Crisis, what crisis, asks Coalition, spinning as the budget wheels come off
Yes, the appropriations bills have passed, but the lack of urgency stands in stark contrast to the rhetoric up until now



Joe Hockey: ‘we are now dealing with some of the structural challenges, and we are working on the structural responses’. Photograph: Nikki Short/AAPImage


That screeching sound is the government’s budget rhetoric doing a u-turn.

Having spent the last three months insisting the budget emergency meant there would be dire consequences if the budget did not pass, it appears the government is now facing the reality that key budget policies may indeed not pass – despite its best negotiating efforts over the winter break.

Lest anyone then try to assert that by the government’s own arguments we were facing some kind of emergency or crisis, the government has dramatically shifted its rhetoric, insisting there is in fact no crisis or emergency at all.

“Most of the budget has passed through the parliament, but we are now dealing with some of the structural challenges, and we are working on the structural responses,” says treasurer Joe Hockey.

“A number of the measures that are the subject of the most intensive post-budget debate are not due to take effect for some time … there is ample time to keep engaging with the Senate crossbenchers.” says finance minister Mathias Cormann.

“No government in recent political history had passed all of its budget measures through both houses of parliament by the end of August.”

In economic terms, what the treasurer and finance ministers are saying is true. We won’t face any sort of crisis if the budget does not pass straight away. But the lack of urgency does stand in stark contrast to what the government has been saying up until the past few days.

Back in May, the prime minister was saying,

“we cannot go on as a nation in a fool’s paradise thinking that we can pay our mortgage on the credit card. We just can’t continue to do this. This government is determined to start the clean-up as quickly as possible and that’s what this budget was all about”.

Or

“everyone in this room who has ever had a mortgage, who has ever had a credit card, knows that eventually if you let it get out of control you don’t run the debt – the debt runs you. And that’s the problem. That’s the budget emergency that has been confronting our country. Labor was incapable of facing up to it – the Coalition, as before, will once more rise to the challenge of addressing the nation’s finances.”

The likely fate of the budget in the Senate was so alarming the government was warning of a “Queensland style austerity budget” or finding the same savings in ways that did not need to be legislated.

As independent senator Nick Xenophon said “this message is getting very confused … a few weeks ago we were led to believe the budget was on life support, now we find out it’s kicking back on a banana lounge on Hayman Island.”

Also not really passing muster is the new argument that there is no reason to worry because the budget is already two thirds through the Senate, given that the appropriations bills – which have passed – contained 400 decisions with a net improvement to the bottom line of nearly $40bn over the next four years.

If the appropriations bills had been blocked there really would have been a crisis, but their passage is not usually cause for a government to be giving itself high-fives.

The truth is, as it has always been, that the budget does need “repair” over the medium term. Many of the particular choices and decisions taken by the Abbott government to try to repair it are likely to be blocked in the Senate. The government’s attempts to bully those measures through with claims of an immediate crisis did not work and its attempts to negotiate them through over the winter break appear to have made only minimal headway.

The new strategy appears to be to claim that having much of its program blocked in the Senate doesn’t immediately matter. Crisis, what crisis?


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/20/crisis-what-crisis-asks-coalition-s...



Looks like Abbott was lying about the budget emergency along.

John S wrote on Aug 20^th, 2014 at 3:15pm:


Looks like he wasn't.....






For all the budget crisis deniers,,,,,,

Here it is, easily explained in pictures.   

Swagman wrote on Aug 20^th, 2014 at 3:29pm:


Part of what makes something a crisis is the immediacy of action required, even if the consequences of such action is unclear.

Are you saying that taking action after the next election is too late to fix the problems, and that it must be done right now to avert disaster? If not then it's a problem, not a disaster.

Thought the point of this thread was the government shift away from calling it a disaster. They have cut income, but very little spending, how has this fixed anything?

Swagman wrote on Aug 20^th, 2014 at 3:29pm:

1970s? Beginning of the welfare state? 

The first age pensions were legislated in 1909.

Of course, if Swag had his way, the elderly would all be cast out into the snow to beg for scraps and mercy, while the workers are working for tuppence -ha'penny a week. And he would put the kids to work as well, can't have 8-year-olds being dependent either, let the kiddie bludgers pay their own way through hard work with the government confiscating everything they earn. After all, universal free education for children was item 10 in the Communist Manifesto, and anything Marx advocated is to be opposed no matter how good the idea actually is....

Bam wrote on Aug 20^th, 2014 at 5:14pm:


It's a reference to the abolishment of uni fees and the establishment of medibank in the 70s.

Bam wrote on Aug 20^th, 2014 at 5:14pm:


Where have I ever said that?

Bam wrote on Aug 20^th, 2014 at 5:14pm:


Free everything would be grand but who is going to pay for it?

If everyone gets everything for free who is going to work to produce anything?

Get rid of welfare for the rich such as negative gearing, private health insurance subsidies, superannuation tax breaks for the super wealthy and get rid of all taxpayer handouts for the big mining companies.
Get rid of the generous superannuation packages for public servants and pollies.

After that..then get stuck into the poor, the sick and the elderly.

Swagman wrote on Aug 20^th, 2014 at 5:24pm:


Not quite swags. At the time of introduction, company tax was reduced from 48% to 39%.

perceptions_now wrote on Aug 20^th, 2014 at 3:20pm:


Now there's a response that warrants a round of applause!

We need to ditch the whole lot in Canberra and State capitals - resume our ownership of those things that are the necessities of life - divest ourselves of international companies fracking for their own benefit - resume control over our own trading of our own resources - set our own standards that safeguard our own people in our 'world economy' dealings - organise out tax system so that it is genuinely equitable for all and not some - control our politicians and their grasping at the trough - and guarantee, through investment from within, that Australia will hold the whip hand in negotiating sale of our own things.

I say that off the top of my head - and I'm spoilt - I just came from the 30th anniversary of MY theatre, which was never expected to survive and nearly went under - and it was a co-operative effort from start to finish.

When ordinary people get together, they can achieve wonders - and that is not 'communism' or anything else - just a shuffling off of the dead weight of those who consider themselves fit and suited and entitled to rule....

I am proud to be an Original shareholder in a theatre now internationally renowned.... and which has produced a number of stars...

We can do the same here......