ScoMo stars in latest NewsPoll
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ScoMo stars in latest NewsPoll
GetUp! and Labor are in panic mode as ScoMo rides the Chinese trained COVID-19 horse to a landslide victory.
Coalition leading Labor 51-49 in latest Newspoll
18/05/2020
ScoMo, Australia's War Time PM, trounces the AnAl nobody.
According to the latest Newspoll popular support for the Morrison government has hit its highest level since September with the Coalition leading Labor 51-49 on a two-party-preferred basis.
Despite devastating unemployment numbers, the Newspoll also shows 60 per cent of voters are satisfied with the government’s handling of the economy.
The Coalition’s primary vote has benefited from a two point bump claiming 43 per cent while Labor’s vote slipped back one point to 35.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has maintained a dominant advantage as preferred prime minister leading opposition leader 56 to 29.
https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6157238563001
Coalition leading Labor 51-49 in latest Newspoll
18/05/2020
ScoMo, Australia's War Time PM, trounces the AnAl nobody.
According to the latest Newspoll popular support for the Morrison government has hit its highest level since September with the Coalition leading Labor 51-49 on a two-party-preferred basis.
Despite devastating unemployment numbers, the Newspoll also shows 60 per cent of voters are satisfied with the government’s handling of the economy.
The Coalition’s primary vote has benefited from a two point bump claiming 43 per cent while Labor’s vote slipped back one point to 35.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has maintained a dominant advantage as preferred prime minister leading opposition leader 56 to 29.
https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6157238563001
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Re: ScoMo stars in latest NewsPoll
There is no stopping ScoMo now as he heads towards a landslide victory at the next election.
Scott Morrison’s steady hand pays off as voters show approval
SIMON BENSON 9:45PM MAY 17, 2020
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison works in his office at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Adam Taylor/PMO
Crisis or no crisis, Scott Morrison in his wildest dreams would and should not have expected to find himself in the electoral position he is now in, a year since his “miracle” election victory.
If anyone had predicted a government to be more popular 12 months into its third term, than it was when it went into it, they would have been belittled as barking mad.
Yet Morrison is heading a Coalition government with greater popular support that would see it increase its majority at an election, and personal approval ratings at record highs for a Liberal leader.
This is all the more remarkable considering the bleak economic outlook and the sobering announcement last week that 600,000 people had just lost their jobs.
But underlying this is also a fundamental realisation that many Australians have likely come to over the past two weeks that underpins this support.
In spite of some early and churlish criticism, Morrison has guided Australia through this crisis in a way that very few leaders have achieved, if any.
And there is a deepening of community consensus that Morrison and the national cabinet have spared the country from the worst ravages of the disease while inoculating the economy against collapse.
The country is not the same one it was six months ago. Morrison is not the same leader, and politics as usual has been replaced with a surprising level of rectitude and transparency from all levels of government that has reset the public debate.
At the same time, Labor finds itself spinning its wheels. While Anthony Albanese still enjoys positive approval ratings, Labor’s reversion to combat politics has fallen flat.
The primary numbers in the latest Newspoll suggest that the Coalition has picked up support from the left and the right. Combined, Labor and the Greens have fallen three points as Pauline Hanson slides into irrelevancy.
These are unprecedented times, which makes meaningful analysis difficult.
The first real test of the Coalition numbers, and Morrison’s personal support, may well come at the Eden-Monaro by-election.
Despite best attempts by the NSW Liberals and Nationals to swing a wrecking ball through the preselection, Morrison could be now slightly more optimistic that the Coalition could rewrite 100 years of history and pick the seat up from Labor.
The result may well answer the question as to whether the record approval ratings for Morrison are defined only by the pandemic and that party politics has little or no bearing in the current numbers.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation ... 8b4c2bd7b2
Scott Morrison’s steady hand pays off as voters show approval
SIMON BENSON 9:45PM MAY 17, 2020
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison works in his office at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Adam Taylor/PMO
Crisis or no crisis, Scott Morrison in his wildest dreams would and should not have expected to find himself in the electoral position he is now in, a year since his “miracle” election victory.
If anyone had predicted a government to be more popular 12 months into its third term, than it was when it went into it, they would have been belittled as barking mad.
Yet Morrison is heading a Coalition government with greater popular support that would see it increase its majority at an election, and personal approval ratings at record highs for a Liberal leader.
This is all the more remarkable considering the bleak economic outlook and the sobering announcement last week that 600,000 people had just lost their jobs.
