Wooley: Digging a hole is better than doing nothing

Even though Tasmania’s dire financial situation was recently exposed in the budget, perhaps the government’s bumbling fiscal policies may not be as politically harmful as some suggest

Treasurer Michael Ferguson has had to cop his fair share of criticism since the state’s dire financial situation has become more apparent, following the release of the recent state budget. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

Maybe there is nothing politically wrong with Fergonomics.

Even though it is tempting to think that in Tasmania’s dire financial situation doing nothing seems like the fiscal equivalent of buying ferries but forgetting to build a port.

But like most Tasmanians, I am no Saul Eslake.

What do I know about the difference between “net operating balances” and “net operating deficits”?

Eslake’s detailed opinion piece in the Mercury on Wednesday sought to explain all.

But reading between the lines, I inferred that our leading independent economist thought that the Treasurer didn’t know the difference either.

For the rest of us, most have never had enough money to become an authority on the matter.

Which is why the government’s bumbling fiscal policies may not be as politically harmful as some experts suggest. ‘Demotic’ is how I try to keep this column, and the everyday Tasmanians I talk with have no strong feelings about Michael Ferguson’s state budget.

They have strong negative feelings about Mr Ferguson, especially about perceived misfortunes in his previous portfolio.

But there is no great concern about the financial state of the state.

Treasurer, Michael Ferguson discusses the 2024-25 Tasmanian Budget at the Country Club Tasmania in Launceston. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

The preoccupation is with their own household budgets, and they blame not the state government but Anthony Albanese for that, consistent with this week’s negative national polls. Apparently we have not warmed to him. Unfortunately for Albo, despite the popular contraction of his name the poor bloke possesses little charm. Even a chink of charm goes a long way in politics, but Albo (without his dog) is unfortunately almost as charmless as our own Mr Ferguson.

Seven’s Hobart newsreader Kim Millar has abundant charm and segueing from a clip of a Labor spokesman declaring Mr Ferguson was “the worst treasurer in Tasmanian history” she charmingly turned it around and in a live interview asked Fergo with a smile, “Are you the worst treasurer in Tasmanian history?”.

It was a friendly question, an opening gambit which gifted the recipient the possibility of many clever and even funny responses.

Treasurer Michael Ferguson has had to cop his fair share of criticism since the state’s dire financial situation has become more apparent, following the release of the recent state budget. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

But Fergo, charmless, humourless and cold as a stone, let it through to the keeper. Admittedly he was probably concentrating on how the hell, in a couple of minutes, he could convince the television audience that the best way to address the worst Tasmanian economic crisis since the last one, is to do absolutely nothing.

In parliament last week, Dean Winter addressed the hapless Treasurer: “You’ve admitted that you are now on track to rack up $8.5bn worth of debt,” he accused. “You’ve admitted that after 10 years you’ve completely lost control of your budget.”

And with a good line, understandable around any kitchen table, he denounced Fergo’s “selfish and shortsighted decision to put all of the state’s problems on the credit card – in doing so, you’ve mortgaged Tasmania’s future.”

It certainly looked that way. But should the budget of the lame duck minority Liberal government pass with no loss of confidence, along with the AFL stadium, the pork barrelling and the continued funding for the racing industry, it will be a triumph of political pigheadedness over economic reason.

So, it’s not unreasonable to conclude that if the Liberal government can survive this budget and everything else that has been happening this year, perhaps it might even survive next year’s election.

The release of this image of Premier Jeremy Rockliff getting stuck into pothole repairs on the Bass Highway, following the recent severe weather events in the North-West, was a stroke of spin doctoring genius, according to Charles Wooley. Picture: Supplied

During the debate Premier Jeremy Rockliff was stoic. He didn’t quite tender Churchill’s offer of “nothing but blood, sweat and tears” but he implied that deficit spending was necessary to keep Tasmanians “alive, well and in work”.

Nothing to see here. Spending money we don’t have and might never have, is nothing remarkable for so many Tasmanian households whose personal finances are exactly that way.

So, what the hell?

Jeremy is popular in the electorate. Open-faced and likeable he has the invaluable political asset of charm.

I never meet people who hate him.

Who else could ‘fluoro-up’ after a flood and believably go on television news repairing potholes in the road.

Who else?

Certainly not his treasurer.

Maybe not even the leader of the opposition.

And not that man for every photo opportunity, Guy Barnett.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff gets to work as the government kicked off a pothole blitz on Sunday, targeting the Bass Highway following recent weather events. Picture: Supplied

Grudgingly I have to say the spin doctor who arranged the Jeremy roadwork stunt is a genius.

Repairing flood damage for the cameras and looking credible on the tools reminds us that farmer Jeremy is a premier who comes from the real world with real world capabilities.

But if he ever wants to go back to the practical business of farming spuds in the rolling chocolate-brown paddocks of the far North-West then that will definitely be the moment we see a change of government.

The father of deficit spending, the famous British economist John Maynard Keynes, in 1936 wrote some good advice for Tasmania’s beleaguered treasurer today.

Stick with me here. It is still a good read.

“If the Treasury were to fill old bottles with banknotes, bury them at suitable depths in disused coal mines which are then filled to the surface with town rubbish, and leave it to private enterprise to dig the notes up again, (the right to do so being obtained by tendering for leases of the note-bearing territory), there need be no unemployment … and the income of the community and its capital wealth also, would probably become a good deal greater than it actually is.

“It would indeed be more sensible to build houses and the like; but if there are political and practical difficulties in the way of this, the above would be better than nothing.”

The then American President Franklin D. Roosevelt read the above and met with Keynes:

“Professor are you telling me if I get guys to dig a hole and then fill it in again, that can fix the economy?”

“That would about do it, Mr President.”

“But Professor Keynes, what would it mean in the long run?”

“Well, Mr President, in the long run we are all dead.”

Now I don’t know about you but that all kind of makes sense to me.

I wonder if it might also make sense to Fergo?

Charles Wooley is a Tasmanian-based journalist