measures.
Economic stimulus package
Gillard spared bad day at the office
Joe Hockey gave Education Minister Julia Gillard a short reprieve yesterday from the relentless barrage of Opposition MPs “joyously relating tales of schools caught in Kafkaesque circumstances created by bureaucracies”, says Tony Wright,
Joe Hockey digs himself a deeper hole
Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey this afternoon declared himself in favour of low interest rates over jobs. Oh dear.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: The cash splash of the stimulus
Crikey readers weigh in on the economic stimulus ‘cash splash’, Senator Steve Fielding’s learning disability and the idea of a boycott on Israel.
Rudd agenda backed by jobless stats
The Australian economy has again shown its resilience with the unemployment rate last month steady on 5.8%, where it has been since June.
VIDEO: Albanese and Pyne go head-to-head on stimulus
The Rudd government is pushing ahead with stimulus, backed by the opinion of the G20. But the Opposition has slammed the economic credentials of the group. This morning Anthony Albanese and Christopher Pyne slogged out the issue.
Crikey Says: Transport infrastructure: our road to recovery
Halting the stimulus package would damage the still fragile Australian economy and will kill off the highest quality spending, in economic terms: long term infrastructure projects.
Retail sales slip, Rudd gets stimulus reprieve
Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has gone on a “cut back stimulus” sortie in the past couple of days, urging the Government to act on his demands. Not great timing given new retail and housing finance figures.
Political snippets: And just as Malcolm said ease up …
As soon as Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull tells the government to slow the stimulus spending, ABS releases some interesting economic figures. Amazing what a bit of glamour can do to South African runner Caster Semenya.
Rudd shuts up the conversation
No debate should be silenced, particularly one about how much public money the government spends. But this is exactly what PM Kevin Rudd is attempting to do with the stimulus package, writes Janet Albrechtsen.
Finger pointing on education blowout not working
The one pupil school at the centre of the Coalition’s attack of the education spending blow out hasn’t actually received any funding. Is the Coalition’s attempt to find waste and mismanagement of funds fruitless?
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Mungo McCallum killed Michael Jackson?
Crikey readers weigh in on East Timor and if Kevin Rudd saved the economy with the stimulus package, then did Mungo McCallum kill Michael Jackson?
Rudd’s stimulus package is far from perfect
Our resilient economy has fared well due to 25 years of economic reform beginning with the Hawke government, and not simply due to recent governmental quick fixes, writes Sinclair Davidson.
Mungo MacCallum: It’s time for Turnbull to lighten up and celebrate the great escape
Malcolm Turnbull and his colleagues appear unable to come to terms with the single most pertinent fact about the government’s stimulus measures: they worked.
Stimulus package ‘blow out’ worth it
PM Kevin Rudd needs to convince voters that the economic stimulus package did stave off recession, even with its issues of money wastage and poor service delivery, says Phillip Coorey.
Political economy: costs of economic stimulus
As Wayne Swan heads for London to talk to less successful finance ministers with a positive GDP for the last quarter under his belt, some economists are questioning whether the number is fair dinkum, writes Henry Thornton.
G20 leaders back Swan on stimulus
The world’s finance ministers at this weekend’s G20 meeting are expected to support Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan’s claim that it is too soon for countries to stop stimulating their economies to alleviate to world’s GFC woes.
Nothing more stimulating than press gallery groupthink
This “debate” of whether the government should withdraw the stimulus package due to the economy’s growth, is run entirely by the press gallery and the Federal Opposition.
Some stimulating stats on household spending
Yesterday’s GDP figures show how, and if, the household stimulus payments affected the economy. Andrew Leigh graphs the two set of data, and finds a pretty impressive correlation.
Kohler: The recession that never was
Australia’s lack of recession is entirely due to fiscal and monetary stimulus here and in China, says Alan Kohler: China diverted a large part of its stimulus spending to stockpiling raw materials — and we were there to provide them.
Ask the economists: we’re seriously going gangbusters
Crikey asked a varied bunch of leading economists for their views on the latest GDP figures, a rise of 0.6%.
Crikey Says: A case study in political reality and the real world
News that the Australian economy grew at 0.6% in the June quarter is a political headache for Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan and the first bit of good luck for Malcolm Turnbull. Crikey explains.
The Opposition standpoint: oppose everything
The world wide agreement seems to be that economic stimulus packages worked. So, should opposition leaders disapprove of sensible policies just for the sake of opposition? asks Tim Colebatch.
Treasury advice: don’t stop stimulating
The government’s $42b stimulus package has been “more effective than first thought’”, according to Treasury advice. That means phasing it out (let alone stopping it cold) could be problematic. Philip Coorey has the exclusive.
Gillard finally hits a bump in the road
The stimulus schools building blow out has taken some of the shine off Julia Gillard’s halo. The pollie being touted as the PM-in-waiting shouldn’t have been put up on a pedestal, writes Laurie Oakes.
