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Josh And The Incredible Economy And Other Just Not So Stories…

Economy’s going well, isn’t it, Jake?”

”Too right, I was overjoyed at how energy prices are going up. It’s really great for the economy.”

”Yeah, I went to fill up my car last night and I noticed that the fuel price was only $1.89 a litre.”

’Gawd, some people…”

”Yeah, well, I went in and pointed out that everywhere else had it at plus $2. They understand that high energy prices are good for the economy.”

”And what about those floods, eh?”

“Yeah, imagine all the rebuilding and how much that’s going to boost the GDP.”

“And all the ruined furniture. Harvey Norman’s going to get a real boost…”

Yes, well, you’re right. Nobody talks like that. Although when I say nobody, of course I’m excluding the Coalition and a large number of economists. Don’t believe me? Well, have a look at how good the news is according to our Treasurer.

‘Looking ahead, Mr Frydenberg said the omicron COVID-19 variant had not derailed the recovery, Australian trade with Russia and the Ukraine was negligible, current flooding was not as disruptive as in the past, and strong energy and soft commodity prices such as wheat would be beneficial.

‘“We have already seen significant price increases across a number of these commodities since the invasion began with oil prices up more than 15 per cent, wheat prices up around 25 per cent,” Mr Frydenberg said. “Coal prices are also up significantly since the start of the year with thermal coal up more than 50 per cent and metallurgical coal up by around 30 per cent.”

‘As a net energy exporter, Australia will get an income boost from the price shocks caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the same time the International Monetary Fund is signalling a downgrade in global growth.’

Ronald Mizen The Australian Financial Review

So there you have it. The economic recovery hasn’t been derailed and the floods aren’t all that disruptive and strong energy prices are just great. Australia’s going to get an income boost from exporting energy so you can look at the price of petrol and thank Vladimir for our boost…

Of course, I’m obviously out of step because I think it would be better if energy prices were lower and we transitioned out of coal as soon as practical, but apparently leaving that to the market is really risky and some people are suddenly becoming socialists who believe that the government should intervene and force those naughty companies to keep burning coal because it’s really efficient in the sense that you have to keep your coal-fired power stations running 24/7 and therefore they don’t stop even when there’s no need for them but that’s efficiency according to some on the Liberal side of politics.

One of the interesting things about the excellent economic growth that Australia is apparently having is the lack of anyone pointing out that the government is running an enormous surplus which has the effect of pushing billions of dollars into the economy which, as everyone knows, should lead to growth because that’s the whole idea of it. The fact that we’re having strong economic growth at a time when we’ve given up the idea that we’ll get budgets to balance any time soon is about as remarkable as the record deluges in Queensland and NSW causing heavy flooding.

Mr Frydenberg is facing a challenge from Monique Ryan for his electorate of Kooyong but in what I can only assume is attempt to look like he has some idea about sensible spending, he announced yesterday that the car parks he promised before the 2019 election wouldn’t be going ahead. Apparently after consulting people, there’s no need for them and they’d be a waste of money. Fair enough, but wouldn’t you think that any sensible government would have worked that out before announcing four car ‘porks’ in the Treasurer’s electorate. Nobody would thank an MP if they suddenly decided that their promise to put a fax machine in every home is a wee bit last century.

Strangely, Mr Frydenberg’s broken promise wasn’t the front page of “The Herald-Sun” in Melbourne today. No, there was a much bigger one. The Independent challenging him for the seat has a secret. She doesn’t like the government and, even worse, she once declared her love for some Labor politicians on Facebook. Now, given that it came out that she was once a member of the Labor Party a few months ago, I wouldn’t have considered this front page news, but I guess that’s why I’m not likely to ever be asked to edit any of the Murdoch propaganda sheets.

I would have presumed that the announcement that Josh doesn’t intend to demonstrate his commitment to recycling by using the same car park policy that he took to the previous election would be an indication that he feels completely safe. However, when the papers feel the need to do a hit job on his opponent and not some Labor person in a marginal electorate, the polling must be closer than I thought.

Ok, well, it’s only a matter of weeks before Morrison has to either call the election or else we’ll all know that it’s on May 21st. Unless he really is intending to have a half-Senate election and hold off the House of Representatives so long that all the newspapers running Clive Palmer’s ads become viable businesses again.

 

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12 comments

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  1. Phil Pryor

    Glorified, inflated, selfpolishing idiots dominate the ranks of this putrid conservative government, because the rotten system allows mediocre loudmouths and cunning rorters, riggers, rooters, robbers and ravers an inside run. Scum floats and Frydenberg is one of many surfing on selfromancing foam, all fraud and fiction. We have appalling government, inferior office holders, vacuum for policy, no future.

  2. Josephus

    As long as some make large profits nothing else matters. That is not liberalism but exploitative capitalism akin to wage slavery.

  3. Harry Lime

    No wonder this dill thinks he’s PM material,he can talk out of both sides of his mouth without drawing breath.When the Liar goes down in flames,he’s only got Warboy Dutton to contend with.The future is all upside.Provided he holds his seat,and provided there’s enough of the Liar’s party left to form a political party.What a shower of shit.Morrison is such a gutless arsehole,he almost certainly will pull the half senate election ,as he hangs on for dear life.Lower than a snake’s arse in a pothole.