But underlying this is also a fundamental realisation that many Australians have likely come to over the past two weeks that underpins this support.
In spite of some early and churlish criticism, Morrison has guided Australia through this crisis in a way that very few leaders have achieved, if any.
And there is a deepening of community consensus that Morrison and the national cabinet have spared the country from the worst ravages of the disease while inoculating the economy against collapse.
The country is not the same one it was six months ago. Morrison is not the same leader, and politics as usual has been replaced with a surprising level of rectitude and transparency from all levels of government that has reset the public debate.
At the same time, Labor finds itself spinning its wheels. While Anthony Albanese still enjoys positive approval ratings, Labor’s reversion to combat politics has fallen flat.
The primary numbers in the latest Newspoll suggest that the Coalition has picked up support from the left and the right. Combined, Labor and the Greens have fallen three points as Pauline Hanson slides into irrelevancy.
These are unprecedented times, which makes meaningful analysis difficult.
The first real test of the Coalition numbers, and Morrison’s personal support, may well come at the Eden-Monaro by-election.
Despite best attempts by the NSW Liberals and Nationals to swing a wrecking ball through the preselection, Morrison could be now slightly more optimistic that the Coalition could rewrite 100 years of history and pick the seat up from Labor.
The result may well answer the question as to whether the record approval ratings for Morrison are defined only by the pandemic and that party politics has little or no bearing in the current numbers.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation ... 8b4c2bd7b2
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Re: ScoMo stars in latest NewsPoll
What the bloke in the street reckons.
Timothy 1 HOUR AGO
"Labor's reversion to combat politics has fallen flat".
I have to disagree. It's not a case of "reversion". Political stunts and games are all that contemporary Labor knows. They have nothing else to offer. And when the country faces a real crisis, as it does now, those tactics simply do not work. Particularly when the once sneeringly labeled "Scotty from marketing" is doing a competent job. How often do you hear that phrase now?
If I was Albanese I would be investing in a neck brace. Constantly looking over your shoulder can cause a lot of strain.
Geoff J. 1 HOUR AGO
I'll bet good money Tanya Plibersek is counting the numbers, or Bill Shorten sees himself as rising again.
Pedro 7 MINUTES AGO
A waste of money either way Geoff.
In the public mind Labor is now irrelevant. It fails to get traction on anything. The mediocrity in their ranks is really quite astounding. The silence from them is deafening; interspersed very occasionally with the more deafening 'shrill'. So people simply have switched off.
Who ever they throw up as leader, it's same old same old. They have lost the traditional mainstream base, and it ain't coming home soon. Especially as Morrison is delivering more to them than Labor has for decades.
Labor hasn't learned the old adage: "If you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one!"
They have now debased themselves into a mindset of wishful thinking as their comfort food.
John 1 HOUR AGO
I admire Morrison for leaving the politics out of this pandemical crisis. I'm afraid I can't say the same thing about the leader of the Opposition and the likes of Bourke, Chalmers, Bowen and KK.
It's like they are nitpicking, grandstanding and looking for political relevance when for once, since the second World War, a total bipartisan approach should be adopted and politics put to one side.
The National Cabinet works that way - as Morrison has said red and blue go out the door when they meet, as it should be. Full credit to all members of that Cabinet be they Red or Blue. I think most Australians would be proud of them.
Timothy 1 HOUR AGO
"Labor's reversion to combat politics has fallen flat".
I have to disagree. It's not a case of "reversion". Political stunts and games are all that contemporary Labor knows. They have nothing else to offer. And when the country faces a real crisis, as it does now, those tactics simply do not work. Particularly when the once sneeringly labeled "Scotty from marketing" is doing a competent job. How often do you hear that phrase now?
If I was Albanese I would be investing in a neck brace. Constantly looking over your shoulder can cause a lot of strain.
Geoff J. 1 HOUR AGO
I'll bet good money Tanya Plibersek is counting the numbers, or Bill Shorten sees himself as rising again.
Pedro 7 MINUTES AGO
A waste of money either way Geoff.
In the public mind Labor is now irrelevant. It fails to get traction on anything. The mediocrity in their ranks is really quite astounding. The silence from them is deafening; interspersed very occasionally with the more deafening 'shrill'. So people simply have switched off.
Who ever they throw up as leader, it's same old same old. They have lost the traditional mainstream base, and it ain't coming home soon. Especially as Morrison is delivering more to them than Labor has for decades.
Labor hasn't learned the old adage: "If you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one!"
They have now debased themselves into a mindset of wishful thinking as their comfort food.
