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Justified Australian triumphalism from Lynton Crosby in the UK Telegraph:
Which country will have no government debt within a year, contributed the most to help those in need after the tsunami, and was described by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development as a “model for other countries”, America or Australia? You’ve guessed it. Australia. For so long simply seen as an adventure playground for gap year students or a breeding ground for sportsmen, Australia has now graduated into the world of big players ...
The Australian economy is now in the 15th year of the longest economic expansion in 50 years—perhaps, according to John Howard, the Prime Minister, “the longest since the gold rushes of the 19th century”. Today this continent, much of it desert, ranks 53rd in terms of world population, but is the world’s 13th largest economy; eighth in the world in income per head from 18th two decades ago.
Most impressive statistic: reducing government debt from $96 billion ten years ago to ... zero.
(Via Mike Daly)
That grinding sound of stressed metal is Phat Phil, Mungo, and Margok popping their mental cogs at once.
Who would have thought just by taking sensible, pragmatic and far sighted views that Australia would be better off?
I feel ashamed that….(insert lefty cause here).. has to suffer just so the majority of Australians have a good life.Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2005 10 30 at 03:05 AM • permalink#5 Ah, this is where the left invoke the Latham clause in which one complains that it is not good enough that individuals improve their own lot, but they must feel angst and be willing to support ne’er-do wells.
—Nora
Posted by The Thin Man Returns on 2005 10 30 at 03:32 AM • permalinkThat’s all well and good but!
What about Abu Gharib?
Global warming/cooling/dimming/warming?
The assylum seekers issue?
Redneck aspirational westies with wide-screen TVs?
Ignorant dickheads that voted for hoWARd? (see above-‘wide-screen tvs’).
The so called ‘so called’ pretend ‘war on terror’?
Need I go on?
The rise of horrificating ‘Christian fundamentalism’?
The destruction of workers rights under hoWARd’s Reichstag?
The ever present threat that ordinary Australians will be arrested and slaughtered like goats under hoWARd’s new so called ‘so called’ anti-terror so called ‘laws’.Posted by Lucky Nutsacks on 2005 10 30 at 04:25 AM • permalinkNeed I go on?
(btw-I lived through the Hawke and Keating years. I remember 10% unemployment.
I remember petrol strikes by the unions every Easter/Xmas/School holidays.
I remember REAL well the 16% interest rates.
Anyone that thinks they’re hard done by under the hoWARd Junta should go F U C K themselves.
Sorry in advance about the bad language.Posted by Lucky Nutsacks on 2005 10 30 at 04:36 AM • permalink# 13 Yeah, thanks, Hawkey.
Now piss off…
(Not you Slammer!)
—Nick
Posted by The Thin Man Returns on 2005 10 30 at 05:01 AM • permalink#9, #11 - Exactly the reason I left Victoria in the first place in ‘99. Racial/religious vilification laws, masses of fixed speed cameras with ridiculously low tolerances, and a leftist bureaucracy that’s destroyed everything from the State Museum to the education system.
I miss my home state, or rather, I miss what it used to be.
Posted by HisHineness on 2005 10 30 at 05:33 AM • permalinkCongratulations, Australia! Excellent news!!!
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 10 30 at 05:39 AM • permalinkI remember petrol strikes by the unions every Easter/Xmas/School holidays.
Worse: a brewery strike every December. Like clockwork. I still get the heebies recalling that Big Barrel lager trucked east from Adelaide.
Posted by walterplinge on 2005 10 30 at 05:41 AM • permalinkAhhhh. Labor. The banana republic and the recession we had to have. Weren’t there supposed to be tax cuts that were L-A-W in there somewhere?
These days whenever I think of Bob Hawke, I’ve got that picture in my head of him and Blanche sitting by the pool in matching bathrobes. bleh. Luckily I can’t find a link to that photo for our overseas participants.
Posted by Nilknarf Arbed on 2005 10 30 at 05:45 AM • permalink#19, Yeah that’s Bob on the left - with the matching hair it’s sometime difficult to tell the difference.
—Nora
Posted by The Thin Man Returns on 2005 10 30 at 06:06 AM • permalink#13 is right. Hawke/Keating did start it, but only because Fraser had no guts for reform.
