Laurie Oakes writing in the Courier Mail comes to the defence of Federal Treasurer Wayne Swann after the halting start in his new portfolio.
"Swan has been very energetic and effective in spearing the Howard government over the build-up of inflationary pressures that are causing interest rates to rise.
But Swan has a more pressing concern than undermining the Howard legacy. His central aim is to get Australians to understand that there really is a serious inflationary problem.
He needs to explain the magnitude of the challenge so the community will accept the need for the tough medicine about to be prescribed.
Some of the Opposition's claims in response have been nothing short of ridiculous. We have had Nelson, for example, denying that rising interest rates are "all the fault of inflation". He should try telling the Reserve Bank that.
We have had both Nelson and Turnbull accusing Swan of "talking the economy down" with his warnings about inflation – as though voters should be kept in the dark, mushroom-like, and not informed of economic problems.
And we have had Turnbull's claim that "for a Treasurer to complain about economic challenges is like a fireman complaining about fires".
Firemen, of course, do complain about fires – as they should. They warn people about the danger of fires and conditions likely to lead to a flare-up. And they condemn people who start fires or fail to take proper precautions to prevent them. Swan is behaving like a sensible economic fireman."
It seems that Malcolm Turnbull is not as convincing as he would like, or that effective in his attempts to get enough bounce off his exchanges with Swann to see him gain credibility as the leadership contender.
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