Shadow Treasurer and good news hater Joe Hockey was belting out tunes from his favourite broken record again today with his relentless talking down of Australia's economy.
The day after the IMF upgraded the ranking of the Australian economy, Mr Hockey insisted on peddling his doom and gloom in a disgraceful effort to undermine confidence and make life harder for Australian families and businesses.
The hard facts that Mr Hockey wants to deny are:
- Yesterday's IMF's October 2012 World Economic Outlook showed Australia is now the world's 12th largest economy and has leapfrogged three places ahead under the Labor Government, after slipping back three places under the previous government.
- The Australian economy has been growing for 21 consecutive years, not shrinking as Tony Abbott has said.
- Tax to GDP is lower under this Labor Government than it was when the Liberal Government left office.
- Interest rates are lower than at any time under the former Liberal Government.
- Unemployment remains low at just over 5 per cent and at a time when the world has shed millions of jobs, Australia has created around 800,000 jobs.
Mr Hockey just wants to distract attention from his $70 billion budget crater and his secret plans to slash tens of thousands of jobs and cut frontline services.
Mr Hockey should stop talking the economy down and come clean with how he is going to fund his gaping budget hole.