Australian Politics Forum - Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA

lee Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 20171 Gender:	Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA Reply #45 - Feb 7^th, 2026 at 3:18pm thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 7^th, 2026 at 3:03pm: (google) Google AI with no actual attribution to any study. GTF (Good Try FAIL)
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Bobby.

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #46 - Feb 7^th, 2026 at 3:23pm

TGD,
Quote:

Correct: govt. wants to preside over full employment.

The Labor Govt. just wants the unemployment to be low
so they have a better chance of being voted back in -
all with money printing and borrowed money - fake jobs.

The fact that not even your great children will be able to pay it back -
they will still be on the hook for it - before they are born -
doesn't seem to concern you or the average Aussie punter.

People should be employed in businesses that create profit -
from a proper business model -
not by borrowing or printing money.
How about business to value add to our commodities?
We could extract rare earth minerals from mining ore.
We could sell Uranium fuel rods instead of Yellowcake.
We could have factories that produce things -
we don't even make shoes here anymore -
we export leather instead. Roll Eyes

Google AI:

Yes, Australia is a significant global exporter of hides, skins, and leather,
with exports valued at roughly $598 million in 2021.
The industry mainly exports raw (wet-salted) bovine hides and sheepskins,
along with kangaroo and goat skins, primarily to China, Italy, and Vietnam.

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thegreatdivide

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #47 - Feb 7^th, 2026 at 3:43pm

Bobby. wrote on Feb 7^th, 2026 at 3:01pm:

TGD,
Quote:

Correct: govt. wants to preside over full employment.

The Labor Govt. just wants the unemployment to be low

Your error: ALL governments want to be seen to preside over full employment, just as all govts. have to promise lower taxes to get elected.

Quote:

so they have a better chance of being voted back in -
all with money printing and borrowed money - fake jobs.

No: I already showed PS jobs peaked in the high-growth post WW2 Keynesian 'welfare state' era, including sufficient public housing to ensure housing for low-income groups.

Quote:

The fact that not even your great children will be able to pay it back -

Your grand-kids will condemn you if the govt. did not properly fund and maintain Oz infrastructure, education, and hospitals etc.

Don't worry about the debt: before long, treasury officials will notice that an economy can remain productive, ie produce the nation's needed goods and services, regardless of government debt (provided it is denomimated in Oz dollars); and that the currency issuing govt can't "run out " of Oz dollars; the issue for a currency-issuing govt. is maintaining a productive economy with low inflation
...which you now know (I hope...) is caused by 'aggregate demand exceeding aggregate supply...

Quote:

they will still be on the hook for it - before they are born -
doesn't seem to concern you or the average Aussie punter.

Doesn't concern me, because the Oz treasury can dispose of the govt.'s debt at any time it chooses.

Quote:

People should be employed in businesses that create profit -
from a proper business model -

Easier said than done, in free-enterprise economies based on competition and subject to market failure and business cycles.

Quote:

not by borrowing or printing money.

Your continuing blind error: ALL money is "printed", and all businesses use money to make profits (or losses).

Quote:

How about business to value add to our commodities?

Excellent. in fact, Albo is promoting "Made in Oz".

Quote:

We could extract rare earth minerals from mining ore.
We could sell Uranium fuel rods instead of Yellowcake.
We could have factories that produce things -
we don't even make shoes here anymore -
we export leather instead. Roll Eyes

A consequence of dysfunctional WTO 'freetrade' rules, which has resulted in China becoming the 'factory of the world', Trump abandoning the WTO-managed trade system,
and Oz being uncompetitive in world markets for manufactured goods.

Quote:

Google AI:

Yes, Australia is a significant global exporter of hides, skins, and leather,
with exports valued at roughly $598 million in 2021.
The industry mainly exports raw (wet-salted) bovine hides and sheepskins,
along with kangaroo and goat skins, primarily to China, Italy, and Vietnam.

Yes, small bikkies, while China became the world's largest exporter of high value cars and the Oz car industry closed down (we even used to export Holdens to S.Arabia).

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« Last Edit: Feb 7^th, 2026 at 3:54pm by thegreatdivide »

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Bobby.

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #48 - Feb 7^th, 2026 at 4:02pm

TGD,
Quote:

Your error: ALL governments want to be seen to preside over full employment,
just as all govts. have to promise lower taxes to get elected.

Govts will do anything to get re- elected -
even if they destroy the economy in the long term -
even if they bankrupt our unborn great grandchildren.
All they care about is having power for the next 3 years.

TGD,
Quote:

No: I already showed PS jobs peaked in the high-growth post WW2 Keynesian 'welfare state' era,
including sufficient public housing to ensure housing for low-income groups.

It's not what I hear.
9 out of 10 jobs advertised are in the public service now. Roll Eyes

TGD,
Quote:

Don't worry about the debt.