Consider: Selling CBA, Qantas, floating the dollar, deregulating the financial markets, creating superannuation, starting the process of tariff reduction, some tax reform, and even - tentatively - starting labour market deregulation.
I should point out that the reason Hawke and Keating were able to undertake necessary reform was become the Liberals, when in opposition, actually let the legislation pass.
Oppostion members putting national interest above petty politics? Fancy that.
Posted by Quentin George on 2005 10 30 at 06:21 AM • permalinkOh, come on! Listen to the titanic
egosintellects oftossers likeAdams, Ramsay, Margronk. We are all much worse off and hoWARd is a nazi.Sheesh, stick to the
fantasyTRUTH, people!And they just cannot understand why they keep losing elections and why a government which actually delivers jobs, prosperity and a wealth-creating economy is popular.
Sad indictment of the Australian Left.
MarkL
CanberraSlammer is right, of course. Two things, though:
First, Howard’s adoption of reformist economics preceded Hawke’s and Keating’s. Hawke wasn’t even in parliament when Howard was turning Dry in the late 70s and Keating was a nobody in Opposition. At that time, Hawke could not be described as dry - in more than one sense.
Fraser, a traditional Tory, pursued very little change but with massive electoral victories in 75 and 77, there was no way he was ever going to be challenged - by Howard or anyone else.
So, faced with the stagflationary crisis of 1983, Hawke and Keating pursued their reforms and they deserve credit for it. In all those years, however, Labor had the advantage of an Opposition that looked for political opportunities where they could find them, but which generally supported the reform agenda. At a time of rapid social and economic change, that was invaluable.
Fast forward to 1996-2005. Labor has opposed almost everything this government has proposed.
And when you read people hyper-critically analysing Howard’s security credentials and alleged disregard for the rule of law, remember that Gareth Evans once scrambled a fighter-jet to Tasmania and Kim Beazley recently called for an illegal incursion into New Orleans.
No troops for Iraq, though.
I heard some statistic the other day (from a friend, so I can’t provide a link) about how many bills were rejected by the upper house during thirteen years of ALP government and compared to the number rejected since 1996.
It was something like 20-30 from 1983-1996, and over 250+ from 1996-2005.
Anyone have any idea of its veracity?
Go Australia!
Apologies for extreme sincerity, but I want you Aussies to know how highly we Yanks regard you. We’re happy to have such a worthy competitor in the Best Country on Earth contest and there’s a lot for us to learn from your example.
And if any of you want to to visit the US, please know that you are always welcome here. Especially if you bring beer.
(What? We’re stuck with Budweiser, fer chrissakes.)
Posted by EastVillage on 2005 10 30 at 07:38 AM • permalinkBudweiser ain’t that bad.
But it ain’t all that good either.
I’d be tempted to say ‘give me Cascade over any US beer any day’ but I haven’t sampled all the beers that Uncle Sam has to offer. Better start now.
Posted by Guardian_Angel on 2005 10 30 at 07:44 AM • permalinkKeating was also right about the Senate containing unrepresentative swill!
I’m not sure why we bother to say that it is to protect the States’ Rights or Interests. Do states have rights or interests which are different to those of the people? It seems to be a way to (as the yanks say) add pork to the legislation.
Bob Brown (along with other senators from underpopulated states) has been given far more clout and publicity than he could ever deserve or achieve under a one-man-one vote setup.
It was probably (originally) only to get all the states to agree on rules for Federation.
The ALP in the mid-eighties had more talent than now, and some sense of what was in the nation’s peoples interests. All of that seems to have deserted the ALP of today. No amount of post mortem agonising seems to make any difference. They will have to go back to the community to check what they want - and listen!...but I haven’t sampled all the beers that Uncle Sam has to offer. Better start now.
<best Aussie imitation>Cheers, Mate.</best Aussie imitation>
In other words, friggin’ bottoms up!
Posted by EastVillage on 2005 10 30 at 08:08 AM • permalink#34 yeah the ALP in the 80s had people with brains, but no idea
now they have people with no brains & no idea
good thing really - maybe they won’t be back
#1 thanks for the heads up on the ridiculous PC crap going on in Vicpol under Nanny Nixon - excuse me i’m here to interview you about the dead woman in your kitchen. sorry chaps, i’m a bit busy with praying right now, so could you come back later?
