For years we have been told that The Liberal/National Party are competent managers of our nations finances and the ALP are irresponsible economic managers, sending the nation into debt every time they are in power.
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The Coalition Government, are very fond of telling everyone who will listen that they inherited a "debt and deficit disaster " because of Labors "drunken sailor" spending that (successfully) kept Australia out of recession during the Global Financial Crisis (one of the few countries on the planet to achieve this).
So let us explore this concept.
When The LNP won power in 2013 the Government debt was approximately $170 billion-It now sits at $375 billion despite many slash and burn budgets.
The ALP's price on carbon was a "revenue neutral" policy -money raised by the penalising of polluters was paid back as compensation to those most affected by the price rises that flowed (Think the "clean energy supplement" for example). Most of these payments remained in place despite the revenue to fund them drying up after the repeal of that legislation.
In order to at least look like the government was doing something about reducing Carbon emissions they found millions of dollars of taxpayers money to pay out to (mainly) big polluting companies to "encourage" them to reduce their emissions- This was called the "Emissions Reduction Fund"
Last year they found $444 million (with no tender process) to give to the "Great Barrier Reef Foundation", a little known organization with 6 staff who didn't even apply for a grant-let alone half a billion dollars.
The $120 million on a postal survey to give gay people the right to marry when that law could have simply been legislated in parliament.
$90 billion over the next 30 years (thats $3billion a year) for 12 Submarines and a few Frigates and Patrol boats, just for a few thousand jobs while knocking back the local car industry's request for $300 million a year assistance over 10 years. Loss of the car industry meant 50,000 jobs gone, along with all the PAYE tax receipts. Not real good management in anyones language.
For more on this issue see link below. https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/rendezview/counting-the-cost-of-killing-australias-car-industry/news-story/cb10862b3405a9b26ce9f4541bbdbc08
Of course there is the sense of entitlement these politicians have that led to scandals such as Bronwyn Bishops "Choppergate" and Mathias Cormanns "free" holiday. A rescue helicopter near Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains National Park, west of Sydney, Wednesday, November 29, 2017. A man has died and two others are trapped with injuries after parts of a sandstone cliff fell onto a walking track in the national park. (AAP Image/David Swift) NO ARCHIVING
There was the unsolicited $30 million to Rupert Murdoch's Fox Sports to promote womens sport-meanwhile they cut the ABC budget by $84 million over 3 years.
Their latest effort, is the $60,000 for PM Morrison's 10 minute press conference on Christmas island to tell us they were reopening the detention centre only to be told a few weeks later in the budget it will close again in July after the expenditure of $180 million. https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/news-federal-budget/2019/04/03/budget-2019-christmas-island/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning%20News%20-%2020190404
After castigating Labour over their stimulus of cash handouts in response to the GFC they came up with a $125 per family handout to struggling families and pensioners to help them pay their power bill, which has spiralled out of control partly due to a lack of energy policy from the government.
Despite the treasurer claiming that the budget is back in the black, it is not forecast till next year-it's a bit of a worry when your treasurer doesn't even know what year it is!
I am not saying the ALP are better managers than the Coalition BUT for the LNP to keep peddling they myth they are better managers than Labour is breathtaking hypocrisy .
The adults are NOT in charge and it would seem from all the pork barrelling this last month there is NO debt and deficit disaster either.