John 1 HOUR AGO
I admire Morrison for leaving the politics out of this pandemical crisis. I'm afraid I can't say the same thing about the leader of the Opposition and the likes of Bourke, Chalmers, Bowen and KK.
It's like they are nitpicking, grandstanding and looking for political relevance when for once, since the second World War, a total bipartisan approach should be adopted and politics put to one side.
The National Cabinet works that way - as Morrison has said red and blue go out the door when they meet, as it should be. Full credit to all members of that Cabinet be they Red or Blue. I think most Australians would be proud of them.
- Bobby
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Re: ScoMo stars in latest NewsPoll
Hi Juliar - do you use the name Patriot on another forum?
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Re: ScoMo stars in latest NewsPoll
Heavens no, that is Patriotic Pauline's moniker.
- billy the kid
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Re: ScoMo stars in latest NewsPoll
A quote from yesteryear....
"The media can make the innocent guilty....and the guilty innocent...."
Such is the power of the media....
Only once since the pandemic started have I seen a journalist stand up to a politician.....
AND that was when Hazzard was asked... "Is there any reason why your resignation wont be on the Premiers
desk tomorrow morning..."
This was at the beginning of the Ruby Princess debacle....
Irrelevant perhaps when the thread is all about Scumo…
But relevant in illustrating the manner in which the media whores suck up to politicians all the
time...…
Why anyone praises any Australian politician Ill go to my grave wondering......
Unless they are paid to do it....
"The media can make the innocent guilty....and the guilty innocent...."
Such is the power of the media....
Only once since the pandemic started have I seen a journalist stand up to a politician.....
AND that was when Hazzard was asked... "Is there any reason why your resignation wont be on the Premiers
desk tomorrow morning..."
This was at the beginning of the Ruby Princess debacle....
Irrelevant perhaps when the thread is all about Scumo…
But relevant in illustrating the manner in which the media whores suck up to politicians all the
time...…
Why anyone praises any Australian politician Ill go to my grave wondering......
Unless they are paid to do it....
To discover those who rule over you, first discover those who you cannot criticize...Voltaire
Its coming...the rest of the world versus islam....or is it here already...
Its coming...the rest of the world versus islam....or is it here already...
- Bobby
- Posts: 18044
- Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2017 8:09 pm
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Re: ScoMo stars in latest NewsPoll
Robert is convinced. But back to the Topic.
Since the election Labor has suffered an identity crisis trying to decide whether to go left or right.
They look and sound weary, out of energy and spent. Criticising Morrison just falls flat and comes across as petty politics.
The same old tired faces still hang around believing they can turn things around but still can’t see which direction to take.
They wasted years coming up with dud policies which they themselves couldn’t defend and now they continue to waste time.
As I see it the population had no alternative but to trust the government. There is no way that we could have achieved our pandemic results without taking a strong (but experimental because there is no precedent for this) line and on the balance Oz has fared better than virtually anywhere and is well placed for a return to relative normality.
I despise socialism as a curse on the free world but I'll hold my judgement on the "untangling of the web" until I see how it pans out. Personally I think that the coalition is very much about free markets and I hope and expect that they will be true to this. I reckon there are plenty of votes in doing so.
It will be interesting to see the election result... but then Cobargo being rusted-on Labor according to one loud local and seemingly backed up by the actions of several others would see Labor returned, irrelevant or no.
Let's hope the best candidate wins.
The Albanese led ALP does not seem to have learned any lessons and yes they are playing politics and reversion to combat politics has fallen flat, very flat.
Most Australians are sick of it, but Labor apparently never learns.
Have they fixed their policies yet?
At least Scomo's plan is to fire-up the economy so 3/4 of the population will go back to the employ of the private sector. ALP's long term plan - if they have any - would be to increase the percentage because more businesses would disappear under their 'sage' tutelage.
Since the election Labor has suffered an identity crisis trying to decide whether to go left or right.
They look and sound weary, out of energy and spent. Criticising Morrison just falls flat and comes across as petty politics.
The same old tired faces still hang around believing they can turn things around but still can’t see which direction to take.
They wasted years coming up with dud policies which they themselves couldn’t defend and now they continue to waste time.
As I see it the population had no alternative but to trust the government. There is no way that we could have achieved our pandemic results without taking a strong (but experimental because there is no precedent for this) line and on the balance Oz has fared better than virtually anywhere and is well placed for a return to relative normality.