By the by, we can’t have a zero gov’t debt. Why? Because no debt means no gov’t bond market. So we will keep a little bit of debt, in the end. Not very much, but we won’t be back to zero.
Posted by Stuart Lord on 2005 10 30 at 09:02 AM • permalinkThat’s Carlton Pure Blonde, not Cascade. :) You can see it hiding behind the blue bottle of Skyy vodka premix in that picture.
And it’s a girl’s beer… but you appear to be a girl, so that’s okay :)
Carlton brewed what is now called Pure Blonde for years, but it was named D-Ale (diet ale) and then LJ (low joule) and was pitched at the diabetic market - I shit you not. Sales were slow but it had dedicated drinkers. The marketing gurus at CUB decided that the “low carb” tag was sexier, they revamped the packaging and now Pure Blonde sells its little socks off.
Incidentally, Cascade make a Blonde beer. Don’t think it’s low carbs, tho.
And yes, I work in a bottle shop.
Posted by James Waterton on 2005 10 30 at 11:21 AM • permalinkDear God.
You MUST elect a Labor government IMMEDIATELY.
Only when everyone is equally squalid will true social justice be achieved (er, except for your political leaders and telly presenters, of course…)
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 10 30 at 12:45 PM • permalinkRebeccaH - are yours as effete and whiney as ours?
Posted by James Waterton on 2005 10 30 at 01:29 PM • permalinkCongrats Orstraya! That’s a great little country you got down there. Now, bend over just one more time…
(PS Best we forget the balloning current account deficit fuelled by the housing bubble; the most expensive urban real estate in the OECD, the highest real interest rates of all of our major OECD trading partners, and a private debt burden that has quadrupled.)
Posted by Miranda Divide on 2005 10 30 at 01:39 PM • permalinkMiranda Divide - don’t know much about economics, do you? Maybe you should start getting your information from sources other than Green Left.
Posted by James Waterton on 2005 10 30 at 01:49 PM • permalinkJust because a person is unwilling to work for a living is no reason to abandon him to the trash heap when so many others have wide screen TVs
LOL
—Nora
Posted by The Thin Man Returns on 2005 10 30 at 05:46 PM • permalinkRe #47
Tch tch Miranda - our REAL interest rates are amongst the lowest of our OECD trading partners (and I suspect US rates will rise this week) and the major reason private debt has risen is because most of it is being invested in real estate. The use of debt to grow assets is a POSITIVE for both the economy and those prepared to take a considered risk to grow wealth.
Perhaps a quick brush-up on basic financial principles would lower your stress levels ???
C.L. (#26) - Great comments mate and spot on.
We really do need to occasionally thank our lucky stars that John Howard had the intestinal fortitude to put up with more shit than a thousand politicians before him and stick with it.
Despite what the left loonies want to say, we are very well governed by a bloke with a pretty down to earth outlook and the determination to see the job through.
The left suffer from collective ‘relevance deprivation syndrome’, to quote possibly the only sensible words to ever come out of Gareth Evans’ mouth. They just don’t matter anymore to those of us with real lives to get on with.
BTW, to our American friends, thanks for your comments and friendship. As an Aussie digger, I have worked with your Army and Marines on and off for 22 years now. While they are stretched (aren’t we all), I can say from first hand experience, including recently in Afghanistan, that the US military is full of wonderful men and women who are doing your great country proud.Posted by AlphaMikeFoxtrot on 2005 10 30 at 07:41 PM • permalinkUnfortunately the reduction in public debt hasn’t come from slashing public spending; this government’s conservative/libertarian credentials are highly questionable when it comes to matters fiscal- how an administration that prides itself on its comittment to small government, self reliance and individual liberty can have whooshed past the spendthrift and larcenous Hawke/Keating junta in revenue and expenditure, disarmed law-abiding citizens under the guise of public safety (along with another new bath of idiot design rules for an already over-regulated motor industry) and gone along with many other moon-pie schemes for the environment/yartz etc seems to put a bit of a cloud over their much-vaunted image.