I do - sorry.
We have just followed other countries down the easy path -
use the credit card -
all fiscal responsibility thrown out the window.
The Yanks and just about every Western Govt. in the world
are in a hell of a lot of trouble from it -
all living beyond their means.
The last time that happened was in 1939.

TGD,
Quote:

Doesn't concern me, because the Oz treasury can
dispose of the govt.'s debt at any time it chooses.

Only by printing money and causing hyperinflation.
is that what you want?

TGD,
Quote:

Easier said than done, in free-enterprise economies based on competition
and subject to market failure and business cycles.

The easy path is to print more money -
solves the problem for now. Roll Eyes

TGD,
Quote:

Excellent. in fact, Albo is promoting "Made in Oz".

I'd like to see it. Roll Eyes

TGD,
Quote:

A consequence of dysfunctional WTO 'freetrade' rules,
which has resulted in China becoming the 'factory of the world',
Trump abandoning the WTO-managed trade system,
and Oz being uncompetitive in world markets.

We could still be competitive.
One reason is cheap energy in China.
They open a new coal fired power station every week. Roll Eyes

TGD,
Quote:

Small bikkies, while China became the world's largest exporter
of high value cars and the Oz car industry closed down.

Not small -
$598 million of leather could be turned into say 5 billion of leather goods:
shoes, handbags, jackets, pants.

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Bobby. Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 117931 Melbourne Gender:	Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA Reply #49 - Feb 8^th, 2026 at 9:04am 'Sad time in Australian history': Ex-RBA member hits out at 'big spending' government.
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Bobby. Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 117931 Melbourne Gender:	Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA Reply #50 - Feb 8^th, 2026 at 9:05am Australia's Economic Disaster \| Peter Costello
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Frank

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #51 - Feb 8^th, 2026 at 10:49am

Bobby. wrote on Feb 8^th, 2026 at 9:05am:

Australia's Economic Disaster | Peter Costello

This is so obvious. Just not to Redistributive lefty governments like Alboweasel's, Biden's or the EU's.

“The RBA is telling us we have a major problem. Below average economic growth, above average inflation, negative real wage growth and soft household disposable income growth all the way to 2028 will extend households’ post-pandemic malaise to almost a decade. The cause is the collective of politicians – federal and state of all persuasions – who have failed to bring about the economic reform required to improve competition, dynamism, investment and productivity in Australia. We are now experiencing the consequences.”

Smith says the logic points to one conclusion – pressure on Chalmers to bring down the boldest reform budget seen so far from Labor. Two questions here: does Chalmers have the conviction? And will Albanese let him? The huge irony is that with Labor vulnerable to an assault on economic policy grounds, the opposition is immobilised and absent from the contest because of its internal crisis.

The change demanded from the evidence is the shift from a redistributive mindset to a growth mindset. Stop borrowing to fund redistributive spending.
Reduce government and government spending. Balance the budget and get rid of debt.

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thegreatdivide

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #52 - Feb 8^th, 2026 at 11:38am

Bobby. wrote on Feb 7^th, 2026 at 4:02pm:

Govts will do anything to get re- elected -

True, hence the need to promise lower taxes and full employment.

Quote:

even if they destroy the economy in the long term -
even if they bankrupt our unborn great grandchildren.
All they care about is having power for the next 3 years.

Several errors there, but you - being uneducable - keep repeating the same errors even after the solution is pointed out.

Quote:

It's not what I hear.
9 out of 10 jobs advertised are in the public service now. Roll Eyes

Dummy lee - without addressing my arguments which are backed by google AI - demands I cite 'authorities' stronger than google AI; you want me to accept "what you hear" ..... the 'comic duo' ( lee and bobby) at their excruciating finest...

Note: if the private sector isn't advertisng for jobs, that's a sign of a moribund private sector. The government is trying to get the private sector to work, without forcing workers onto lower wages and conditions.

Quote:

TGD Don't worry about the debt.

I do - sorry.

You should apologize; your misplaced concern re government debt is destroyng economies and democracies the world over, not just Oz.

Quote:

We have just followed other countries down the easy path -
use the credit card -
all fiscal responsibility thrown out the window.

You remain uneducable: for a currency-issuing government, 'fiscal responsibility' means balancing aggregate demand in the economy with aggregate supply, NOT balancing the (monetary) budget like households must do.

Quote:

The Yanks and just about every Western Govt. in the world
are in a hell of a lot of trouble from it -
all living beyond their means. The last time that happened was in 1939.

??

What happened from 1945 to the 60s, aka 'the golden age of capitalism" during the Keynesian 'welfare state' era?

Quote:

TGD the Oz treasury can
dispose of the govt.'s debt at any time it chooses.

