text:
Swan named world's best treasurer
Jeremy Thompson
Updated September 21, 2011 07:54:18
Photo: World's best treasurer: Wayne Swan (Leif Davies: ABC News)
Map: Australia
Treasurer Wayne Swan has been awarded the prestigious finance minister of the year award for his handling of the Australian economy.
The award is judged by leading European banking and finance magazine Euromoney on advice from global bankers and investors.
Each year the award honours the finance minister, treasurer or central bank governor whose decisions "have directly benefited both the performance and perception of their country's economic and financial achievements".
Australia survived the global financial crisis without suffering the recession that crippled most Western economies and has registered strong growth during the latest downturn which has hit other countries hard.
Mr Swan oversaw the cash handouts in 2008 and the schools building program that were widely credited with quarantining Australia from the economic woes of the GFC.
The only other Australian treasurer to win the coveted award was Paul Keating in 1984 after a raft of economic reforms including deregulating banking and floating the dollar.
Mr Swan has presided over an economy which grew 1.2 per cent in the June quarter while most of the world's developed economies stalled, while unemployment at 5.3 per cent is roughly half that of the United States and Europe.
Australia also has a low level of debt and consumer confidence is also up - again, in contrast to that of other advanced economies.
Australia's economy has relied to a large degree on the health of China's manufacturing sector and the coal, gas and iron ore Australian companies provide to the Asian giant.
Mr Swan has had failures though. His mining tax proposal under the Rudd government was thwarted by an effective campaign by mining companies and was replaced by a far less lucrative minerals resource rent tax acceptable to the miners.
Mr Swan will be presented with the award in Washington next weekend.
Topics: swan-wayne, awards-and-prizes, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia, united-states
First posted September 21, 2011 00:20:48
Comments for this story are closed.
Richard Morgan:
21 Sep 2011 8:02:17am
He's only the best as we haven't been affected by the GFC as badly as the other countries, due to our mining and agricultural industries... just because we are in the green compared to the major economies, doesn't make him the best in the world. It looks like chance is on his side. Who thinks of these awards anyway? who's the best PM then? Not JG.....
Alert moderator
J.G. Cole:
"Chance" is indeed a capricious thing Richard.
That is why the Howard/Costello stewardship is defined by "cruise control".
Their fortune was hardly of their own making.
Well done Paul Keating!
oops, I mean, well done Wayne Swan!
Both Labor men.
Always good to see.
I don't mean to be Mr Negativity here JG, but if Europe hands me an award for fiscal responsibility, I start thinking what I've done wrong.
Breaking News: left wing media organisation from left wing Europe gives left wing treasurer(s) a few pats on the back. Shock horror.
21 Sep 2011 10:27:17am
Right wing governments in Europe and America STILL refuse to give ANYTHING to Right wing Governments of Australia......
except, of course, a crash course in imperialism and sycophancy.
drew:
No need to make wild assertions about 'chance' now. The figures are now in - and Treasury has confirmed the mining sector had very little to our success at getting through the GFC - and confirmed from retail and construction figures that the actions of this govt. (incl. taking the hard decisions) was what got us through the GFC.
It is true that if our accounts were worse going into the GFC things would have been a lot harder. But you can hardly say our accounts were as good as they could have been if Costello/Howard werent so reckless with their spending and blowing over $300 billion from the last mining boom giving us very little to show for it.
Anyone w a household budget will tell you - it is easy to run a budget when times are good - but it's when times are hard you really need to work hard. It is just a shame Costello/Howard wasted so much during the good.
Well said Drew. You will find that that figure of $300 Billion to be a tad low. My understanding is that it is closer to the low $400 billion.
Imagine that!!
Not one road, not one hospital, not one school.
Oh well, at least the rich got their tax breaks.
Did you read this morning how Australia's ranking in the "Least Taxing of the Wealthy" chart has seen it jump from 24th to 7th!!!!
Anyone of the Apologists like to comment on that aspect of the Howard/Costello legacy?
I thought not.
iiago:
OR...they thought he was doing a really good job.
Is it possible, just possible, that the European banking sector might know a little bit more about the GFC and international economics than you?
Boganville:
As Warwick McKibbon notes, those who claim Swans stimulus saved us from the GFC are deluded. The stimulus helped, but two decades of economic reform by Hawke/Keating and then Howard were far more important.
Swan made no contribution to those reforms. To the contrary, when Howard was in power, the likes of Swan obstructed reform.
Not only has Swan has brought down four soft budgets since Labor won office but hes never been able to answer simple questions about those budgets (imagine having a treasurer who doesnt know the numbers). The related interviews and press conferences have been excruciating to watch.
Swan doesnt understand the relationship between the bond rate and the cost of capital (he should ask a first year commerce student) and who could forget that embarrassing press conference where he stood mute for 80 seconds when someone asked him the inflation forecast?