Getting rid of a defecit is a doddle- cut or stop spending; it just takes the political will to ignore whiny fringe groups (who wouldn’t vote for a conservative party in a pink fit anyway), dribbling members of the fourth estate who overdosed on sociology at college and people who are too lazy to work let alone vote.Congratters Ozzies on doing so well. I’d be a little careful about paying off the National Debt though. We in the USA used to do that every so often in the 19th century, and we invariably got a depression as a result.
Posted by Michael Lonie on 2005 10 30 at 10:20 PM • permalinkLesser of two evils- I admire Howard in most cases but have found him a bit of a vascillator in difficult areas of social policy (which is no business of government in most cases anyway). As to the Freemantle Fatso being able to hold a mirror to him, it’d have to be a convex one he swiped from the Hubble telescope. Most of the reform of the Hawke/Keating era was driven by (the Finance Minister) Peter Walsh, and watered down by Hawke, Keating and assorted Labor Left fruitcups like Ralph Willis and (shudder) Susan Ryan.
Keating was a primitive Keynsian as treasurer, and as such as much use as tits on a boar hog. (Credit card level mortgage rates, anyone?)
Certainly manipulaton by the Reserve Bank have kept Australian rates low, but coupled with idiot schemes like 1st home buyers have caused a rapid inflation of residential property well past its intrinsic or actual worth, which is starting to crumble- a full-scale collapse would leave Howard in some trouble, accompanied by demands for relief by peabrains who paid over the odds for termite-infested terraces last occupied by winos on the sound advice of reality television.
Government invariably fucks up when it delves into private markets- it should stick to what it’s designed for- killing obdurant foreigners, incarcerating ner’do wells, ensuring property rights and due process are strictly enforced, providing the few services that can’t be efficiently provided elsewhere, keeping venal litigation lawyers safely tucked up in the parliamentary bar rather than persuing emegency vehicles and otherwise leaving everyone alone.
It’s a lesson yet to be learnt by prospective parliaments world-wide.#47 the balloning current account deficit fuelled by the housing bubble
I nominate Miranda for the “Homer Paxton economic illiteracy award” for this statement. Keep up the good work!
Posted by Art Vandelay on 2005 10 30 at 11:26 PM • permalinkIs it just a coincidence that Australia emerges as a solid economic powerhouse when a conservative runs the country for the third straight term?
I think NOT.
Congratulations Australia from your bestest friend, the USA.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 10 31 at 12:36 AM • permalinkArtVandelay - yes, it’s clear that Miranda D has constructed his/her comment using a random economic terminology generator.
Posted by James Waterton on 2005 10 31 at 01:26 AM • permalinkThe shorter Lynton Crosby (Maureen Dowd edition):
“Growth is rooted ... our immigration system is rooted ...”.
BTW Tim, your link to the Telegraph article is broken.
Posted by William Bowe on 2005 10 31 at 01:36 AM • permalink...yes, it’s clear that Miranda D has constructed his/her comment using a random economic terminology generator.
Miranda has used a random terminology generator for EVERYTHING he/she posts.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 10 31 at 06:09 AM • permalinkToo bad Lynton did such a pathetic job running the Tory G.E. campaign. You would think after doing such an arse job he would not show his head in the UK for a while.
Posted by Andrew Ian Dodge on 2005 10 31 at 08:41 AM • permalinkEcognorant innumerate leftist blitherer:
(PS Best we forget the balloning current account deficit fuelled by the housing bubble;
Wait wait wait ... the what is fuelled by the WHAT? How the fuck is THAT supposed to work?
... scroll scroll scroll ... okay!
A random phrase generator? Errr yeah! Looks to me like Miranda IS a random phrase generator.Posted by Stoop Davy Dave on 2005 10 31 at 05:36 PM • permalink33
Budweiser ain’t that bad.
But it ain’t all that good either.It’s certainly not our best! But it’s far Far FAR from our worst!
Posted by Stoop Davy Dave on 2005 10 31 at 05:40 PM • permalink#73: No argument about Budweiser being far Far FAR from our worst. But it’s far Far FAR from our best, as well.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 11 01 at 01:26 AM • permalink
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Congratulations! My long time favorite country outside my native US. Now the only thing that needs attention is ensuring Aussie police don’t treat Muslim domestic violence differently than non-muslim domestic violence…