Alan Greenspan’s admission that he was “partially” wrong to resist calls for more regulation that may have averted the financial crisis in the US shows why it’s important to change governments on a regular basis. Without the closet cleaning that goes on during the transition problems become exacerbated by being ignored. In the case of the US mess there were plenty of signs pointing to a problem but the system of government and governance ignored them.

Concerned industry leaders believe that an information vacuum is creating unnecessary worry and the Rudd government should now reveal the information that informed their decision to announce a $10.4 billion economic stimulus package.

The failure of the government to release this information invites skepticism and suspicion about the real motives behind the package.

Headlines that ANZ economists expect the official cash rate to fall to 4.5% by the middle of next year should be welcome news to home owners.

With many real estate markets suffering from a glut of stock sharp reductions in interest rates together with a temporary doubling of grants available to first home buyers could be the stimulus for increased demand, lower stock levels, and higher prices.

I believe the next 3-6 months will present prime opportunities for people looking to make profits from the real estate market in the near term.

What is the government hiding. If they can spend $10.4 billion to rescue the country why can’t they level with us now and outline, at least in broad terms, how they came to the decisions and what impacts they see the package having on the economy.

I’m smelling obfuscation, deception, and incompetence. I hope I’m wrong.

Govt accuses Coalition of division over spending plan – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): “Treasurer Wayne Swan said no details will be released until the Government’s mid-year economic outlook update is released next month.

‘That’s the reasonable thing to do, that’s the sensible thing to do,’ he said.

‘We will put it out there in plenty of time for there to be plenty of scrutiny because we do believe in transparency.”

Rudd slams ‘obscene failures’ in banking system – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Yesterday the Government also announced a $10.5 billion stimulus package to help Australia cope with the meltdown.

Mr Rudd says the package has come at the right time.

“As Prime Minister I will not sit idly by and watch Australian households suffer the worst effects of a global crisis we did not create,” he said.

One wonders why, given the economic crisis is not of our making, why the US is government is not being asked to pay the $10.5 billion the Australian government is being forced to spend on a stimulus package.

Our blind fawning to all things American is now paying its expected dividend of fear and anxiety.

Turnbull, Costello want release of Treasury advice – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): “Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull and former treasurer Peter Costello have urged the Government to release the advice which led to the decision to spend nearly half the surplus on a $10.4 billion economic stimulus package.”

I’m with Turnbull on this issue. What is served by the government not disclosing that which has informed a major shift in the economic management of the country? Is it a way of hiding from the Australian people the dire truth of our circumstances? Or is it the government taking reckless action and avoiding accountability? I suspect that Wayne Swan has discussed the matter with his G20 counter-parts and they’ve agreed that the problems in the economy are less a matter of fundamentals and more a crisis of confidence. To restore confidence sudden and massive action is needed so the government can be seen to be doing something which, in turn, gives the person on the street the impression that the government has things under control and it’s ok to keep spending. But I believe this strategy is not wise. The Australian people are not easily taken for fools and any questions about how the government went about making these decisions will quickly undermine any short term consumer confidence.

A second after finding out Australia is in economic hot water Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is taking steps to ensure the fires of industry are stoked under the Chinese economy. His goal? To make sure that China continues to buy Australian exports. Rather than looking for sustainable strategies for the creation of jobs in Australia Rudd was quick to get on the blower to his Chinese counterpart to make sure of their commitment to consumption. Guess they probably didn’t talk a lot about Kyoto.

It appears Mr Rudd and  Labor has learned – it’s the economy stupid. The Great Barrier Reef will just have to wait.