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  • how can you even compare these two? fuck wayne swan, he killed our countries economy

  • Costello: 1 Swan: 0

  • This country is being fucked by the Trade Union cock suckers who pull the strings for the Labor Party.

  • We miss you Costello >.<

    

  • Fuckin Socialist Cocksuckers in the Greens and ALP

  • @sikfreak6969 if chinas economy was booming in the late 80s right till now like you say why under keating was australia in recession in the early 90s ye under howard not even a decade later was the envy off the world and how did the howard goverment pay back 96 billion dollards of debt leave 43 billion in the back yet in under 3 years rudd gillard and these pack of fuckwit labour idiots have spent that and got us into 180 billion dollars of debt the answer THE LABOR PARTY CANT MANAGE A ECONOMY

  • What was Peter Costello referring to when he mentioned that the brother of the Opposition Leader had given money to the Liberals?

  • Comment removed

  • both Julia Gillard and Tony abbot are morons...

    The last election should've been rudd vs costello.....

  • Costello for pm!, not abbot.

  • Ever wonder why energy prices have been skyrocketing at enormous double digit rates? Yeah thx to the ALPs phony 20% renewable energy target to the needs to be supplied by the retailers. So what happens? The retailers throw the prices back onto the consumers so that they can cover for the costs of green energy. Pathetic. Since the 1/7: QLD: 20% increase on energy rates,NSW: 18%, Vict: 1/1 26% increase, SA: 24%.

  • The aim of the mining tax i just another tax made up by the ALP just to take out more money bc they are so incompetent at running the country. The mining tax is just an aim to put Aust jobs at risk. Pathetic. Then we noticed a form of backstabbing displayed the ALP who overthrow a democratically elected PM. Thank God Labor is now toxic in NSW & now QLD

  • IN 12 YEARS LIBERAL DONE NOTHING BUT HOARD TAXPAYERS MONEY THEN WHEN THEY GOT OUT OF GOVERNMENT THE INFRASTRUCTURE WAS THAT WORN OUT IT HAD TO BE REBUILT AND UPDATED. SAME OLD STORY. IN THE 70S THE TRAINS AND RAILWAYS WERE SO WORN OUT THAT LABOR HAD TO RESCUE THE RAILWAYS. LIBERAL DONT KNOW HOW TO BUDGET ALL THEY KNOW IS TAXES AND HOARDING. PEICES OF SHIT LIKE YOU.

  • the mining tax commition is the biggest scare rasier i have ever seen. All it will mean is that it will cut into profits made by the multi-national corporations just a little. if u look at what these giants have earned it is disgusting. They received tens of billions of dollars profit last year.

    if it is such a big issue why have they shut the fuck up now that it has been reduced by 25%? because it was no big deal.

    of course abbot would oppose the tax cuz he has them in his back pocket!

  • Reach around to your lower back, Swan. See if you can feel a spine.

  • Peater .... please come back....

  • And to top it all off,unemployment was at all time low,interest rates were at an all time low,real wages skyrocketed. Real wages fell under the Labor yrs by 20% (the accord,look that up) & it lets not forget the high unemployment that was left for the coalition to deal with which btw slowly fell. Btw Peter Costello was a great showman in parliament unlike wankers like Swanny boy here who stumbles when he tries to talk,then leaves us wth a massive deficit of $48 billion. Yeah well done Swanny!

  • @yourgasm well when the liberals are classing people that do 2 hours work per week as employed it would be fucknut.

  • @neephius Hahaha, sooking as always just bc you're too lazy to work the full hr of your shift. Your name calling just proves how lazy ppl like you truly are & that you can't handle how truthful I speak of the ALP. Already launched a coup against a democratically elected PM.

  • Peter Costello was a legend of a treasurer. The Labor party just steals their ideas from the liberals

  • @yourgasm actually it's the other way around. It was Labor in 83-96 that successfully gave Australia a market economy.

    This is the man who broke the Coalition's 96 election promise to legislate an increase in compulsory super (a conservative idea implemented by Labor ) from 9% to 15% against the advice of treasury for partisan political reasons and as a result saw interest rates and inflation rise by 2% from 04-07. Read Unfinished Business by David Love if you don't know what I'm talking about.

