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.