Time to make Australia and its budget self-reliant
An illustration by Peter Nicholson. Source: The Australian
WHEN Wayne Swan rises to his feet in parliament tonight, he must avoid making any more excuses.
In what will be his fourth budget and the Gillard government's first, it must be close to the last chance for Labor to outline a clear strategy to gain control of its own economic destiny. We have lots of alibis for failure from the Treasurer beyond the one serious mitigating factor he has had to deal with, the global financial crisis. It is time to stop blaming the Howard government, the unique characteristics of mining boom Mark II and the natural disasters here and overseas. Rather, Mr Swan should demonstrate discipline in the one aspect of the economy over which he has almost unfettered control -- government spending.
Such is the way of politics, it would be too much to expect the Treasurer to admit he overreacted to the GFC, wasted too much money and plunged Australia further into deficit than was necessary. But this judgment must at least inform his thinking as he frames a path back to a structural surplus. With unemployment low, commodity prices high, export demand strong and the dollar above parity, now is the time to significantly rein in spending, easing upward pressure on interest rates and allowing private sector investment to fuel economic growth.
Unfortunately Mr Swan and Julia Gillard have handicapped themselves by locking in to extensive government spending through the $36 billion NBN project, not to mention hundreds of millions of dollars of stimulus money still being spent on the school halls program. These are part of a political promise to every school in the nation, so perhaps none of that spend can be curtailed. But the NBN was never subject to a cost-benefit analysis, has failed to award construction tenders at the initial price and is designed to roll out over a decade. Now must be an appropriate time to reassess the government largesse in the project and consider whether it is better to allow private investors to provide more broadband infrastructure by upgrading a range of technologies.
The government recognises skills shortages and increased labour costs are pressure points in the economy, so it is the wrong time for massive public infrastructure projects to compete in the marketplace for those same resources, adding to the inflationary pressure. We also need to see a heavy emphasis on training and welfare to work reforms that, as well as providing incentives, are sufficiently hard-headed to nudge people into the workforce.
Apart from announcing substantial spending cuts, Mr Swan must explain why they are needed. Part of his rationale must reflect the need to ease inflationary pressures. He also should declare that it is time for the government to retreat from people's lives. Labor has used the excuse of the GFC to insinuate government into too many aspects of our lives: sending us cheques to get us spending, running optical fibre to our door for broadband, building a hall at every school, knocking on our door to offer insulation, giving us funding to switch to solar and, now we learn, even popping in to deliver and install a digital set-top box for our televisions.
Enough, Treasurer. If you cut your spending to make the budget self-sustaining, Australians can get on with ensuring they are self-reliant.
FOR all its imperfections and transgressions, the fourth estate is crucial in facilitating the public discourse, enabling the contest of ideas and delivering the transparency and accountability that underpin our democracy.
Serious media accept these responsibilities, providing reportage and commentary on all issues of relevance, unpalatable or not. Journalists must avoid applying a moral handbrake on issues that run counter to their world view. Readers expect quality media to keep them abreast of any current events worthy of debate so they can assess not only what has happened but also what might be unfolding.
We have noted before that readers of the Fairfax press all too often must be taken completely by surprise. For instance, while the knifing of then prime minister Kevin Rudd climaxed at a dramatic pace last year, the readers of those papers wouldn't have known about the building internal desperation that preceded the coup. Similarly, the demotion of environment minister Peter Garrett must have mystified readers who had not read about the ongoing disaster of the home insulation scandal. The insulation shambles and the school halls wastage did not fit the narrative of Fairfax journalists, so the stories were ignored.
So it was last weekend, with The Sydney Morning Herald devoting a full page to a significant story it had ignored for almost a month (save for a single comment piece). Our readers will be familiar with the furore sparked by indigenous activist and academic Larissa Behrendt tweeting a nasty put-down about Aboriginal woman Bess Price, who was supporting the indigenous intervention on ABC TV's Q&A program. The controversy threw a spotlight on a schism between the pragmatic and ideological views of the intervention. Fairfax papers self-censored the story and the ongoing debate but on the weekend the Herald spoke at length with Behrendt in a self-serving piece, ignoring the key issues and consigning the episode to history. This strange approach matters little to us as it serves only to highlight the benefits our readers enjoy. But it hardly seems fair to Herald readers or the broader public, who might be interested in this crucial discussion. The intervention's future and decisions about who speaks for indigenous communities remain highly contentious issues in Central Australia, and are important for our nation.
Our first indigenous superstar
LIONEL Rose faced world bantamweight champion Masahiko Harada as a 19-year-old underdog in a bout few pundits believed he could win but which all Australians hoped he would.
That supercharged victory over 15 dogged rounds in Tokyo in 1968, which stemmed from Rose's raw talent and sheer guts, changed Australian sporting history.
In a referendum less than a year earlier, 90 per cent of Australians had voted to empower the federal government to implement policies to benefit Aborigines. Rose's victory gave his people their first indigenous superstar and a big confidence boost. With 42 wins, including 12 knockouts, from 53 fights, Rose paved the way for other indigenous sporting stars, including Evonne Cawley, Cathy Freeman, Nova Peris-Kneebone, Tony Mundine, Arthur Beetson, Jonathan Thurston and Wendell Sailor.
Rose, who died on Sunday aged 62, richly deserved the accolades bestowed upon him. More than 100,000 people greeted him in Melbourne when he returned from Tokyo and he was Australian of the Year in 1968, the first Aborigine to receive the honour. Rose had the world at his feet that year, a time when the referendum had created new optimism and expectations among Aborigines. Subsequent decades, however, proved difficult both for Rose and for many of his people. A talented singer, Rose scored two hits with I Thank You and Remember Me but a stroke in 2007 left him partially paralysed. Sadly, the ill health that plagued him and his death at a relatively young age is a fate shared by many of his people, whose social and economic wellbeing have been hampered by decades of ineffective policies.
A deeply principled man, Rose took pride in refusing a lucrative offer to fight in apartheid-riven South Africa in 1970, where he would have been classed as an honorary "white". In 1996, he generously gave his world-title belt to six-year-old Tjandamurra O'Shane, the victim of a racially charged attack in Cairns in the hope it would hasten the child's recovery.
Despite dirt floors and practising in a ring surrounded with chicken wire, Lionel Rose had "fond, incredible memories" of his "black tea and damper days" growing up in Jackson's Track, Gippsland. He was an Australian hero who remained true to his roots.
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