  • @yourgasm what great idea did costello come up with champ? tax cuts? wow what a genius, eep teveryone happy and keep the budget in surplus, meanwhile hospitals, schools and workplaces get neglected. He was an incompetent conservative wanker, could never make tough calls on anything and never took a risk which could make australias future better. If it wasnt for keating having the balls to make the tough calls we wouldnt be so well off as a nation and be respected worldwide.

  • @raff23 Who delivered surplus yr after yr. Hospitals neglected? Urban myth,the liberals increased health spending to $39 billion,a massive increase from the $19 billion. Another blatant lie but you laborites which is astounding. Yet despite the massive increase in spending,still managed to deliver us wth biggest surplus ever & left us wth a surplus. Tough calls? See the GST,banning of guns laws when knowing full well this would cost them votes (see 1998 election where seats were lost)

  • @yourgasm yourshit

  • Wayne Swan - what a Daffy Duck this dude is... We gotta get rid off these buffoons... 'I though I saw a Tweedy Bird'... he's a dick!

  • I can't put my finger on it but he just looks like the guy that looks like he fits the part but secretly he has no idea what he is doing. .... like really who came up with the mining super tax. How on earth did he, Rudd and Julia think that it was going to be smooth sailing into surplus on the backs of the miners .... I'm at a complete loss on how these people get into these positions.

  • This dude, Wayne Swan is a puppet...and what a real wanker he has turned out to be...

  • Classic Costello! God I miss him!

  • We need Howard and Costello back !

  • @Jospehporta not howard! he's too old. definitely costello.

  • PLEASE COME BACK, LOOK AT WHAT THEY HAVE DONE.

  • lol i so wanna be in one of these disscussions, this is the only enjoyable part of Politics. =p

  • it's actually 8 words "wayne swan had money in brown paper bags"

  • God I miss Peter Costello..what a genius..Australia was in such great shape when he was treasurer and now it's an absolute shambles thanks to Rudd & Co..The Rudd Government??? THROW THEM OUT!

  • The Rudd & Swan show must come to an end!!! At this rate we will lose our jobs, have no super to retire on & we'll be eating weetbix for dinner till the day we die. The Ruddster has had 3 years to really turn this place to shit and he's done a great job! He has no idea.

    This tax on miners is the last straw. People don't realise the true impact. I work in the industry...

  • Both parties have left this country looking and sounding as rough and redneck as ever. We need a cultural revolution in this country to bring it the much needed sophistication and cultural deportment that it so so badly needs....Bogans have taken over!

  • I can't even begin to describe what a failure Wayne Swan is. When I see him on TV I immediately facepalm.

  • all costello and howard did was freeload their way for 10 yrs. The 2 greatest legacies of the howard government are the GST and workchoices. Because of them everything we buy now is taxed, because of them we would have been worse off in the workplace, because of them not doing anything for 10 yrs our schools, hospitals, and businesses have big problems. You are supposed to spend money for things to get done people seem to forget this or just have no idea such as haynesmachine how things work.

  • I wouldn't state that others don't know how things work after typing such incorrect crap. Typical Howard basher, just making things up.

  • @haynesmachine How is that making things up, did Howard not introduce GST and Work Choices, and how did Howard advance our hospitals and schools. The economy was going well because the world economy was going well, if you want to prove your point why don't you provide evidence to substantiate your claim

  • From 1996-2007 the Howard Costello Government eliminated more than $96 billion in government debt, restored Australias AAA credit rating, delivered more jobs, the lowest unemployment rates in 33 years, lower inflation, lower interest rates, lower tax burden, higher wages, more productive workplaces, higher pensions, better living standards, more funding for health, education, defence and transport, more funds for state governments and an economic resilience that's envy of the developed world.

  • health and education????

    hahaahahah

  • You can blame state governments for that, Bob Carr turned NSW into a toilet in that regard.

  • @haynesmachine This is true however Howard wasnt always a ''fiscal conservative'',every time an election arose Howard had the tendancy to spend up big and pull a rabbit under his hat to get relected and it worked,Costello privately protested about this and should of stood up to Howard about this.

    Australia wasnt completely dept free under Howard,since 1996 to the present day our private dept has risen and both sides are to blame.

