John Smith wrote on Jan 21^st, 2014 at 1:12pm:


Hmmm, Costello graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. He successfully paid off Keating's $96bn debt in 11 years, produced not one but TEN surpluses in TWELVE consecutive budgets, left government with $22bn in the bank and successfully introduced the GST and streamlined business tax. Inflation, interest rates and unemployment all fell and remained generally low during Costello's term as Treasurer.

He is a member of the Board of Guardians of the Australian Government Future Fund since December 2009. Amidst some controversy it was announced that David Gonski would succeed the inaugural Chairman, David Murray when Murray's term expired on 3 April 2012. Gonski's appointment was in spite of an independent review (that was conducted by Gonski). Gonski reported to the Australian Government that the existing Guardians favoured Costello to succeed Murray as Chairman.

Costello is a managing partner of BKK Partners, a boutique corporate advisory run by former Goldman Sachs JBWere managers. He also chairs the advisory board of specialist corporate advisory firm ECG Advisory Solutions. In 2008, his best-selling memoir was published by Melbourne University Press. Costello writes a regular column for Fairfax newspapers. He was also awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia in 2011.

Swan is a backbencher after backing the wrong donkey who, as Treasurer, oversaw government debt blow out from a $22bn surplus to more than $350bn in debt. Swan also presided over the largest deficits in this country's history while not producing a single surplus despite numerous emphatic promises to do so. He introduced a debt ceiling and then raised it a number of times when he couldn't stop spending/borrowing. Last year, he famously turned what he thought would be a $1.5bn surplus into a deficit of nearly $20bn.


In short, I know who I would go to for financial advice. Hint: it wouldn't be Wayne Swan.

St George of the Garden wrote on Jan 21^st, 2014 at 1:49pm:


Costello is a managing partner of BKK Partners, a boutique corporate advisory run by former Goldman Sachs JBWere managers. He also chairs the advisory board of specialist corporate advisory firm ECG Advisory Solutions.

As for the "massive structural budget deficit", that is entirely of Swan's making. He is the one who increased the income tax threshold and in doing so, cut out a huge chunk of government revenue. It was Swan who borrowed like a drunken sailor after being left with a healthy $22bn surplus. Government revenue was on the rise when Swan was Treasurer, with the mining boom nowhere near its peak, yet still he borrowed. You must be getting tired of shooting yourself in the foot so often...

John Smith wrote on Jan 21^st, 2014 at 1:12pm:


Hmmm, Costello graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. He successfully paid off Keating's $96bn debt in 11 years, produced not one but TEN surpluses in TWELVE consecutive budgets, left government with $22bn in the bank and successfully introduced the GST and streamlined business tax. Inflation, interest rates and unemployment all fell and remained generally low during Costello's term as Treasurer.

He is a member of the Board of Guardians of the Australian Government Future Fund since December 2009. Amidst some controversy it was announced that David Gonski would succeed the inaugural Chairman, David Murray when Murray's term expired on 3 April 2012. Gonski's appointment was in spite of an independent review (that was conducted by Gonski). Gonski reported to the Australian Government that the existing Guardians favoured Costello to succeed Murray as Chairman.

Costello is a managing partner of BKK Partners, a boutique corporate advisory run by former Goldman Sachs JBWere managers. He also chairs the advisory board of specialist corporate advisory firm ECG Advisory Solutions. In 2008, his best-selling memoir was published by Melbourne University Press. Costello writes a regular column for Fairfax newspapers. He was also awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia in 2011.

Swan is a backbencher after backing the wrong donkey who, as Treasurer, oversaw government debt blow out from a $22bn surplus to more than $350bn in debt. Swan also presided over the largest deficits in this country's history while not producing a single surplus despite numerous emphatic promises to do so. He introduced a debt ceiling and then raised it a number of times when he couldn't stop spending/borrowing. Last year, he famously turned what he thought would be a $1.5bn surplus into a deficit of nearly $20bn.


In short, I know who I would go to for financial advice. Hint: it wouldn't be Wayne Swan.

Kat wrote on Jan 21^st, 2014 at 2:07pm:


False and groundless, eh? So the debt wasn't really $300bn+ under Swan and Swan didn't produce the largest deficits in this country's history while also failing to produce a single surplus, despite promising to do so on more than one occasion? So it wasn't Swan who increased the debt ceiling more than once? So it wasn't Swan who tripled the tax-free threshold, thereby reducing a large amount of revenue for the government? Sadly, you're wrong. These are cold, hard facts that can be easily viewed if you just Google his abysmal record as Treasurer. Try searching www.aph.gov.au or www.treasury.gov.au and you'll find a treasure-trove of this information backing me up.

John Smith wrote on Jan 21^st, 2014 at 2:26pm:


Isn't Joe Hockey the Treasurer, not Tony Abbott? If I'm the CEO of Telstra, do I need to know how to maintain the infrastructure of a telephone exchange? I'll leave you to ponder that one...

Under Newman, Queensland is looking more like a fascist dictatorship every day.

At least the unions are prepared to stand up to the little runt.

Good on them.