Treasurer Joe Hockey spinning so hard he loses all memory of his own past media releases

It has become increasingly difficult to take this Australian Treasurer seriously.

He treats the economy as his political plaything.

Joe Hockey on Tuesday 4 December 2012

http://www.joehockey.com/media/transcripts/details.aspx?s=409

Joe Hockey on Tuesday 5 May 2015

http://www.joehockey.com/media/media-releases/details.aspx?r=481

Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey needs to come up with a better argument concerning the federal Goods and Services Tax

David Pope in the Canberra Times, 30 March 2015

Brisbane Times 30 March 2015:

Treasurer Joe Hockey says Australian consumers have changed their behaviour so much in recent years, through online shopping and choosing more GST-exempt goods, that they are putting pressure on the GST as a revenue-raiser.

Apparently Joe Hockey is upset that this consumption tax raised $47.4 billion in 2012-13, $50.7 billion in 2013-14 and, is expected to raise $53.7 billion this financial year, $57 billion in 2015-16, $60.4 billion in 2016-17 and another $63.8 in $2017-18.

That’s not good enough for our millionaire Liberal treasurer.

It appears he is rather perturbed that people are still buying GST-exempt basic fresh food, simple dairy products and unprocessed cooking ingredients in their local shops or purchasing online second-hand, handmade or other goods worth less than $1,000.

This is the rather weak excuse he is offering for encouraging the states to believe there should be more in the federal Goods & Services Tax kitty.

The GST is a regressive tax when applied to low income households and no amount of vague talk in the mainstream media about possible ‘compensation’ for pensioners will change that.

An aide memoire for Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey in relation to his reported statement to the Federal Court

The Guardian 9 March 2015:

When asked about tweets he sent critical of former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd including “Access to Rudd, for a price”, Hockey said he didn’t write all his tweets and there were several fake Twitter accounts in his name. He struggled to remember his Twitter handle.

Mr. Hockey, your official Twitter handle has been @JoeHockey since January 2009 and this is the tweet you sent out on 17 July 2013:

Mr. Eleventy puts his foot in it again

The Guardian 2 March 2015:

Last Thursday, during Question Time, Joe Hockey was asked to “outline how the government is building jobs, growth and opportunity and how will this assist all Australians.” Bizarrely, he chose to respond by suggesting “there has been more good news today” in reference “average weekly earnings” despite Australians’ earnings growing by less now than they have for over 20 years.

In delivering the “good news” Hockey told parliament that “the average wage in Australia has now increased to $76,800 a year. It increased by 2.8% this year”. He noted that this meant the average wage for Australians “works out at $1,476.30 a week”.

Firstly, Hockey got a bit confused. The 2.8% growth referred to the original data, while the $1,476.30 referred to the trend data – which only grew by 2.7%. He was referring to full-time employment only, not the average earnings of all workers – that is just $1,128.90 a week.

But what is worse is the treasurer’s suggestion that these growth figures were in any way “good news”.

They were, in fact, terrible.

The 2.8% growth (or 2.7%, to use the trend data) was the second worst annual growth going back to 1994. And the worst result occurred in the 12 months to May 2014 which saw just 2.4% growth…

Of course even these corrected November 2014 figures hide the fact that while average weekly earnings for males (total earnings all industries) was $1,371.50 which represented a growth in males earning of est. $46 a year since November 2004, for females average weekly earnings (total earnings all industries) was the much lower $887.90 which represented a growth in female earning of less than est. $30 a year since November 2004.

In New South Wales in November 2014 total weekly cash earnings for males was $1,404.90 and for females $944.10, figures which are higher than every state except West Australia for that period.

See http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6302.0 for more information.

One rule for us and another for those super-entitled Liberal Party politicians

This is Australian Treasurer and millionaire Joe 'I'm the friend of the poor & downtrodden even though I have reduced their incomes' Hockey alighting from his taxpayer subsidised chauffeur-driven car. Please note (lower right hand corner) that this car has stopped on a disabled parking spot. Says it all really......

* Hat tip to Richard Chirgwin for bringing this to my attention

And you thought Lord of the Rings was pure fiction......

The evil wizard and his tragic lowly dupe

* Original image found on Twitter

ABC TV show Clarke & Dawe reviews the Abbott Government's performance

https://www.facebook.com/ClarkeAndDawe

It seems Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey was against university fees - while he was at Sydney University receiving a free law degree

Photograph of Hockey from The Sydney Morning Herald

Honi Soit 19 September 2012:

Hockey’s policy statement in the 1986

election edition of Honi: “There is no

question in my mind that students will

never accept fees. I totally oppose any

compromise the government may offer.”

His year as SRC President was chiefly

spent fighting Labor’s re-introduction of

university fees, which had been abolished

under Gough Whitlam.