  • @haynesmachine yeh in a boom you dumbass. before there was global depression. keating and hawke laid the foundations for the libs, END OF STORY.

    actually the howard government cut spending on just about everything thats why they had surplus.

    they didnt do jack shit the whole time ;)

  • @EndorphineT78 as accurate as you can get there champ, its amusing watching this arrogant idiot try to talk down labor as if he was this great visionary treasurer that no one else could top when in actual fact he was the most conservative tightarse of a treasurer thats ever been up there with howard. god i wished keating was still a labor party member at this point, he would have gone to town on costello and showed him up.

  • @haynesmachine

    1) Global financial crisis.

    2) Clearly, you have no comprehension of manageable debt.

    3) Labor managed an unemployment rate of 5.5% during the worst economic crisis since the great depression.

    4) More productive workplaces? You mean, work choices?

    I find your ignorance terribly amusing. You, like most liberals, are uneducated, bigoted christians who 'believe' anything your right wing leader tells you. Tony Abbott would have been a complete national embarrassment.

  • @ottopotomas Indeed my good friend. I would have liked to see the liberals, the frugal fucks, spending some of their surplus in a fiscal stimulus package, which in essence saved the economy, not to mention China.

    Tony Abbott is on the spectrum, if you ask me.

  • @haynesmachine From 1996-2007 CHINA eliminated more than $96 billion in government debt, restored Australias AAA credit rating, delivered more jobs, the lowest unemployment rates in 33 years, lower inflation, lower interest rates, lower tax burden, higher wages, more productive workplaces, higher pensions, better living standards, more funding for health, education, defence and transport, more funds for state governments and an economic resilience that's envy of the developed world.

  • @haynesmachine u drop kick, the rest of the developed world was seeing the same kind of "economic resilience" you speak of...its called a boom...the entire economic world was in a boom.

    And as hecktick133 mentioned, our close trading partner China, has been growing ever since the late 80's, becoming one of the TOP NIC's due to it's strong growth in foreign investment and the manufacturing sector...big demand to manufacture products requires resources....Australia has plenty of those...DUURR!!

  • back to Economics class you go..

  • @haynesmachine OK, but you could also underline those achievements have been achieved on the basis of Keating's reforms?

  • @darwincity Absolutely. And that is a point acknowledged by Costello himself. I don't know the detail because I wasn't born yet, but after Fraser was PM the Labor party made several advancements which more resembled Liberal policy. Most Liberals accept and acknowledge this, such as Costello in his book. It's a stunning contrast to Rudd/Gillard/Swan who think time began in 2007.

  • @haynesmachine We could do with him here in the United Kingdom to sort out the massive debt that our previous Labour Government left behind and burdened the next 2 generations(at least)with.I fear that you Australians will go down the devastating same road as us because of the Labour Government that you are burdened with.I think Australia will rue the day they booted out the Howard Government like we should rue the day that we Brits booted out the Major Government in 1997.

  • @haynesmachine Howard Costello Government got it all handed to them by the previous governement. The emergence of new tech and business in itself helped us achieve the lowest unemployment and better standards of living, and greater economic productivity. In terms of education, this government failed miserable when it came to higher education assistance, even at secondary school level this govrnment did nothing to assist with better retention rates & had they stil been in during GFC, Lord knows

  • @haynesmachine

    you obviously have never worked for centrelink,or you would know the truth behind that lie.

    lower inflation????? prices in the supermarkets skyrocketed under howard.

  • @haynesmachine Wonderful achievements! I wish the Liberals were in power today. I don't even want to think of the terrible things that the Rudd/Gillard/Greens/Independen­ts Government has done to Australia since. Too too sad for words.

  • @haynesmachine It seems that lots of counties were having a historically good time during 1996-2007 until US f*cked up.

  • Incorrect, actually if we'd been following labour policies we would have ben in deep trouble during the Asian economic collapse. It was Howards stewardship which saw us come through that unscathed.

  • FUCKIGN PIG!!

    poor swaney he knows hes better then that

    they just do that childish shit to him cause they know hes too good at wwhat he does

  • Wayne Swan good at what he does??? He's the most inept treasurer since John Winston Howard!

  • cleaning up howards mess ... DUH

  • Wayne Swan good at what he does??? hahahahahahaha hes a joke. The country is now being run by simpletons who were voted in by simpletons.... Lucky for them the country was in great shape and they have a couple of years before we all notice just how useless they are.