I despise socialism as a curse on the free world but I'll hold my judgement on the "untangling of the web" until I see how it pans out. Personally I think that the coalition is very much about free markets and I hope and expect that they will be true to this. I reckon there are plenty of votes in doing so.
It will be interesting to see the election result... but then Cobargo being rusted-on Labor according to one loud local and seemingly backed up by the actions of several others would see Labor returned, irrelevant or no.
Let's hope the best candidate wins.
The Albanese led ALP does not seem to have learned any lessons and yes they are playing politics and reversion to combat politics has fallen flat, very flat.
Most Australians are sick of it, but Labor apparently never learns.
Have they fixed their policies yet?
At least Scomo's plan is to fire-up the economy so 3/4 of the population will go back to the employ of the private sector. ALP's long term plan - if they have any - would be to increase the percentage because more businesses would disappear under their 'sage' tutelage.
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Re: ScoMo stars in latest NewsPoll
Newspoll: when one does so badly that the other looks good!
AMM 18.05.20.
Newspoll’s numbers man Simon Benson has again deciphered the results showing a rise for the government and thus follows a rather buoyant headline.
Of course the Coalition despite all their dithering and their coterie of village idiots like Michael McCormck and Littleproud would be ahead of Labor, because Albanese is so bad it makes them look good.
Wait until the full weight of half the national workforce being unemployed and on the dole of one kind or another runs out and the yet to bite hardship sets in—what will the headline say then?
Hidden in the woodpile are other questions—where are the millions donated to drought, flood and bushfires? Maybe the police state implementation for coronavirus is in preparation for such events?
Popular support for the federal Coalition has climbed to its highest level since last September ahead of a looming by-election in Eden-Monaro, as Scott Morrison cemented record approval ratings for his leadership during the COVID-19 crisis.
An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian shows the Coalition securing a two-point lift in its primary vote to 43 per cent as voters switch camp from Labor, the Greens and One Nation.
https://morningmail.org/newspoll-when-o ... ore-116584
AMM 18.05.20.
Newspoll’s numbers man Simon Benson has again deciphered the results showing a rise for the government and thus follows a rather buoyant headline.
Of course the Coalition despite all their dithering and their coterie of village idiots like Michael McCormck and Littleproud would be ahead of Labor, because Albanese is so bad it makes them look good.
Wait until the full weight of half the national workforce being unemployed and on the dole of one kind or another runs out and the yet to bite hardship sets in—what will the headline say then?
Hidden in the woodpile are other questions—where are the millions donated to drought, flood and bushfires? Maybe the police state implementation for coronavirus is in preparation for such events?
Popular support for the federal Coalition has climbed to its highest level since last September ahead of a looming by-election in Eden-Monaro, as Scott Morrison cemented record approval ratings for his leadership during the COVID-19 crisis.
An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian shows the Coalition securing a two-point lift in its primary vote to 43 per cent as voters switch camp from Labor, the Greens and One Nation.
https://morningmail.org/newspoll-when-o ... ore-116584
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Re: ScoMo stars in latest NewsPoll
It is incredible luck that we dodged a Shorten government. It was imminent, and then out of the blue a small number of Australians decided on a different future for our country.
We owe a lot to those voters who believed that we can do better as a nation than just take from a few well off people and the ageing baby boomers and that will shower us with riches.
It is going to be a hard road back to being a wealthy nation after the virus, but it is clear that we have enough people with the vision and capacity to make it happen.
Voters got it right:imagine if Shorten were in charge
NICK CATER 12:00AM MAY 11, 2020
Bill Shorten concedes defeat at the election last May. Picture: AAP
It is barely six weeks since Anthony Albanese was urging Scott Morrison to go harder. Now he is accusing the Prime Minister of dragging his feet in getting the nation back to business.
That’s the business of politics, of course, the only type Labor gets excited about these days.
On Saturday, the Opposition Leader misread the public mood by opening a press conference with a 600-word statement on the allocation of sporting club grants before the last election. The PM should resume normal parliamentary sittings and face questions on the matter, he said.
Journalists responded by asking nine questions about the COVID-19 pandemic, none about the restricted parliamentary timetable and none about sporting grants. “How careful are you about pursuing this political line of attack while also being aware that people might not be interested in politics right now?” asked one.
This time last year, Albanese had reasonable grounds to think he was less than a fortnight away from becoming the minister for something in Bill Shorten’s first government. Today, he is struggling for relevance in the midst of a crisis that, to his evident dissatisfaction, the government is handling rather well.
The pandemic has vindicated the judgment of the voting public last year. Scott Morrison has grown in stature in this crisis while Albanese has shrunk.