Only by printing money and causing hyperinflation.
is that what you want?

See the latest MMT post: Musk is concerned about DE-flation.

https://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1645944963/1410#1411

Quote:

The easy path is to print more money -
solves the problem for now. Roll Eyes

Correct - and forever....provided the govt manages a productive economy (in both the public and private sectors) which supplies the goods and services we need. Money is no problem for a legal currency-issuer.

Quote:

I'd like to see it. Roll Eyes

The Conservative 'small government' ideologues have to get out of the way.

Quote:

One reason is cheap energy in China.
They open a new coal fired power station every week. Roll Eyes

One reason of many; eg, the '1st world rust belt' developed (as a result of WTO Neoclassical 'free trade' rules) whiie the whole world was still burning coal, and now China is transitioning it's economy to renewables at the fastest rate of any country in the world.

(google)

China is currently undergoing the world's fastest and largest transition to renewable energy, with its renewable power capacity, including wind and solar, surpassing its coal-fired power capacity by August 2025. In 2024, China accounted for over 60% of new renewable capacity added worldwide, installing more solar and wind power than the rest of the world combined.

Quote:

$598 million of leather could be turned into say 5 billion of leather goods:
shoes, handbags, jackets, pants.

Sure; and the value of Oz ore exports could be quadrupled by value-adding at home.
...a potential $700 billion or more, cf a piddling $5 billion for value-added manufactured textiles.

But Neoclassical free market goons reject government subsidization of industry and would let Whyalla, ets, close, like they let the car industry close.

Deplorable.

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« Last Edit: Feb 8^th, 2026 at 11:54am by thegreatdivide »

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Frank

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #53 - Feb 8^th, 2026 at 11:53am

Frank wrote on Feb 8^th, 2026 at 10:49am:

Bobby. wrote on Feb 8^th, 2026 at 9:05am:

Australia's Economic Disaster | Peter Costello

This is so obvious. Just not to Redistributive lefty governments like Alboweasel's, Biden's or the EU's.

“The RBA is telling us we have a major problem. Below average economic growth, above average inflation, negative real wage growth and soft household disposable income growth all the way to 2028 will extend households’ post-pandemic malaise to almost a decade. The cause is the collective of politicians – federal and state of all persuasions – who have failed to bring about the economic reform required to improve competition, dynamism, investment and productivity in Australia. We are now experiencing the consequences.”

Smith says the logic points to one conclusion – pressure on Chalmers to bring down the boldest reform budget seen so far from Labor. Two questions here: does Chalmers have the conviction? And will Albanese let him? The huge irony is that with Labor vulnerable to an assault on economic policy grounds, the opposition is immobilised and absent from the contest because of its internal crisis.

The change demanded from the evidence is the shift from a redistributive mindset to a growth mindset. Stop borrowing to fund redistributive spending.
Reduce government and government spending. Balance the budget and get rid of debt.

"When every decision he makes, he's not putting downward pressure on inflation and therefore we've got interest rates on the rise," the Nationals Senator said.

Ms McKenzie said the Treasurer would be sacked if he were the Chief Financial Officer of a publicly listed company.

Just so.

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Bobby.

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #54 - Feb 8^th, 2026 at 11:58am

TGD,
Quote:

Several errors there, but you - being uneducable -
keep repeating the same errors even after the solution is pointed out.

I'm the one trying to educate you and all our readers. Roll Eyes

TGD,
Quote:

Sure; and the value of Oz ore exports could be quadrupled by value-adding at home.
...a potential $700 billion or more, cf a piddling $5 billion for value-added manufactured textiles.

You are agreeing with me -
we need to value add as much as we can.
$5 billion for value-added manufactured textiles would be a nice little start.
Extracting rare earths could win $trillions.

I wouldn't mind all the borrowing if it was invested in say
a Govt mining scheme to extract and process rare earths.

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thegreatdivide

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #55 - Feb 8^th, 2026 at 12:14pm

Frank wrote on Feb 8^th, 2026 at 11:53am:

Frank wrote on Feb 8^th, 2026 at 10:49am:

[quote author=bobbythebat1 link=1770002179/50#50 date=1770505545]

Australia's Economic Disaster | Peter Costello

This is so obvious. Just not to Redistributive lefty governments like Alboweasel's, Biden's or the EU's.

“The RBA is telling us we have a major problem. Below average economic growth, above average inflation, negative real wage growth and soft household disposable income growth all the way to 2028 will extend households’ post-pandemic malaise to almost a decade. The cause is the collective of politicians – federal and state of all persuasions – who have failed to bring about the economic reform required to improve competition, dynamism, investment and productivity in Australia. We are now experiencing the consequences.”