  • Howard and Costello, the greatest team this country has ever had and probably ever will have... replaced by a bunch of pathetic jokers with no idea what they're doing... exactly why they should ban compulsary voting, its free speech for the dumb.

  • you are a moron if u seriously believe that. Howard and costello or should i say abbot and costello fooled the public into believing they had actually caused the economy to prosper by taking the credit from labor who implemented the policies before howard took over. Just because we were in debt does not mean things werent getting done to make the country better. They take time. Conveniently for howard everything started to happen when he became PM.

  • Comment removed

  • There are plenty of people far smarter than you, who hold Howard in high esteem for turning Australia into a strong resilient economy. Please take your simpleton uninformed views and shove it where the sun don't shine :)

  • Howard sold Telstra, cut spending to education, health and infrastructure and presided over the most opportune period in Australia's History (Being the resources boom with China growing at upto 10% P/A, which in the western world is unheard of. A blind monkey could have achieved what he did. The difference is labor has the balls to make social justice an issue when it comes to government spending, not to mention issues such as aslyum seekers.

  • @monkeynogo are you sure you're not taking about Rudd, because it sure sounds like it. Labor has no balls to do anything except pander towards the unions, get into massive debt and rely on the LIberals to pay it back. Labour is pathetic.

  • Ignoring the fact that Howard rode off the back of Hawke/ Keatings regulatory reforms, he is held in such high esteem that he was only the 2nd prime minister in Australia's History to lose his own seat. The liberal party has always been the same ... cut taxes ... cut financial regulation ... cut spending with no imagination or regard for the lower rungs of society. The labor party takes risks to protect those most in need of government support.

  • @monkeynogo lol, they take no risks, they jsut revert to their old ways of massive spending, massive debt and making the workforce as inefficient as possible. Labour has always been a driving force in taking the country backwards.

  • @monkeynogo Well you tell me how the lower rungs of society would be if we carried $96 billion of Labor debt into the GFC. Howard's surplus helped the country to avoid recession.

  • Recessions are supposed to happen and in these times you are supposed to run up deficits. In boom times you are supposed to run up surpluses. This is quite obvious given that tax reciepts will be greater in booms then recessions and in recessions government spending should supplement investment and consumption.

  • Paul Keating made a very good just before last election. For all of our economic prosperity under Howard what did we have to show for it? A fucked health system, education system, poor infrastructure, etc.

  • @monkeynogo yes but no one cares about that as long as we have enough money to satisfy everyone's greedy minds. Its the australian way of life, as long as we have money and lots of it were happy. The liberals catered to this for 10 yrs, the economy was so strong because nothing was ever done to fix these issues. Now that rudd is trying to make things better and spending money, people are up in arms because there is less money to stuff in their pockets. Australian people dont give a stuff.

  • Now that I'm finished with Howard lets move onto the rest of the liberal party:

    1. Abbott - the ultra conservative dinosaur who needs to go back on his own stated policies to win the female vote.

    2. Barnaby Joyce - The bumbling idiot

    3. Wilson Tuckey - the openly racist global warming denier

    4. Bill Heffernan - The person who wrongly accused a high court judge under parliamentary priviledge of prostitution and pedophilia.

    5. ??? - some lib MP insulted a WWII vet who was a labor life member.

  • costello's a smirking piece of shit. he is so so so so not funny. he's trynna copy off keating.

  • "Ohh my fucking gawd we're in debt, Australia's coming to an end, the sky's going to fall in, we're all going to die, stock up on essential supplies, we're fucked, we're seriously fucked!!!!" [/idiot who knows nothing about keynesian economics]

    !

  • @jumpnjza2

    Keynesian economics means cyclical fluctuations between debt and surplus. In 1996 we were well out of the recession, yet the debt was growing. The fiscal policy of the Keating government was a fail. (as opposed to the successful microeconomic policy)

  • yes i realise that.... you fucking labor scum dog

  • 'Labor scum dog'?

    What kind of shit is that?

  • wayne swann and his debt building stimulus package can suck my dick

    GO PETER!

  • Yes GO PETER, away from us, yippee

  • Costello makes swann look like the biggest douche in politics.

    GO PETER!!!