Hockey’s backers, a ticket called

“Varsity”, were decidedly centrist and

unaffiliated, declaring they would “fight

the burden of factionalism presently

hindering the SRC’s effective operation”.

In stark contrast to Abbott, Varsity was

emphatic: “There should be no further

government cuts to university funding.”

Of course after receiving his education on the back of Whitlam Labor Government reforms to higher education, millionaire politician Joe Hockey can comfortably afford to fund his own children's education regardless of the increased costs and fee deregulation his 2014-15 federal budget will introduce.

UPDATE

A 1987 Channel 9 video has been released by Fairfax Media. This video features Joe Hockey as president of the Sydney University Student Representative Council protesting the annual Higher Education Administration Charge (HEAC) introduced that year and the proposed introduction of course fees  - which finally came into effect under the Commonwealth HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING ACT 1988 commencing on 6 January 1989.

"We will continue to go out onto the streets and to protest and actively encourage the public to support us in our campaign for free education"

http://youtu.be/kgih2ORI8Z8

Brisbane Times 28 May 2014:

The measure Mr Hockey was protesting against was the introduction of a $250 "administration" fee, which he feared would threaten the universal free higher education that he and his contemporaries enjoyed.

In a 1987 article in the University of Sydney newspaper Honi Soit, Mr Hockey also criticised the same university deregulation measure his own government is now proposing.

"The Liberal Party, which released its education policy two weeks ago, promised to cut back funds to universities and, at the same time, leave the universities to charge whatever fee they wished," he wrote.

"Such a policy is suicidal for student welfare. We will have no effective voice in our own fortune."

Treasurer Joe Hockey claims he is suing Fairfax because "as a result of the articles, published on May 5, he has been "greatly injured, shunned and avoided and his reputation has been and will be bought into disrepute, odium, ridicule and contempt"*

 "his reputation has been and will be bought into disrepute, odium, ridicule and contempt"*

Gee, and I thought I felt that way about Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey because of the House of Representatives’ Hansard record for 13 May 2014, contents of the 2014-15 Budget Papers, his post-budget speech at the National Press Club and later performance on the ABC TV program Q&A.

* Joe Hockey claims Fairfax articles defamed him 21 May 2014

Welcome to the world of Hockeynomics - Part Two

This was Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey reported on ABC News, 24 April 2014:

The Treasurer Joe Hockey is talking tough on welfare measures in the lead up to the Federal Budget, saying means testing will become more important into the future, and Australians should keep working for as long as they can.

He's revealed some of the findings of the Commission of Audit, which shows that at $39.5 billion, Australia spends more on the age pension each year than it does on defence, hospitals, or schools.

"It is our single biggest spending program," Mr Hockey said.

"So the policies must be changed, either now or more dramatically in the future." [my red bolding]

According to Mr. Hockey in less than twelve months the Age Pension has gone from being the Federal Government’s third highest single recurrent expenditure item (approximately 10% of the Commonwealth Budget) to the highest at $39.5 billion.

Up an est. $2.5 billion since June 2013 and leaving Health expenditure at $62 billion and Goods and Services Tax transfers to the states at $48 billion miraculously way behind Age Pension costs using that mysterious method of accounting - hockeynomics.

Commonwealth government recurrent expenditure, 2012-13 

Grattan Institute analysis of Commonwealth budget papers

Grattan Institute 24 January 2014

In 2012-13 Defence as a recurrent expense was estimated to cost the federal government $30.8 billion and Education (minus the research component) was estimated at $27.16 billion, according to the Grattan Institute’s Budget Pressures on Australian Governments.

This is what Treasurer Hockey was waving in front of Spectator Magazine on 23 April 2014:

Again using hockeynomics, it appears that Defence as a recurrent expense has reduced in size by an est. $5.5 billion in less than ten months -  and this despite the Abbott Government spending many millions searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane since early March 2014 and increasing naval border surveillance since September 2013.

While Health expenditure is only shown as three discrete items in his Commission of Audit data and, is therefore reduced by $19.7 billion in under 10 months to make it appear as though the Age Pension is by far and away the largest contributor to the federal government's recurrent expenditure.

Education expenditure has $7.16 billion off its bottom line in less than 10 months in order for it to also fit into Hockey's universal-safety-nets-are-bad narrative.

If one looks at Mr. Hockey's chart; in 2013-14 Federal Government total payments (spending) are 25.93% of Australia’s Nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By 2023-24 total payments are projected to be 26.50% of GDP. That expenditure growth is less than 0.57% over a decade, while the GDP is projected to grow 5.1% annually over that period.

Whereas, by comparison, in the United Kingdom (which also has a universal safety net policy covering health, education, employment, pensions and welfare payments) public sector spending was 42.2% of its GDP in 2013-14.