Smith says the logic points to one conclusion – pressure on Chalmers to bring down the boldest reform budget seen so far from Labor. Two questions here: does Chalmers have the conviction? And will Albanese let him? The huge irony is that with Labor vulnerable to an assault on economic policy grounds, the opposition is immobilised and absent from the contest because of its internal crisis.

The change demanded from the evidence is the shift from a redistributive mindset to a growth mindset. Stop borrowing to fund redistributive spending.
Reduce government and government spending. Balance the budget and get rid of debt.

Howard and Costello had the luxury of government surpluses fueled by the then current mining boom caused by China's meteoric rise.

Now of course governments everywhere are failing because their budgets are being sgeezed by Trump - whose own economy is failing.

Vote 1: Pauline's ON.....she'll fix it (provided you don't understand the cause of the current GLOBAL economic malaise...

[Musk is getting closer to the solution - but he's not quite there yet, see the latest MMT post linked in my previous post].

Quote:

"When every decision he makes, he's not putting downward pressure on inflation and therefore we've got interest rates on the rise," the Nationals Senator said.

I dare Conservative politicians to outline their plan to "put downward pressure on inflation"; they know they would be unelectable if they did.

Quote:

Ms McKenzie said the Treasurer would be sacked if he were the Chief Financial Officer of a publicly listed company.

Her error: the treasurer of the the country must manage the entire macro-economy, not the finances of a publicly listed company, or any other private sector entity.

Quote:

Just so.

Your errors exposed above.

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thegreatdivide

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #56 - Feb 8^th, 2026 at 12:52pm

Bobby. wrote on Feb 8^th, 2026 at 11:58am:

TGDSeveral errors there, but you - being uneducable -
keep repeating the same errors even after the solution is pointed out.
I'm the one trying to educate you and all our readers. Roll Eyes

By insisting "money printing" is the cause of our economic woes, while you refuse to admit most "money printing" happens in private banks.

The fact is governments of complex modern economies must manage high technology infrastructure for the public as well as the private sector, as well as global supply chains.

Back in the early days of the Industrial Revolution, govts. played a very small role in the economy; capitalists built their own factories and transport systems while public infrastructure was minimal and kids worked in coal mines instead of going to school.

Even further back, we had Adam Smith's 'invisible hand' markets when, eg bootmakers competed with other bootmakers in the local market place; global companies making goods overseas and selling boots in local markets didn't exist.

Quote:

You are agreeing with me -
we need to value add as much as we can.

Yep, but read on...

Quote:

$5 billion for value-added manufactured textiles would be a nice little start.
Extracting rare earths could win $trillions.

I wouldn't mind all the borrowing if it was invested in say
a Govt mining scheme to extract and process rare earths.

So...you don't mind government debt provided it increases the nation's wealth.

Congratulations; that's the MMT stance.

You (the govt) need to fund development of the clever tech required for sustainable ecological extraction and conversion of raw materials, in a 'circular economy.'

(google)

A circular economy is an industrial system designed to minimize waste and resource consumption by keeping materials in continuous circulation. Shifting from a linear "take-make-dispose" model, it prioritizes repairing, reusing, recycling, and remanufacturing products to maintain their value.

The private sector can't and won't do it, because the private sector wants increased consumption.....while competing with overseas value-adders.

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lee

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #57 - Feb 8^th, 2026 at 12:58pm

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 8^th, 2026 at 12:14pm:

Now of course governments everywhere are failing because their budgets are being sgeezed by Trump

Really?
https://www.worldometers.info/gdp/australia-gdp/

https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/australias-trade-united-states-america

Imports have only grown 3% over exports.

Nope.

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Captain Nemo

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #58 - Feb 8^th, 2026 at 1:58pm

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 8^th, 2026 at 11:38am:

...

Sure; and the value of Oz ore exports could be quadrupled by value-adding at home.
...a potential $700 billion or more, cf a piddling $5 billion for value-added manufactured textiles.

...

That can't happen with the fantasy of Net Zero being pushed by Chris Bowen et al.

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The 2025 election WAS a shocker.

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lee

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Re: Labor Must Not Leave Inflation Fight To RBA
Reply #59 - Feb 8^th, 2026 at 2:35pm

thegreatdivide wrote on Feb 8^th, 2026 at 11:38am:

Dummy lee - without addressing my arguments which are backed by google AI - demands I cite 'authorities' stronger than google AI; you want me to accept "what you hear" ..... the 'comic duo' ( lee and bobby) at their excruciating finest...

So google AI generated this off its own bat? It didn't research it from somewhere? it just magically appeared? Google AI is now able to think rather than just gather information from multiple sources? Grin

"Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Warns AI Could Think For Itself In Four Years at Harvard Talk"

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/12/2/google-ceo-ai-self-improvement/

So from where did Google AI get it, as it can't think for itself? Roll Eyes

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