    PETER FOR PM

  • Former Liberal head Dr. John Hewson sums it up well - with reference to Costello;

    "I also doubt you have the skills, experience or self-confidence to have accepted the obvious job after losing the last election, namely shadow treasurer."

  • Hewson was an idiot. Why? He proposed GST in the middle of an election campaign. Why listen to a fuckwit?

  • A leader of a major political party is never a fuckwit.

  • Let us just say that Hewson was not the best guy the Libs could've had as leader of the opposition in 93.

  • Oh yeah, Wilson Tuckey for eg

  • Low altitude flyer

  • Liberals own

  • @jafoosy Yeah, Alexander Downer is proof of that ;)

  • Having fun with your  huge debt?

  • I have recently read artilces from the IMF and other sources suggesting that some aspects of Work Choices would be advantageous to Australia in the current recession

  • Obnoxious system of governance, there must be a better system, a system that actually give a damn about the average citizen.

  • swan is such a funny little tool roflmao

  • Costello wins every time

  • Exactly. Wins every time. Australia needs him if not now then in 3 months time.

  • Newspoll - 10/03/2009

    Better Liberal leader:

    Turnbull 40%

    Costello 53%

  • Peter Costello is largely a laughing stock, and will never gain popular support from the people, after all he is the father of Work Choices, and they guy who whined like a baby because Howard didn't fall on his sword.

    If he is your hope for the future of the liberal party, then you are in even worse trouble than I thought.

    His arrogance is probably his most becoming feature.

    The fact is that he will never have the respect of the average Australian.

  • it appears to me from a study of recent economic history that the ability of the current government to provide stimulus has been due to Costello's forward thinking of establishing Budget surpluses and to establish Future Funds

  • fussyhannah

    Costello = Work Choices. He is still pushing Work Choices from the back bench.

    The Australian people will remember. Until the Libs pull their heads out of the sand and start listening to the People instead of doing the bidding of big business and the very wealthy, they will continually fail.

    I saw George Bush giving Johnny Howard some jewelery the other day, a lovely necklace. A reward for lying to the Australian people about Iraq no doubt.

  • rudd is the wealthiest pm ever you tool and he decided to stay and increase the presence in Afghanistan W. would love that

  • God you liberals are bunch of fucksticks.

    We should not have gone in to either war

    but now we have to fix howards mistakes

    so if more troops are needed so be it.

    And i suppose malcolm turnbull is poor is he?.

    Get a grip on reality.

  • you idiot. complete idiot. I recon your poor and have no ambition in life. People chose to be rich just like people chose to be poor..

  • you idiot. complete idiot.

    Straight back at you fuckstick.

    Liberal supporters keep calling rudd rich.

    Malcom turnbull is rich also so what is the point of takeing the piss out of rudd for being rich .

    Its a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

  • Correct, but the main difference between the two, is the fact that mr rudd shows no regard for the average australian when plunging us into absolutely reckless spending.

  • Sales figures since xmas have been UP.

    Recent figures on unemployment DOWN.

    Pensioners were one of the 900 dollar handouts.

    They got equal to a 20 dollars a week rise and this budget is going to give them a permanent rise in the future.

    Tax payers also 900 dollar payment with tax cuts to come as well.

    Tax cuts and pensions get more.

    The only difference is labor has given them equal to a year of tax cuts or a pension increase for last year [900].

  • 16 liberals have written to julia gillard asking for council grants and also wanting the opening dates of anything labor has created with the council grants in their areas.

    WHY ? so they can turn up for a photo shoot and make themselves look good infront of their electorite.

    But they voted against the councils getting any money in the first place.

    Some liberals have allready turned up to schools getting fixed for photo shoots.

    The recent figures are good news for everyone even liberals.LOL

  • If Costello is the laughing stock , I would like to know what Wayne Swan is. The problem with a lot of you lot is that you never debate the alternative. Wait till we are printing more money to keep the economy going , then let me know what the average australian is thinking and living...

  • a deadbeat indeed, never become PM

  • labor is keeping lots of it and he saved the money they are now blowing but kev doesn't give a fuck about tools like you he's worth $40m

  • Politicians must be changed for the same reason we change dirty nappies...