Swan has not been able to carry the electorate on one area of economic reform. Not one.
If Swan is finance minister of the year, that says more about the standard of the competition than the winner.
Dags:
Please consider the possibility that both the decades of reforms and Swan's quick and decisive response both contributed. Did Swan play the hand that was dealt him well? Yes, he did so give him some credit. Do you want him to go back in a time machine and contribute to the reforms as well?
Mayb they had a time machine that could take them into the future when they gave the award to Keating as well.
Because it was the reforms when Keating was treasurer eg floating australian dollar, banking reform, introducing superannuation etc that were the structural reforms that helped us through the GFC as well.
Just have a look at the positive quater of growth that saved us from technical recession. Thanks to Keating floating the dollar - during the GFC the aussie dollar dramatically dropped in value - giving us a competitive edge with exports. Hence why during this quater of positive growth exports eg agriculture were 'unexpectedly' up.
The figures speak for themselves.
True, the European banking sector knows all about the GFC - BECAUSE THEY CAUSED IT. The only thing they don't know is how to fix it.
ntg:
No they didn't. The GFC (mark 1) It was the USA, their sub-prime mortgages and the dodgey accounting practices of some of their biggest financial organisations.
On the other hand, it looks like Europe could cause GFC (mark 2)... So Greg's point is very valid - they are part of the problem.
Yeah so:
Talk about bad sport! I think you're floundering there Dick, if the best you can do is "Who thinks of these awards anyway?" I mean, really, what would the "leading European banking and finance magazine Euromoney on advice from global bankers and investors" know. It would seem Mr Morgan has all the answers.
CONGRATULATIONS Mr Swan, on a very well deserved accolade.
Arrow:
A lot of commenters obviously don't like Mr Swan.
But most other countries in the world are deep in recession and we are booming.
Who else would you give it to?
the yank:
The judgement was made by other countries who do not have the political bias that you are showing.
Swan, and Labor flew in the face of Abbott and Co. and kept Australia on a firm footing.
Unfortunately neither side of politics is worried any longer about the economy the focus is on a rather unimportant issue, boat people.
I put it to you that even if we proccessed a hundred thousand people here in Australia it would have far less impact on anyone's life in comparison to the tidal economic wave that is coming our way.
Europe not politically biased??? Oh lol!! Clearly you haven't lived there yank. People who complain about Labor being socialist and economically left wing wouldn't last five minutes in the EUSSR
They could have given the award to anyone of their own, Finland maybe but they didn't they gave to swan. Who joins of all people not Howard not Costello but Keating.
I might have a little respect for Abbott and his own costello, Hockey, if they acknowledged that Labor has against the odds seen Australia through a major worldwide financial crisis.
It is yet to be seen how he will do during the next whrilwind but that is just around the corner.
acmjjm:
Having worked in the Public Service for many years, I can assure you that senior career economists create the policies which we followed. Not pollies who are only 'stage men'.
Not very intellectual to be married to any particula party.
Wayne, Congrats. Remember all stimulus spending idea is by Kevin Rudd. Bring back Kevin.
to be honest it was probably more thanks to Ken Henry - who Howard appointed.
But Swan had to use his political skill to get the work done.
Especially in the face of this opposition. Liberal Party opposition who continue to say no to everything and would prefer Australia to have gone into recession - with 100,000 more unemployment - billions in more debt.
Just be very thankful the Liberals arnt in power.
rob1966:
The Opposition supported the initial measures that the Government introduced, so it is invalid to claim "in spite of The Opposition" - it was only an element of the second wave of measures that the Opposition disagreed with.
But then the truth should never get in the way of slagging of the political party you dislike ...
Babsie:
We were not effected by GFC because of his Stimulus Package Richard,
I say "WELL DONE WAYNE " may you and Julia be able to create more success in the future
brian:
Richard, I struggled with your turns of thought until I felt I understood them. Is this what you meant?
"He is the best because we haven't been affected by the GFC as badly as other countries, and he let our mining and agricultural industries work to our benefit. It is not just that we are in the green compared to the major economies that makes him the best in the world. Chance was on his side, and he used it. What a pity few people think of these awards!"
davies:
I'm worried. Here are previous winners of Euromoney awards...
Euromoney 2006 Best Investment Bank - Lehman Brothers (Busted 2007)
Euromoney 2006 Best Equity House - Morgan Stanley (Bailed out 2007)
Euromoney 2006 Best at Risk Management - Bear Stearns (Busted 2007)
Euromoney 2006 Best at Investor Services - Citigroup (Bailed out 2007)
And Id like to note the favourable Euromoney commentary on AIGs future, 2007 (bailed out 2007)
"but... but... labor party... spend ...bad... irresponsible..."
Time to find Joe Hockey a new script.
