Senator Assange?

[Justtristo]

Australia did not go into a recession during the global financial crisis.

Actually it did. Three consecutive quarters of negative growth, job losses to higher unemployment, low consumer confidence, retail sector hit. The Government stimulus spending is the only thing that tells you we didn't have a recession, everything else tells you we certainly did have one.

According to the ABS Economic Indicators for January 2010, Australia only recorded 1 quarter of negative economic growth in 2008-2009. That was a figure of -0.1% in the December Quarter. According to the ABS in 2008-2009 Australia recorded GDP growth of 1%.

I am not denying that the GFC hit consumer confidence, retail sales and led to a increase in unemployment. However Australia did avoid recession and even if there had not been a stimulus package, the recession would have been comparably mild compared to what the United States or Britain went through.

[Justtristo]

The only thing I would criticize about the Rudd-Gillard government fiscal policies in the area of government, is that the money should have been used for more useful purposes, like upgrading the national highway and railways systems, which would have produced great benefits to the economy in the long term.

A minute ago you called them "incompetent", now you have only a minor criticism??

Forgive me for not being clear enough before, however the Rudd part of the Rudd-Gillard government was incompetent for the most part. Because of Rudd's leadership and also the implementation of ill thought out policies, for example; the pink batts fiasco and the "education revolution".

The Gillard part of Rudd-Gillard government has been nowhere near as incompetent. However Gillard's breaking of an economic promise not to introduce a Carbon Tax or Carbon Emissions, is a political blunder of monumental proportions. Considering that the Green MP Adam Bandt was going to support a Gillard government no matter what.

Also there is her inability to show leadership on issues such as Marriage Equality (which we all know she supports secretly). If Gillard had honored her election promise not to introduce a carbon tax or. Also if she had supported marriage equality, the government would be a fairly competitive position coming into this year's election.

[Aractus]

Oh dear ....

http://www.news.com.au/national-news/bob...6585472864

CLAIMS the Swedish prosecution against Julian Assange is part of a conspiracy to have him extradited to the United States is sheer fantasy, and the Wikileaks founder would be safer in Sweden than the UK, Foreign Minister Bob Carr says.

Senator Carr said it would be harder to extradite Assange from Sweden than the UK, because "the Swedes say it is our policy ... that we never extradite someone on a matter to related to military or intelligence".

Does Carr realize that Assange is a political refugee, and claiming that refugees don't face persecution is a statement against all refuges who, once processed and accepted as refugees, should be treated fairly as people who are genuinely facing a threat??

[xXUKAtheistForTheTruthXx]

Since when did government care about wasting money?

Never