Among the most useful advice he received came from Ben Oquist of the green-left-leaning Australian Institute, who said while it was natural to want your political opponent to fail, different rules applied in a crisis. “It’s not a time for an opposition to seek to tear down a prime minister. It just won’t work politically,” he told one newspaper. “They need to be playing a longer, more strategic game.”
Perhaps Labor in office would have handled the COVID-19 pandemic better than it has in opposition. Perhaps prime minister Shorten would have resisted reaching for the sledgehammer, as Labor’s ideological soulmates across the Tasman have done — and Albanese urged Morrison to do in late March.
Maybe prime minister Shorten would have stood up to the union-controlled superannuation funds and allowed Australians to access their savings, and stared down the teacher unions to keep children in school.
But probably not. On public health, Labor would have been inclined to take the Jacinda Ardern extreme approach, believing that if you regulate people’s daily activities long enough and manage their lives for them, the virus would throw in the towel. The prospects of a proportionate economic response would have been even bleaker. If the last economic crisis is anything to go by, Labor would have behaved in this one as some people do at Christmas, taking a holiday from fiscal discipline and sticking it all on credit.
Racking up further debt is a temptation the Morrison government is determined to resist. The spending restraint that put Josh Frydenberg on track to deliver a $5bn budget surplus before the arrival of our unwelcome viral guest will continue. The extraordinary spending must remain as a one-off measure to keep people in jobs and businesses trading through a once-in-a-century pandemic.
To treat a year of record public spending as the new normal, as Labor did after the 2008-09 global financial crisis, would put us back on the road to ruin.
The government’s critics are already talking about doubling the JobSeeker allowance as if it is permanent. The government must ensure that it is not. Our responsibility to assist those who have fallen on hard times must be balanced by the risks of creating a new welfare trap. The same rule applies to the assistance the government is giving to business, since a business that can survive only on welfare is no business at all.
That is why the government rejected the suggestion it should buy up Virgin Australia. Albanese’s claim that the acquisition was an investment that would produce a return to taxpayers was a brave call, given the history of the NBN.
The Treasurer’s response has been textbook, sticking closely to the template mapped out in a 2006 policy paper on pandemics published by Treasury. As luck would have it, the lead author was Stephen Kennedy, the current Treasury Secretary.
Kennedy argued that acting quickly to rebuild consumer and investor confidence was crucial. He recommended government assistance should be offered to keep businesses viable through the worst of a pandemic, particularly those such as restaurants that would be most severely affected.
Stage three will be measures to stimulate growth in the economy. Since the limits of monetary policy were reached long ago, the stimulation is likely come in discretionary fiscal policy such as tax cuts.
Criticism that the government’s response has been slow is misplaced. Frydenberg deserves credit for overcoming the natural inertia of government bureaucracies to ensure that relief was sent out promptly.
The success or otherwise of that policy will become apparent over the coming months as restrictions are de-escalated.
It would be foolhardy to declare victory either against the virus or the likely economic downturn at this stage of the recovery. The theory that economies bounce back to a state of equilibrium is challenged by the size of COVID-19 shock. The comparison some hostile commentators are making with the 2008-09 financial crisis is feeble. The International Monetary Fund’s prediction of a 3 per cent decline in global economic activity — compared with 0.1 per cent last time — implies that the impact of the COVID-19 recession will be 30 times larger than the GFC.
With the restrictions costing us $4bn a week, a quick transition through the three stages of opening up the economy is vital. While more government assistance may yet be required, the pace of the recovery will not depend on government spending
The restoration of growth depends on individuals and businesses who are prepared to take risks in the hope of a return. The task is to increase business activity as fast as possible, while taking all reasonable precautions against the spread of the coronavirus and accepting a degree of risk.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commen ... be9a539edf
We owe a lot to those voters who believed that we can do better as a nation than just take from a few well off people and the ageing baby boomers and that will shower us with riches.
It is going to be a hard road back to being a wealthy nation after the virus, but it is clear that we have enough people with the vision and capacity to make it happen.
Voters got it right:imagine if Shorten were in charge
NICK CATER 12:00AM MAY 11, 2020
Bill Shorten concedes defeat at the election last May. Picture: AAP
It is barely six weeks since Anthony Albanese was urging Scott Morrison to go harder. Now he is accusing the Prime Minister of dragging his feet in getting the nation back to business.
That’s the business of politics, of course, the only type Labor gets excited about these days.