Dean:
Oh yes look at all those major world-beating fiscal reforms that Swan has implemented in the last four years like....um....let's see.....welllll.....do the $900 cheques count? Maybe not. What about the pledge to return to surplus? Well he created the fiscal black hole in the first place so no. How about keeping us out of recession? Probably should be thanking Hu Jintao for that one.
Actually what has he done exactly?
MDG:
Didn't you notice that generation-wrecking recession that cast hundreds of thousands onto the scrapheap of long-term unemployment, tore up the life savings of families, crippled the dollar and sent businesses to the wall right across the country?
Exactly. When there's an earthquake, you congratulate the guy whose house is still standing because it is still standing. You don't condemn them just because you don't like the colour of the wallpaper.
Did you notice the mining boom and resulting record-high dollar MDG?
When there's an earthquake and the only house still standing is made of iron ore and says "Made In China", you should thank your lucky stars, not the oblivious owner who's sitting inside in a recliner doing nothing.
Johnno :
$900 cheques do count, as does the insulation program and the school building program. Despite the vile politically inspired negativity of the Opposition these actions did make a great positive difference in dealing with the international crisis that broke out in 2008 due to the bank failures brought on by implementing the conservative mantra of all regulation is bad (unless it is regulation of who we marry).
The other great risk to our economy, the two speed economy brought on by the mining boom and the distortions to the labour market driven by it was to be addressed by the super profits tax, which would have redistributed some of the profits from the use of our minerals to ensure greater economic activity in those states which did not have the benefit of desirable minerals in the ground. Again, the opposition stuffed this up for pure political purposes. And now we have a difficult economy to manage.
Johnno insulation programs and school halls programs only count if you're one of Labor's shyster buddies who've made millions setting up fly-by-night businesses to do shoddy work at taxpayers expense.
Steered us through the GFC?
The man's achievements have been recognised, internationally, by impartial people at the top of their field.
If you won't accept that, is there any evidence, any at all, that you would be willing to accept as showing that he's doing a good job? Are you waiting for Moses himself to decend from Mt Siani with stone tablets?
Everybody else in the world seems to recognise that the creating the "fiscal black hole" of which you speak was entirely necessary to keep Australia out of recession and millions of Australians in jobs. It was good policy, and this award is another recognition of that fact.
Dr Kwojo:
"what has he done exactly?"
Perhaps you should read the details of the award, which highlights some of his "swift responses to stimulate the economy'' despite "strong opposition at home''.
We have heard very little from Hockey other then he wants to strip $70 billion from government spending.
Does he or Abbott even look at the foreign news media? If they did they would know that the real problem here is that people and governments have just stopped talking to each other.
Just saying no is not a justifiable policy.
There is very little doubt that if the Liberal's economic policies were implemented we would be in recession and heading to higher debt and unemployment more around 8-9%.
It is about time the media hold Abbott and the Liberal Party to account.
There is too much at stake to have a reckless incompetent Liberal Govt. again.
Just look at how much the last Liberal Govt. blew things when times were good. Including blowing over $300billion from the last mining boom. And what did we get? Interest rates at 2% higher than they are now. Higher costs of living, higher inflation.
But the media won't. They are too inteersted in a few thousand boat people to worry about the economy.
Jon:
Hey yank, haven't you noticed? Reducing government spending seems to be the hell-bent mission of all these Euro finance ministers whom you seem to want to portray as poltiically unbiassed. Mind you, none of them were as lucky as Wayne Swan to win such hollow praise from Euromoney magazine. I wonder if all the winners of its awards before our current glorious Treasurer were big-spenders of the sort that got Europe into the mess its in today?
It is the professional economists in the Public Service who should be commended not an 'off the street' politician.
I think you'll find that this award is for the public service. All government departments are run by public servants- the elected official is just there to take the flag and set direction.
croweater:
The problem being Abbot, Robb and Hockey have no respect for the Treasury either...
Essos:
Too right.
The Treasurer and the Reserve Bank governor of the day should get the credit
That's half right. There is little doubt we owe a lot to Keny Henry.
But you also need to have the political will and the guts to take the tough decisions. The govt knew the risks when implementing fast stimulus measures like school halls and pink bats.
These schemes have proved valuable as part of the economic stimulus we needed to have. But the govt. has paid the political price. It was the risk that needed to be taken to get stimulus out there fast.
These achievements seem to go un noticed by the majority of Australians. Obviously the government has a problem selling anything, even good news.
Nils:
So true James. The Government needs to hammer the message about the things that are going well. We have low unemployment, the lowest debt of any OECD country, we avoided the recession, and Parliament has passed more laws than the first term of the Howard Government. The Parliament is working well. Yet from the sound of the media, you would think the country is falling apart. On top of that we have an Opposition Leader who is on the record as saying he can't be trusted, who will say anything to get to the Lodge, and who has no policies. And yet the polls say he would win in a landslide! Something is wrong.
