Having finally shifted to policy rather than smear campaigns in question time, the Opposition yesterday found unexpected success.
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SURPLUS
Forget the politics and have a Merry Christmas
Crikey readers weigh in with their pre-Christmas opinions.
READ MORESurplus turned sour puss
Crikey readers have their say.
READ MORECrikey Calling #5: death of a surplus and the 2012 Crikeys
In the last episode of Crikey Calling for the year, Bernard Keane and Jason Whittaker discuss the announcement that the federal government won’t be delivering a surplus next year. Then it’s time for a wrap of the year that was in politics and the awarding of the 2012 Crikeys.
READ MOREMYEFO: Swan cuts to save the thinnest of surpluses
The government has unveiled a range of spending cuts but they won’t stop a big blowout in this year’s budget deficit.
READ MORELocking in a surplus with the carbon price pea-and-thimble trick
Forgetting cutting emissions - the carbon price package has a shorter term benefit for the government. There’s one minister relieved that the carbon pricing package is locked in, and not for anything to do with emissions abatement.
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Luckily the Reserve Bank can lower rates further
The ANZ job advertisement figures out yesterday at least must make you wonder whether this is the right time to keep talking about bringing the federal budget back into surplus as Treasurer Wayne Swan is doing, says Richard Farmer.
READ MOREDavid Murray takes on the fiscal consensus
Despite widespread agreement that the government doesn’t need to return to surplus next year, one figure wants us to go harder and faster.
READ MOREThe magic S word
Today Bernard Keane writes of a time when politicians treated voters like they actually had half a brain …
READ MOREThe D word
Whatever you do, don’t mention the D word. That explains this nervous talk, or non talk, around whether the projected Budget surplus should be abandoned to “pay for” the cost of recovering from the floods.
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