Frozo,
Your last statement is totally incorrect.
In an economic downturn private sector spending naturally drops, hence why any government steps in to create demand i.e infrastructure projects. To say it is all private sector driven is rubbish.
3/4 of China's growth this year is due to government spending(latest addition of the economist).
If the government were to do nothing then the consequences for job losses/economy would be far worse.The private sector is cutting not spending.
The problem we have is that both Labor supporters or Liberals take respective political sides over reality/facts/figures. Political spin with big scary words such as Debt and Deficit are being flung out with no substance in counter policy.
This global problem needs to be above politics,sadly not a realistic outcome.
The Libs were fortunate that they had the benefit of such large company tax receipts hence a large budget surplus. Some could argue that they should have spent the surplus of a lifetime on badly needed infrastructure.Instead they handed out a fair amount of middle class welfare. Tax cuts and big tax breaks to super in particular.The so called frugal Libs dished it out too.
Labor and indeed any government in the current environment must spend or at least act. This lesson was learnt the hard way in the depression.
I think history will judge Labor's $900 payments very,very poorly.
To imply that a Liberal government would suddenly turn the budget into surplus or to have acted in a far different way though is naive.
Workchoices was a killer for the Liberal party.To try and argue it as the savior of a worldwide recession is rubbish and puts in jeopardy a Liberal return to office.
I was a young liberal in my uni days and I am disappointed that Turnbull did not provide more substance in his budget reply.
Whilst I agree that tobacco tax is a good alternative to slugging the option of private health care, Turnbull failed to give details of an alternate Liberal plan.
By playing the spin game and failing to provide rational alternatives the Libs have let themselves down.