Not to mention - interest rates were 2% higher under the last Liberal Govt.
Does anybody remember Howard saying "interest rates will always be higher under a Labor Govt."?
Very laughable - because interest rates were 2% higher under the last Liberal Govt.
This in itself is more than enough reason why voters should be scared of the prospects of a future Liberal Govt.
People should ask themselves - could they afford interest rates to go up another 2%?
Sandino:
Couldn't agree more.
I don't think this is the worst government we ever had. But they must be the worst government in the history of mankind in selling themselves. In this environment I don't think any of them could get a graduate position. The Labor party couldn't sell sex to teenagers. Abbott on the other hand should be working on Wall Street, beacause his all hype no substance.
Fran:
It's a bit hard to do that when the majority of the privately owned news media services are owned by someone with an agenda to have this government removed. Many of the news services no longer provide genuine news, but have become propaganda machines to manipulate public opinion. Stories such as this, don't fit the political agenda of the owners, so we don't get to hear of them.
The reason the government has problems selling anything is the media in this country. Look at News Ltd coverage of this same story, the second paragraph says "Few Australians subscribe to Euromoney, but the Government will make sure as many voters as possible hear about its appraisal of the Treasurer, and the Opposition will be invited to congratulate him." And the story ends with three paragraphs of spoilsport Joe Hockey trying to convince us that "its hard to take the award seriously." Euromoney is one of the largest and most respected business and financial magazine publishers. They took into consideration the stimulus packages, which News Ltd and opposition condemned at the time.
Schnappi:
Credit where it is due,makes a mockery of abbotts scare campaigns,shudder when looking at how the liberals would have handled the GFC.
Schnappi. they would have given stimulus to the rich to make sure they stayed that way , the trouble is the News LTD and shock jocks do the damage i heard the other day that a radio jock repeated himself 5 times in 10 minutes on something Julia Gillard was sopposed to have done if thats not Brain Washing their viewers then what is it
Jo:
I am sure even if I was the treasurer of Australia I would have been named the best in the world for the times. It is not because of Swan but because of hard working families, frugal small businesses and our mining resource that we weathered the storm.
Funny that the hard working families had a job due to the stimulus keeping jobs and creating more jobs,as to mining companies they laid of workers during the GFC.
AlexA:
Families still need a job to work hard in. It's not just the GFC and employment that he has handled well, increases in the pension and super, massive tax cuts, investments especially in infrastructure.....
Stop being clouded by the negeaive rubbish the Liberal party has been and is continuing to dish out about our economy.
Treasury figures have now come in - and as a matter of record prove the mining sector had very little to do with getting us through the GFC.
And at the start of the GFC it was predicted that we would go into recession and face 10% unemployment. Crucially this prediction was made at the start of the GFC -the prediction taking into consideration the healthy budget position at the time.
This being even more proof we can thank Swan and this govt. (and not the mining sector or the health of our economy at the time) for being the key factor for getting us through the GFC.
Well done Swan and keep up the good work.
Jason Hill:
In 2nd place was the Italian Finance Minister,
Followed closely by the Greek and the Irish Finance Ministers
New Pseudonym:
I know it's fashionable to bag out Swan but our economy is nothing like Greece, Ireland or Italy. We started from a stronger position, so it it's all Swan's doing, but we're still going strong. We don't have ~20% unemployment, we're not at risk of defaulting on the national debt (which is tiny). Housing prices aren't collapsing. etc. We were on a good course and Swan has been a steady hand on the tiller.
Any complaining of doing it tough is a made-up, western world problem. Instead of inventing problems because we've got it so good, our energy, thought etc. should be spent on fixing some of the problems elsewhere in the world.
Jenny Twining:
The jealous and nasty comments,that will follow this very uplifting and welcome news about our treasurer Wayne Swan,will be coming in thick and fast,then again maybe not.This lowlife liberal lot will hope it fades into the background,but alas you grubs,it will be written into history.Congratulations treasurer Swan.Well done Labor party.
Brewsta:
It's amazing how much squealing complaint goes on in the Lucky Country, when we are obviously travelling well economicly compared to most other countries.
And lets not forget that Abbotts army - spoon fed on a diet of discontent - opposed the stimulous and talked down the economy.
Sam Guest:
Amazing how labor supporters will alternate between taking credit for then neatly ignoring the strong economic position they inherited from the Coalition. As others have stated here it amounts to dumb luck that ol' Swanny has done little more than be in charge of an already strong economy and has done precious little that can be qualified as groundbreaking or wildy successful during his time as treasurer.
Stephen:
Well done Mr. Swan.
I agree with what you did to help Australia.
Ronald M:
The award should go to Peter Costello, wasn't he the one who put money away for a rainy day. All Mr Swan did was spend it and the world applauds him. I wonder what the next award he will get will look like.
peter69:
ummm how many years age?? Haven't the ALP squandered everything... isn't that the mantra?