  • Wake up Australia. All our Politicians wont tell you what I will. We are not in any DEBT. We should not be spending one red cent for anything that has already been paid with our labour. As soon as you understand that you will know why every politician GATEKEEPER is an EVIL Freemason working for the New World

    Order.

  • PRIME MINISTER PETER COSTELLO

  • i just hope i don't get sick in Labor NSW coz then i'd really be rooted

  • Hahaha, look at those comments dissin' Liberals and Costello from 3 months ago... At least they had our economy firing on all 8 cylinders, not struggling to stay afloat like it is now. Yep, KRudd certainly brought interest rates down (and Australia with them). Bet those pro-Labour tools wish they could turn back time now... And if the world all turns to stinky poo, at least we'll have USA as an ally for our help last year.

  • The financial crisis is global and beyond the control of any Australian government. A good government will do what it can to mitigate the worst aspects of it and concentrate on important aspects of the economy.

    To blame the Labor government for this is ridiculous. Clearly you are a complete tool.

  • Clearly tool, we can see who you voted for...

    Mr Dudd's package sends us into Debt.

    Debt= money borrowed from an institution. Borrowing money is not free, it has to be paid back, plus interest.

    He's giving out 40b right, that's an average of $1600 for everyone.

    Over time that money will have to be paid back, plus interest. Guess who pays it all back with interest? Taxpayers!

    But wait, running the country still costs the same, where do the repayments come from?

    Tax Increase. Enough said.

  • I actually did the calculations and if 1 Billion dollars was given to every single person in australia, all 21 Million. We would each get around $46,000. and that's with 1 Billion so where is the other 39 Billion going? I'll also point out that deficit can be a good thing, just not when Labour is in charge. lol. I tell you the day people relise how much good the liberal party did when they where in, the faster they will vote for them back. (also if we have 22 Million we would get about the same)

  • You're right, I've been saying the same thing since the package was announced, and there are so many people cheering about the $900.00 bonus, not knowing it, the word 'Bonus' is a misleading title used to distract people from the future interest payments and tax hike we will all be condemned to paying.

  • I wonder when Kemlani is going to turn up again , or am I too old to talk about him..

  • Before my time.

  • Costello is nothing but a piece of lieing crrrap.

  • keating rooted the ecumomy

  • And your spelling might be an indication that Howard rooted the education system.

  • Costello you the man... miss the libs in government, soo much better

  • you must be retarded

  • Clearly, the only people that are retarded here are the people that voted for Kevin Rudd....and you. Seriously, before you start hammering other people's opinions (Even though they are FACTS!), just think about this....YOUR NAME IS KERUARAN!

  • "the only people that are retarded here are the people that voted for Kevin Rudd"

    You would be referring to the majority of Australian voters.

    "Seriously, before you start hammering other people's opinions (Even though they are FACTS!)"

    I'm sorry, you have mistaken me for someone who might actually care what your opinion is.

    "just think about this....YOUR NAME IS KERUARAN!"

    And ? Kind of fell a bit flat that didn't it...

  • True I miss them siphoning our tax money to fund our troops in Afghanistan (a war which had nothing to do with us) so Howard can have a chance to suck Bush's balls.

  • i noticed rudd supporting it and doing nothing to stop aussie involvement

  • this is the best he's got?

  • Fuck those Labor communist bastards.

    Bring back the Liberals and Costello!

  • haha i hear ya

    free the people

    free the market

  • costello was a lazy dog

  • I love Costello, sly, excellent man.

  • MR COSTELLO IS AWESOME. I cant wait for his book.

  • Costello needs to lead the Liberals again, Gilliard, Swann and Rudd are getting around like they own the joint! We need some good ol' fashioned Liberal dominance back in question time!

  • here here!

  • I second that

  • Costello ROX!!!

  • VOTE LIBERAL!!!!!

  • Costello is god!

  • peter costello is the best treasurer this country has seen in almost 50 years. He deserved the chance to PM, and all you who voted Labor will be saying in a few years time 'we should've just let Costello take over from Howard'. When that day comes, I will laugh at all of you.

  • Funny, cause I'm still laughing at you!

  • yeh, but the difference is I will be laughing for far longer than you will. Imperial USA my ass.