  4. Ian Hughes

    Josh’s gobbledegook and spin on the economy/GDP always reminds me of this quote from Robert F Kennedy:

    “Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.”

    The last sentence really says it all.

  5. Jack Cade

    If this plonker ever gets to be leader of the Liberals the ALP should engage Jay Weatherill in some monitoring capacity to haunt him. I will ever cherish the look on Frydenbergs face when Jay called him a twat on camera over the electricity supply – in so many words. Lovely. They paid him back though, by getting a Vanstone to organise the SA state boundary redistribution to turn 4 marginals into Liberal seats.

  6. Terence Mills

    I heard Frydenberg on the ABC, apparently we have the best economy in the world, the best response to COVID, the lowest per capita death rate on the planet, the lowest unemployment since 1970 and it all came about while Josh was Treasurer : coincidence ? I don’t think so !

    Stop it Josh, it could make you go blind !

    Dutton wants sanctions on China, he wants to bring their economy down : no more exports of iron ore, that’ll teach them to mess with us.

    Jane Hume, minister for superannuation forcefully told Patricia Karvelas on ABC RN that she was calling upon all Australian superannuation funds to withdraw from any investments they have in Russia related businesses – Karvelas asked would that also apply to China ? Hume gave the classic response when you don’t know what to say “that is purely a hypothetical question and I will not be responding to hypotheticals”.

    We had a hasty meeting of the QUAD ( who ever heard of the quad before ?) and it looks as though we will all be joining NATO – the fact that we don’t border the North Atlantic is a mere detail most of the member countries don’t border the Atlantic : look what happened to Ukraine because they didn’t join NATO – quick, sign up !!

    How could anybody in that clutch of NSW Liberal seats ever vote Liberal again after the cluster F***k they’ve made of their preselection of candidates – If you were a conscientious branch member of a Liberal branch in NSW (is that an oxymoron ?) and you have just had your vote for your preferred candidate taken away because the feds wanted somebody from their faction instead, would you just line up and vote for that person ? I can see a good independent cleaning up with a few protest votes .

    What a crazy world the Liberals have created [they aren’t even Liberals] !

  7. GL

    Tudgesalot has been not in breach of any naughtiness and “his fate” is to lose around $150k as a minister and go back to being a plain old back bencher on $200k +. It’s a hard life…

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/alan-tudge-won-t-return-to-cabinet-after-report-into-affair-with-staffer-20220304-p5a1wb.html

    ““These matters are deeply distressing both for Ms Miller and Mr Tudge, and the families who are affected by these events, and I know today will be a difficult day for them,” Mr Morrison said.” Firetruck the distress for Tugsalot! His dick got loose and, well, we know the rest. The distress it causes his family far outweighs his wandering trouser snake and about all he’ll be thinking of is how he’s going to lose if divorce proceedings are lurking in the future.

    Says Scummo: ““Support will continue to be available to Ms Miller, Mr Tudge and any current or former staff impacted by this report, should they seek it, through our Parliamentary Workplace Support Service or the Parliamentary Support Line.”” What about the family you fucking prick? Oh, that’s right, the self-centred turd can’t afford to upset Tudge because of his one seat majority.

  8. Harry Lime

    Terrence Mills..delusion runs rampant through the party of Pastor Morrison,and with an ounce of luck and some more staggering misjudgement by the “I’m the Prime Minister” and his happy clapping clique(hello brother Stuie) the LNP will be competing with Pauline Pantsdown for relevance.I’ve heard of the “Quad” skulls”, but Dutton only has one skull, and it’s empty…and ugly to boot.I sure hope he has a crack…so to speak.

  9. Steve Davis

    Josephus wrote; “As long as some make large profits nothing else matters. That is not liberalism…”

    It most certainly is liberalism, Josephus.

    They pulled off the greatest propaganda coup in history when they gave the label “liberalism” to the economics of individualism.

    So liberalism, by definition, is pro-profit and anti-community.

    They pay lip-service to community values just to stay in power, and it works.

    So please, Josephus and Terence, spread the word – liberalism is not liberal!

  10. wam

    ‘I wouldn’t have considered this front page news, but I guess that’s why I’m not likely to ever be asked to edit any of the Murdoch propaganda sheets.’ This is front page news because Gillard and Swan’s lack of attack on the rabbott’s inane idea of debt has fixed the idea that labor is shit at the economy into the electorate and the papers sell on satisfying the electorate. Fryerbug, and scummo before him, as treasurers, just rolled along by mouth unexposed on commercial media.
    Pourquoi, even macron knows scummo???
    The polls are irrelevant to the media sales strategy which is dependent on controversy either real or virtual with a liberal sprinkling of lies. Until labor puts up a controversy they will be unable to command attention. It beats me why sunrise has barnaby and a labor ^@%^&wit, as political representatives. The former, a target(ask NEC) and the latter another run away tanner.
    WTF albo get someone with credibility.

  11. Mark Shields

    Whatever our disgusting politicians choose to say at this point: None of our low-life, lowIQ representatives have any idea about what is happening in the Ukraine! On this current NATO debacle; I think we should be digging bunkers as fast as we can! I’ve encountered enough Russian Trolls to realise that Putin does not consider himself a Human Enemy, he truly sees himself as the next nuclear Tsar of Europe!

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