Appears that the judgers don't think so.
It is time for the ALP to sell themselves as the best at managing the economy!
Costello's surplus was about $20bn. That wasn't even enough to make up for the lost government revenue, never mind covering even a small fraction of the stimulus package. Did it help? Sure it did. But let's not pretend it was something that it wasn't.
Exactly. Anyone with a household budget can tell you it is easy to run a budget when times are good.
Costello/Howard blew over $300billion from the last mining boom and left us with very little to show for it.
Costello/Howard had things when times were good, they sold all our private assets off and all the Liberals gave us were massive skill shortages, failure to invest in infrastructure, high inflation, high interest rates - and a tax cut worth about as much as a cup of coffee.
what the:
Yet coalition supporters savaged him for spending it on a very very rainy day. Face it, he won the award, Costello didn't, move on and get on board with Australia.
Brian Mawhinney:
Swann has done nothing himself as Treasurer but to ride on the coatails of the previous Government. Australia survived the GFC because of good economic management of the Howard Government not what Swann did or has done as Treasurer. Swann has yet to prove himself in this area and if Swann is the best, god help the country with the worst.
JohnnoH:
Anyone could have done well with the dream run the Howard government had. But they still found way to slug the ordniary people's hip pocket and thus became the highest taxing government in Australia's history. Give credit where credit is due, this government handled the GFC magnificently.
burke:
So Costello's success was just good luck and I suppose that Swan's failures are just bad luck. Pull the other one, its got bells on.
Elvis:
Failures? Unemployment at 5%, debt in relation to GDP very low, no recession with continuing growth etc. Not bad failures those
MJay:
Um...the previous government is globally acknowledged as doing pretty much nothing to set Australia up economically- name one structural reform apart from the GST (which was just a broadening of the tax base) that the previous government did.
You have to go back to Keating to see the last significant economic reform.
The Howard years were wasted years of making surpluses and handing out candy in election years.
Costello might have been raved about in the Merdoc media but no where else.
Futures fund, sale of Telstra as major reforms. Income tax reductions most years, saving private health. Just off the top of my head - there were many more.
Hey MJ, do you remember the GST?
What has the GST done?
At this point the GST has hardly structurally changed our economy. We are still heavily reliant on capital gains tax. Hence why the majority in finance/business want the GST increased - and CGT reduced.
The fact is the majority of the major economic reforms that set our country up are all thanks to the Hawke/Keating Labor Govt.
And yet I don't recall Mr Costello ever receiving this accolade.
My suggestion: As the Howard government was soundly disposed of several years ago now, it is really time to take off those rose coloured glasses.
deano:
Agreed Brian. The only reason we came through GFC Mk 1 was the remarkable shape were were in when we entered it. The real test will be over the next 2 years. Swan / Rudd managed to spent the honey pot in record time and place us back into hundreds of billions of debt . As GFC Mk2 hits or commodities have a shock, we will be in need of a real treasurer.
History accurately records that Labor always places the country in massive debt and the conservatives turn the country around and pay it back. As the Gillard Government is the Union movement, our productivity will continue to falter under this regime.
Ryan P:
Bro the stimulus was like $60bn
Federal Govt debt was $91b when Costello entered the scene. BY 2007 the Federal government had produced a net surplus of $20b + a futures fund from the proceeds of Telstra to cover off unfunded Public Service Superannuation.
Within 4 years, Swan has overseen an explosion of Federal Govt debt to well over $200b. Stimulus may have been $60b as you say (I don't know the exact figure) but our debt has burst well beyond that.
The runs are on the board. Labor has never produced a surplus and has proved beyond doubt on every occasion it lives beyond its means.
I dream of an election campaign where both sides debate how they are going to spend less and take a smaller position in our lives.
Skeet:
"and place us back into hundreds of billions of debt ."
With wild hyperbolic nonsense like that, you cannot expect to be taken seriously by the adults.
DK:
That's an interesting take.
Peter Costello had a lifetime to do something worthwhile for the finances of Australia and did nothing but lay in a hammock for his term in office, foisting the GST on us or merely putting money in the bank was obviously not worthy of award.
It has been said often that the heaviest financial lifting was done between Howard and Costello, by Paul keating.
"Swann has yet to prove himself in this area ..." What rubbish. Swan has managed the economy through a GFC and you say he has still to prove himself. Hockey and Abbott were completely opposed to the decisions Swann made through the GFC, where would that have left us if Hockey was our treasurer? The answer is recession.
The Labor party is managing our economy really well during the mining boom investing in recourses and infrastructure, something the Liberal party will definitely not be doing.
Noticable in WA that the Oakajee project had to be rescued by Colin Barnett. Federal Government probably never heard of it.