  • Who is the one that left Labor with the economic mess they have to deal with now? The IMF just released a report yesterday that says thanks to the previous government we are especially vulnerable to the US slowdown due to debt and very costly housing. Inflation and interest rates were already on the rise as Labor took power. Man is Costello lucky. Manages to get out just as his years of lackluster economic management finally kick in. I laugh at him for never having the balls to take the top job.

  • Actually, while we are vulnerable in a small capacity to the US slowdown, RBA says our links with China will be enough to shield us from the most of the slowdown. As inflation and interest rates goes,they are sadly a price we pay for our growth and very low unemployment, which is also due to the Howard Government's policies. You think Peter Costello is a tool, what about our pothead current treasurer? Claims unemployment is his work, even though Liberal IR policy was what has carried us here.

  • Well the IMF seems to say that we are more vulnerable than most to the US slowdown. Politicians will always try to claim the good stuff of their predecessors. Costello was by no means a terrible treasurer, but I think Keating was better and braver, and I think Swan comparatively of course will be worse 'till he gets used to the role, even if I think Tanner would do a better job. The myth that Labor are terrible economic managers isn't true, looking at history.

  • I agree with you that Swan is not the best man for the job. Lindsay Tanner probly would do better. And yes, Labor's history as terrible economic managers probably isnt fully justified, but i just believe the Liberals are the better economic managers of the two major parties. Prime example: The states.

    Having worked with the RBA and recently earnt my master of economics, i would happily say that China will shield us from the probably US Recession that is at hand.

  • Well I will take your points and admit that Labor has had a uninspiring track record at times, such the Cain Government in Victoria.

    I am glad to hear China will shield us. I always thought Howard over-emphasised the US and should have cozied to China more. Rudd will do that. Also, I think that the current government is very conscious of economic issues and will not let it get out of hand.

    Because China is reliant on the US too, are you sure they are safely insured against the recession?

  • Yeh mate, I'd bet my life China is protected against the recession. A huge amount of their production and investment is internal and they are a powerhouse in their own right. So yes, thanks to China, we are fairly safe from recession.

    Hopefully, Rudd will nurture our relations with China, but his comments about Tibet have upset a lot of people in the Chinese administration. Having spent most of his life working as a diplomat, let's hope K.Rudd can handle this in a very sensible manner.

  • What a gutless piece of shit! Someone get up and choke the fag!

  • LMAO! u see howard at the start, spinning round on his chair. he looks like a primary school kid

  • Better than picking his ear and eating it!

  • Swanny got the last laugh you torrid torrie scum. 11 Years in the treasury hammock and all you left was an inflation nightmare - no real structural change or policy change - except GST. *Two Thumbs Up Costello* You're a real human being.

  • Did Swan get the last laugh? How do you know Costello won't be back. He could be PM one day, but Swan - never.

  • No, Costello will retire, and will never be PM because he never had the balls or the numbers to challenge Howard. Increasingly he is souring and wishing he had actually done something in those 11 years.

  • Well at least he has more brains than Swanny?

  • Swanny may be dry, but he was a university lecturer before he entered politics. So not necessarily.

  • Just because he wa s university lecturer means jack****!Actually it would be one reason I would never vote for him.Get ready to be unemployed...or maybe thats what you want!

  • It means he had brains. Not just anyone can be a lecturer. Besides, Costello was a lawyer. That doesn't mean he is inherently smarter.

  • Brains does not always mean common sense! Most people in the Labor Party have never owned a business and have never had to make money to pay a workforce....most Labor people think that money grows on trees!

  • That last statement was just a gross generalisation. Costello was no business man before he became Treasurer, but he learned as he went along, as did Keating before him, and as will Swan after him. Just because you haven't been a business owner doesn't mean you don't understand economics. Obviously! So first Swan was stupid, but now you say he has no common sense? How about making a point that isn't a subjective generalisation, that clearly cannot be proved?

  • If Costello never had the numbers to challenge Howard, then he had the brains not to, forget his balls. But Howard is gone now, so it is a different story. I would be surprised if he is back in 4 years if there is turmoil in the Liberal leadership.

  • When i was 15 the train line ran out at my suburb, Now today in the last 8-10 years we have added 4 past me, Including a massive amount of new estates, Big improvements to the Hospitals in the city including my local, Some big project on the roads and back to back best city's of the world, It's going in the right direction, But brumby does worry me.