Whether it’s the local adopting of “Halloween” or any number of Americanised slang terms and noises, all Australian parents will have experienced that moment when they wonder if their kids have been watching too much US TV.
It appears our Opposition parties have been doing so as well. From the AFR this morning:
…the Labor Party declared on Monday night it would seek to attach an amendment to the government’s bill to limit the ceiling to only $400 billion. Greens Deputy Leader Adam Bandt said on Tuesday morning his party was “not inclined” to support the government’s original bill, meaning it would likely be blocked in the Senate by a Labor-Greens majority unless Mr Hockey is willing to negotiate.
“We want to hear from the government why they want to borrow this money. At the moment we are not inclined to support the government’s increase. We can see some sense in what Labor is proposing. At this stage we are more comfortable with it being $400 billion,” Mr Bandt said.
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen defended Labor decision to fight the government’s bill, describing Mr Hockey’s demands as “arrogant”.
“Joe Hockey wants Australia’s biggest ever no-doc loan, and the Labor party will not facilitate it.
I don’t really see the point of this. Australia is headed into quite troubled waters and applying these artificial ceilings to borrowing is no more than a political trick that could unnecessarily slow borrowing at some point. Of all people Labor should know this.
Having said that, Joe Hockey’s own political maneuverings with the Budget – years of anti-deficit clap trap, loading up this years deficit etc – hardly leaves him in a good a good position to defend against it.
Some adults in Canberra in would be nice.