Old Timer:
Actually, the Federal Government has heard of the Oakajee project, and is right behind it. As it's been on the drawing board for about 20 years now, I wonder what Howard/Costello did about it?
Rubbish, he's proved himself and to think just a surplus saved the country is simplistic and naive. Just accept that your party has been shown to be rubbish with its claims of bad economic management, the proof is in the pudding.
CONLAW:
I agree with you 100%. Swan is a joke and when he opens his mouth he doesn't know what he talks even. If Labor has a policy they would not run up to a deficit of $53Billion. Peter Costello's hard work has evaporated within a year by Labor on the back of GFC. They were able to withstand the crisis because of the solid economic fundamentals that was put forward by the coalition.
susan shelton:
This being the case why then does the opposition believe that Mr Swan is the weak link in the government administration along with the Australian newspaper
seajae:
He needs to thank the coalition if he is to be taken seriously, without the good work done by them it would not have been possible for us to come out as well as we have. Swann is simply riding on Costellos coat tails. Costello was the one that set us up for survival, swann was just lucky enough to have the country in a good position.
Sharon:
And the coalition need to thank Labor for the good economic reform work done by them which made their contribution possible.
bm:
And Costello road on the coat tails of Keatings economic reform.
Costello inherited four or five years of solid economic growth from the Keating Government.
mcsummit1:
He must be Labour!
Someone forgot to tell the judges about the $$$$millions wasted and the deaths caused through the home insulation scheme, the $$$$millions wasted through the schools building programme and the $$$$$millions wasted through Swan's government's inability to manage the people smuggling of illegal immigrants into Australia. I wonder if the judges also consider the surplus funds Swan had to start with and the huge deficeit he has lumbered us with..??
The judges should get an award for making us laugh in disbelief
Lord Barry Boncton:
The judges didn't read Ltd News opinion pages and went on FACTS . You should read the reports , instead of repeating the lies. I think the 98.3 % NON waste in the Building program and the over a million homes insulated by the government that keep workers in a job and paying tax worked. Those homes are now cooler and cheaper to run for a long time. What did howard build ?? Flag poles in schools ? Howard stopped the boats ? he fly them here. You really need to read a bit wider that Ltd News mate.
hoopla:
I agree about the millions wasted on offshore processing, but I think you'll find that the insulation program (where the number of deaths actually dropped proportionally) and the school building program (which had an incredibly low number of complaints) were both successes, despite what certain opinion writers/newspapers may have you believe...
Stuffed Olive:
I am sure the judges knew everything relevant including the fact that the BER was hugely successful and that the other smears coming from the Liberals were not true.
If we held onto those surplus funds we would be in recession. That is why he won the award.
sffc05:
What an unusual logic..........so Swan was directly responsible for the ceiling insulation deaths.....like....not the installers or the installation companies. I could've sworn the article mentioned that the schools building program was credited with shielding Australia from the GFC.
Simple for simple.
Someone should go take a proper look at the world economy and see how good things really are here
How come Costello never won this award... wasn't he the best Treasurer this country ever had?
Or was it only Howard who thought so?
Honest John probably said it to placate Pete and stop him asking when he would be handed the Prime-ministership. But then, the only conviction Howard had was in his need to stay at the helm long after the country and his own party thought he should go.
Yes, Costello was our best ever Treasurer but he saved money rather than spend it, so he doesn't meet Euromoney's selection criteria. The Howard-Costello Government was elected four times - they must have been doning something right in the eyes of the only judges that count ... the Australian people.
Congratulations to Wayne Swan, although it is worth noting that the award is more a reflection of the department he heads, and the strength of the economy he inherited from his predecessor(s), and the continued demand from China for our resources.
Even so, the (so called) "cash splash" and other measures implemented to neutralise the effect of the GFC do appear to have protected the Australian economy so far.
Grumpy:
Can't work out how you can be judged the world's best when you start with a huge surplus and turn it into a huge deficit. To top that Swan originally said we'd be back in surplus by 2012-13 guaranteed, now it's "the objective." World greatest dill if you ask me.
Why won't the federal budget be in surplus in the 2012/2013 fiscal year? You seem to be forgetting our economy is growing at 3-4%, a very low unemployment rate and for a trade surplus, lower taxes than 4 years ago!
Tony P Grant:
$20 Billion over 11.5 years with "money" pouring into the country, I can see how "you' can't work it out!
Politically Incorrect:
Because the deficit is not huge and investors & bankers realise this? We have the lowest debt to GDP ratio in the world after a global financial meltdown (where US is financially crippled, Eurozone is headed for meltdown and Japan is on the nose.
When you take off the glasses of political bias, you see our economy is healthy, one of the heathiest in the world.
It's pretty sad that the Coalition have conned so many people into thinking that the yardstick of fiscal managemen is whether or not you have a surplus instead of things like whether people have jobs, families have homes, kids are getting good educations, the sick are being looked after and so on. And yes, I do blame Labor for being sucked into that silly game as well.
