Nationals’ James Bond didn’t bed his sugar babe
Surplus? Fluke. AAP, December 17:
Shadow assistant treasurer Jim Chalmers dismisses the government’s economic record as they hand down the MYEFO report showing a large uptick in revenue. Chalmers says a $100 billion increase in business taxes collected is down to international revenues increasing after the financial crisis, and nothing to do with Australian government policy.
Singing Labor’s song? Greg Jericho, The Guardian, December 17:
Budget balances are always about revenue. … The boom in company tax revenue … has enabled the government to forecast a budget surplus even while it also intends to offer more tax cuts worth $9bn over the next three years.
Beats Mr Dodgy. Ross Gittins, Sydney Morning Herald, December 17:
The Coalition’s budgetary performance has been ordinary in all respects bar one: over the five years to June 2017, it limited the average real growth in its spending to 1.5 per cent a year. No other government can match that restraint — certainly not the previous Labor government, which, despite all the dodgy figures Wayne Swan showed us at the time, ended up with real spending growth averaging 5 per cent a year.
Libs doubled debt? Andrew Leigh, Radio 2GB, November 27:
We have net debt more than doubling since the Liberals came to office. It’s … hit a record high, some $350bn.
Even Aunty’s not buying that. RMIT ABC Fact Check, December 11:
(The claim made by) Labor’s shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh … (that) the Liberals … “have doubled net debt in Australia” … attributes all of (the) 2013-14 (budget) to the Coalition, despite Labor having delivered that year’s budget. … AMP chief economist Shane Oliver (said) … a fairer and more meaningful measure of debt over time was net debt as a proportion of gross domestic product. … Net debt was projected to grow by (only) 76.9 per cent over the six years to June 2019 (including Labor’s 2013-14 budget) … (If the Coalition didn’t reduce debt quicker) “it wasn’t for lack of trying,” Dr Oliver (said), noting that some of the Coalition’s 2014 budget savings measures were blocked in the Senate.
Record debt? John Kehoe, Australian Financial Review, November 19:
Australia’s federal net debt … (is) 18.6 per cent of GDP … low by international standards … (letting) the commonwealth retain its AAA credit rating. (Josh Frydenberg said): “The Coalition government has cut the rate at which debt was growing by 75 per cent … Under the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government, debt (grew) by almost 35 per cent a year.” Opposition Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen … declined to comment.
Sugar hit. Tony Wright, Sydney Morning Herald, December 17:
Labor MPs (and) union leaders … could barely keep from breaking into a schadenfreude-fuelled jig. … Morrison … had planned a marvellous day dominating … (headlines) with news of a happy economy and the promise of a budget surplus. Alas … the overshadowing turned out to be the sort of thing that might happen if a giant pterodactyl flew out of the sky just as you were organising a garden party. A formerly little-known National named Andrew Broad … had fallen on his sword, as it were. A Hong Kong “sugar baby” was said to be involved. Had Broad actually called himself “James Bond”? And … (boasted) about being an Aussie lad who could ride a horse and was expert at certain other athletic pursuits? Oh, my. … The economy? Treasurer Frydenberg … (might) as well have stayed in bed.