Ross Gittins is not someone I'd be going to for unbiased economic advice. I suppose in a broad sense he is an economist, even if he's basically a journo who was an accountant and has a Bachelor of Commerce degree. That's a BCom as opposed to a BEc.
Monk is obviously not able to back himself up his RBA link does not back his rant up. Perhaps Gittins has on some aspects of the economy but it is pretty clear Monk is clueless about what Gittins and the RBA have said. Many economists disagree with his claim re debt being a good thing now, as for the rest of his rant...

Being a Lefty I like Gittins but do not always agree with him, I also like Terry McCrann, but 100% agreement? No way. As commentators they present between them, a pretty good view of government decisions and their effects on our economy. That's why I read both. Henry Ergas, Bernie Fraser, James Wolfensohn, Ross Greenwood and even Ken Henry are worth a listen to as is reading the Australian Financial Review among others.
But I'd not put any faith in anyone who lies about policy and screams the same crap over and over again without really understanding what he's on about, and not caring that he's lying.