WhatThe:
What a joke!!! This needs to be put into the context of what Swan was given by Costello on a silver platter - no debt, strong surplus, mining boom already happening. low interest rates, low unemployement, low inflation etc etc
Now you do not need to be Einstein or even Wayne Swan to know that even Blind Freddy could sit back and do nothing and still end up with a pretty good economy and despite Swaan and Labours best efforts comapartively speaking we have. But what we did we end up with - high debt (by our standards not the world), school halls we didn't want or need, a pink batts fiasco etc etc and every major policy decision since gone pearshaped in some form or another.
That Swan got this award, is a bit like the Steven Bradbury of ice sking Olympic gold medal fame - last man standing.
Now Wayne, I hope when you respond to this so called accolade, you give due credit to the man who served it up to you in the first place - Peter Costello and the poor old Australian tax payer.
spikeyhair:
"This needs to be put into the context of what Swan was given by Costello on a silver platter - no debt, strong surplus, mining boom already happening. low interest rates, low unemployement, low inflation etc etc" and what has changed exactly?
You still have a job, mortgages have been on hold for a whole year now, and inflation has gone up a smidgen - but then again you've probably gone overseas for a very cheap holiday - I hear Greece, Italy, Portugal and Ireland are the places to go, and so to the USA....
Had we been in recession like the rest of the world, you'd be holidaying at home, or possibly not at all, most likely without a job and having to give up your home. There are people who fall into this category, but I can tell you there aren't as many as the USA...
Get real - we've done very well as a country - and if Wayne Swan has ridden on the coat tails of Peter Costello, so be it. The money was put by "for a rainy day" wasn't it. Would you have preferred Mr Swan sit back like Johnny Howard and do nothing, and rub his hands together and claim that money was for "another rainy day"???
El Guapo:
bitter your poster boy never got this gong? I don't love Swan but Labour was at the helm whwne the GFC hit not Howard or Costello.
Peter Costello and Howard never gave credit to Hawk and Keating and the reforms they did during the 80's and 90's. Oh yeah and JW Howard was treassurer to Frasser and he never got this award, maybe because the interest rates under Howard as ran as high as 21%, or the fact that they did not have the ability to negotiate with all the parties involved to intorduce changes to legislation.
Well Done Mr Treasurer, Wayne Swan, I guess it is true he has managed the job well. However it is up to his colleges to implement the policies well. eg the insulation installations went badly wrong so you can get good economic outcomes but Society can still suffer if the policies are implemented with too much speed and not enough regulation.
Did the insulation go badly wrong? 1.1 million homes benefitted by that sheme. Before you talk about house fires, isn't funny no house fire have been blamed on the insulation since the scheme was halted which made a failure rate of 0.0002%.
jaydubya:
No offence, but is ANYONE who is involved in money in Europe these days to be believed? Just look at the state its finances are in. I doubt if this "award" means anything.
Thank you BHP:
A more realistic accolade would be given to the Howard Government for leaving billions for him to fritter away and the coal industry for providing a river of gold for him to fritter away as well. Great Treasurer? greatest debt EVER !
Only because they taxed and taxed and taxed, then did nothing but got involved in two illegal wars and ruined the national health system. Under Howard/Costello the country stagnated, infrastructure suffered, living standards went down and these are the nice things anyone can say about them.
They reduced taxes, year in and year out, then had a large surplus and started a futures fund. Labor can only think about adding new taxes. You must be standing on your head, if that is your perspective.
Didn't costello implement Keating's reforms and then added all his taxes on top of that?
I think you'll find the award is based on decisions Swann has made.. not based on the strength of the economy - although that is implicitly a consideration
GRF:
Euro funny-money; well, at least they still have a sense of humor!
Mike:
Pretty much says it all about the state of global finances is the inept Swan can be the top finance minister.
Haha , this surely has to be some kind of a joke. Property prices are falling , peoples super and retirement savings are dwindling away and retail shops like mine are struggling and cutting staff. Yeah I guess his doing a fantastic job!
TPG:
You mean the "boomers" are losing out to people looking to buy a home?
Over inflated house prices and advantage because of age?
Small businesses that rely on "government hand-outs" subsidies for employing people then pressure them out 3 months later. can't compete with the "big boys" Coles/Woolworths.Bunnings?
Pal, you should have become an electrician, plumber or bathroom installer tiler plenty of cash-in-hand?
Superannuation, people have a choice to move theri money when they think it is best...I did?
LK:
Joey, you do realise that most people are buying online now> because they dont want to pay the over inflated prices that the retail shops choose to charge?
Well you would not know going by media reports and by the opposition here in Australia , that we are so well off compared to the rest of the world. Well done Wayne , you listened to and acted on good advice. This really blows the Liberal " Labor are no good with money " rant out of the water. I read the report from Euro Money from a link in Crikey , well worth reading the 6 pages.
