Stephen Mayne

At the top of the market, with near full employment and property bubbles, you really shouldn't be running.

And commodity boom's ongoing.

You really shouldn't be running.

Your budget position deteriorating to the tune of $25 billion.

So they're promising net savings, but I think for me it's just going to be the forecasts of those debts.

I mean, the federal debt's at $9.66 billion.

Is it going to hit a trillion?

When's it going to hit a trillion?

I'll be looking out for that.

Just like with the Victorian budget yesterday, for me the only figures that mattered were the debt figures.

They're going to be negative cash flow, $13 billion.

in the coming year.

I mean, I just think it's unsustainable.

The public sector in Australia, states and federal combined, are running, you know, overall debt-funded deficits of, you know, it's pushing, it's well north of $60, $70 billion overall.

at the top of a boom.

I mean, it's just irresponsible.

I have to say, Alan, I dusted off my, as an old spin doctor for the Victorian government, I dusted off my last spin doctoring effort for the Autumn Economic Statement of 1994.

And what staggered me was I've had a look at the numbers the Liberal government said back then versus the

projected now.

So total property taxes in Victoria, 93, 94, 2.1 billion.