As for Australia's national public debt which is often quoted by the Abbott Government as a reason for taking the razor to government programs - the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2013 clearly stated that: Australian general government gross debt is expected to peak at around 32 percent of GDP in 2015 and is among the lowest in advanced nations.[International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Department, Australia: Staff Report for 2013 Article IV Consultation-Staff Report]

While Mr. Hockey is trying to talk up his budget 'emergency' and demonise age pensioners (despite the fact that only seven per cent of Australia’s recent increase in health-care costs is due to aging, only 5% of people over 65 years require residential care as they age and more older people are already chosing to remain in the workforce longer), he remains almost mute on the subject of the new Abbott version of the Paid Parental Leave scheme.

This scheme will cost $14 billion in the first three years, or $4.66 billion a year. Costing taxpayers over $1 billion to meet the employer levy shortfall in its first year alone - in order to pay out up to $75,000 $50,000 (plus superannuation component) per non-means tested 6 month leave application granted.

The motivation behind this new scheme is not hard to find as it is based on feathering the nests of right-wing politicians' families and presumably the families of their political donors.

Here is Prime Minister Tony Abbott reported in The Sydney Morning Herald on 5 March 2014:

Mr Abbott said he opposed paid parental leave as a minister in the Howard government, but his views changed after considering what would be best for his daughters.

NOTE:

On 1 May 2014 at 2pm. the Abbott Government is finally releasing its first National Commission of Audit report. On May 13 full details of the Abbott Government's first federal budget are due to be released.

So how is Federal Coalition Treasurer Joe Hockey managing Australia's national budget?

Joe Hockey as Opposition Shadow Treasurer in The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 2012:

''Labor has now sought increases in the debt limit of the Commonwealth from $75 billion to $200 billion, to $250 billion and now $300 billion. On each occasion they promise not to exceed the limit. Well, enough is enough - we are going to keep them to their promises''

Joe Hockey as Federal Coalition Treasurer in The Herald Sun, 28 September 2013:

Mr Hockey also said the Coalition would raise the $300 billion debt ceiling before Christmas ...

The Australian Government currently issues debt securities to the public in the form of Treasury Bonds, Treasury Indexed Bonds and Treasury Notes.

Here are the Abbott Government’s officially announced intentions to raise money from domestic/international sources: [updated 17.12.13]

18 September intends to borrow $800 million

20 September intends to borrow $800 million

25 September intends to borrow $800 million

26 September intends to borrow $1 billion

27 September intends to borrow $500 million

2 October 2013 intends to borrow $800 million

3 October 2013 intends to borrow $800 million

4 October 2013 intends to borrow $800 million

9 October 2013 intends to borrow $800 million

10 October 2013 intends to borrow $500 million

11 October 2013 intends to borrow $800 million
16 October 2013 intends to borrow $800 million
17 October 2013 intends to borrow $1 billion
18 October 2013 intends to borrow $800 million
24 October 2013 intends to borrow $1.5 billion
25 October 2013 intends to borrow $800 million

29 October 2013 intends to borrow $200 million
30 October 2013 intends to borrow $800 million
31 October 2013 intends to borrow $1 billion
1 November 2013 intends to borrow $800 million
6 November 2013 intends to borrow $600 million
7 November 2013 intends to borrow $1.5 billion
8 November 2013 intends to borrow $1 billion
8 November 2013 intends to borrow an additional unspecified amount
12 November 2013 intends to borrow $150 million
13 November 2013 intends to borrow $800 million
14 November 2013 intends to borrow $1 billion
15 November 2013 intends to borrow $800 million
21 November 2013 intends to borrow $500 million
22 November 2013 intends to borrow $800 million
26 November 2013 intends to borrow an additional unspecified amount

4 December 2013 intends to borrow $800 million

6 December 2013 intends to borrow $1.5 billion
10 December 2013 intends to borrow $100 million
11 December 2013  intends to borrow $800 million
13 December 2013 intends to borrow $700 million
15 January 2014 intends to borrow an additional unspecified amount

24 January 2014 intends to borrow $500 million
11 February 2014 intends to borrow an additional unspecified amount

In the first 128 days of the Abbott Government total borrowings from these sources will exceed $27.7 billion or over $216.4 million a day.

It would appear that the current Federal Coalition Government is borrowing at the same a higher rate as than the former Federal Labor Government. However, It has committed to raising the debt ceiling to $500 billion before 12 December 2013.

So there is no slowing down of the increase in the much dog whistled national debt since Joe Hockey became Treasurer - just as there is apparently the same downward trend in the rate of asylum seeker boat arrivals between the second Rudd Government and the current Abbott Government.

Betcha Joe Hockey has to get someone to tie his shoe laces for him

Spooner's piece in Saturday's Age was a genuine gem.

Credit: The Age, 14/1/12