On Saturday, the Opposition Leader misread the public mood by opening a press conference with a 600-word statement on the allocation of sporting club grants before the last election. The PM should resume normal parliamentary sittings and face questions on the matter, he said.
Journalists responded by asking nine questions about the COVID-19 pandemic, none about the restricted parliamentary timetable and none about sporting grants. “How careful are you about pursuing this political line of attack while also being aware that people might not be interested in politics right now?” asked one.
This time last year, Albanese had reasonable grounds to think he was less than a fortnight away from becoming the minister for something in Bill Shorten’s first government. Today, he is struggling for relevance in the midst of a crisis that, to his evident dissatisfaction, the government is handling rather well.
The pandemic has vindicated the judgment of the voting public last year. Scott Morrison has grown in stature in this crisis while Albanese has shrunk.
Among the most useful advice he received came from Ben Oquist of the green-left-leaning Australian Institute, who said while it was natural to want your political opponent to fail, different rules applied in a crisis. “It’s not a time for an opposition to seek to tear down a prime minister. It just won’t work politically,” he told one newspaper. “They need to be playing a longer, more strategic game.”
Perhaps Labor in office would have handled the COVID-19 pandemic better than it has in opposition. Perhaps prime minister Shorten would have resisted reaching for the sledgehammer, as Labor’s ideological soulmates across the Tasman have done — and Albanese urged Morrison to do in late March.
Maybe prime minister Shorten would have stood up to the union-controlled superannuation funds and allowed Australians to access their savings, and stared down the teacher unions to keep children in school.
But probably not. On public health, Labor would have been inclined to take the Jacinda Ardern extreme approach, believing that if you regulate people’s daily activities long enough and manage their lives for them, the virus would throw in the towel. The prospects of a proportionate economic response would have been even bleaker. If the last economic crisis is anything to go by, Labor would have behaved in this one as some people do at Christmas, taking a holiday from fiscal discipline and sticking it all on credit.
Racking up further debt is a temptation the Morrison government is determined to resist. The spending restraint that put Josh Frydenberg on track to deliver a $5bn budget surplus before the arrival of our unwelcome viral guest will continue. The extraordinary spending must remain as a one-off measure to keep people in jobs and businesses trading through a once-in-a-century pandemic.
To treat a year of record public spending as the new normal, as Labor did after the 2008-09 global financial crisis, would put us back on the road to ruin.
The government’s critics are already talking about doubling the JobSeeker allowance as if it is permanent. The government must ensure that it is not. Our responsibility to assist those who have fallen on hard times must be balanced by the risks of creating a new welfare trap. The same rule applies to the assistance the government is giving to business, since a business that can survive only on welfare is no business at all.
That is why the government rejected the suggestion it should buy up Virgin Australia. Albanese’s claim that the acquisition was an investment that would produce a return to taxpayers was a brave call, given the history of the NBN.
The Treasurer’s response has been textbook, sticking closely to the template mapped out in a 2006 policy paper on pandemics published by Treasury. As luck would have it, the lead author was Stephen Kennedy, the current Treasury Secretary.
Kennedy argued that acting quickly to rebuild consumer and investor confidence was crucial. He recommended government assistance should be offered to keep businesses viable through the worst of a pandemic, particularly those such as restaurants that would be most severely affected.
Stage three will be measures to stimulate growth in the economy. Since the limits of monetary policy were reached long ago, the stimulation is likely come in discretionary fiscal policy such as tax cuts.
Criticism that the government’s response has been slow is misplaced. Frydenberg deserves credit for overcoming the natural inertia of government bureaucracies to ensure that relief was sent out promptly.
The success or otherwise of that policy will become apparent over the coming months as restrictions are de-escalated.
It would be foolhardy to declare victory either against the virus or the likely economic downturn at this stage of the recovery. The theory that economies bounce back to a state of equilibrium is challenged by the size of COVID-19 shock. The comparison some hostile commentators are making with the 2008-09 financial crisis is feeble. The International Monetary Fund’s prediction of a 3 per cent decline in global economic activity — compared with 0.1 per cent last time — implies that the impact of the COVID-19 recession will be 30 times larger than the GFC.
With the restrictions costing us $4bn a week, a quick transition through the three stages of opening up the economy is vital. While more government assistance may yet be required, the pace of the recovery will not depend on government spending
The restoration of growth depends on individuals and businesses who are prepared to take risks in the hope of a return. The task is to increase business activity as fast as possible, while taking all reasonable precautions against the spread of the coronavirus and accepting a degree of risk.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commen ... be9a539edf
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