Reformed Messiah :
As an individual unlucky enough to have left school during a recession in the 80's and then to be unemployed during the recession of the 90s I would like to congratulate the government for helping us avoid the GFC inspired global recession. The price of these things are paid by the young school leavers and this government has rescues the working life of numerous young people. Well done.
Trump:
A ringing endorsement of the Howard Govts legacy so even the Socialst looters coudn't stop us getting through the GFC.
Also thanks the BHP and the miners for keeping us going.
Wayne Swan only takes the credit for circumstances that are despite him not because of him.
Actually, as Treasury pointed out to the Senate, the mining sector was one of the few parts of the economy that DID lapse into recession and lay off workers en masse. But no doubt you think that Treasury is biased or something...
If you're suggesting the mining industry is not so important you're wrong.
They are one of the main reasons we kept going, now Gillard wants to tax them for being so successful.
Labor has had the superior economic management mantle for some time now, certainly ever since the GFC, this is just the international community acknowledging that fact.
The stimulus was the correct thing to do.
Congrats Wayne.
Congrats to all involved who have helped keep our economy strong.
gee:
Thank goodness Costello left the finances in such good shape.
Costello had to do a lot of hard work to get the books back in order after a labor government.
Swanny had good books and bottom lines to work with from the start.
Howard and Costello did the thing "conservatives' do...nothing!
Not even asking the 83% foreign owed mining companies for "crumbs" yes, not even the "can I have more please, sir?
That let Australia Inc with much to do...infrastructure worth more than $60 Billion...but they were doing just fine as all "conservatives do"!
OUB :
You do not seem to appreciate that sometimes doing nothing is the best course to follow. Not that I'm agreeing that Costello or Howard did nothing. Too many seem to need the reassurance of seeing their politicians vigorously working the levers, even as they strip the gears.
As for mining companies being 83% foreign owned, I think you are misinformed. Or deluded. Or fibbing.
nutral:
The government has managed to waste a lot of money such as the pink vets program, the schools hall program and so on. Ironically, even though they failed miserably, more economic activity had to occur to help clean up the wasted public money. I mean think about the pink vet, first you get tradies to install the insulation, than you need tradies to remove it.
Ofcourse, our economy does indeed ahve the mining boom but for us to fully prosper from it we will need the rent tax,. These natural resources are only in the ground once, they are not replenishable so when they are gone, they are gone.
Wane Swan's $ 900 stimulus was in some ways a waste of money. It would have been better to put that money in new projects so more jobs would be created ie: accumulation of wealth. THere was also every chance that this money was not spent IN Australia thanks to the internet age.
acnjim, you can not claim taht Wane Swan does not have credentials, he has spent years working in this field and is indeeda former " professional economist" otherwise he would not ahve the job.
I suppose it is possible that the $900 saved some jobs in retail. Unfortunately it only postponed the problem - the jobs are going now.
custard:
This award from the same magazine that also thought Paul Keating was the worlds best treasurer. You can't be serious.
Indeed, the only people in the world other than Keating himself who thought he was the world's best Treasurer were the editors of Euromoney magazine! An award from them is more likely thew kiss of death than an honour from respected financial scribes.
pat on the beach:
I can just imagine all those Abbott goons blowing steam at this well deserved recognition. It puts a lie to all the coalition claims that have been spewed relentlessly with the sole intention of decieving the australian public. Obviously the international community is not fooled by any of it. I wonder what kind of award motormouth Hockey would be recognised for?
Again the tories will con the press that this bad news for Australia and the murdoch press will simply refuse to acknoweldge it, because it doesn't suit its opinionated polical agenda.
okadave:
At last, some recognition for what Labour did for Australia, in a hurry, in very adverse global conditions.
All the carping about wastage from the school halls and pink batts programs and others.
Wastage that was shown by a subsequent enquiry to be less than 10%.
SO WHAT? The money still circulates. The contractors got the money. They spent it. The next persons got the money, they spent it. Round and round it goes, oiling the machinery of the econony, keeping us all confident enough in each other's ability to pay bills, so keeping things going.
Well done Wayne (with Kevin07 and Bob(senate) to be fair).
When's the last time a coalition treasurer did anything so significant for Australia? NEVER! Costello and Howard presided over mostly boom economic conditions, and left us with crumbling infrastructure.
The only place they'd spend money was in tax cuts for their mates.
It took a Labour government to give tax cuts only at the low end of the tax scale. (which benefits everyone evenly)
We may not like some of the things labour does occasionally, but at least they try and do something for Australians, unlike the always do-nothing "no no no" coalition.
D Donaldson:
Swanny best treasurer?This has got to be a joke right!
One thing I have noticed in the past is that lefties are very good at patting each other on the back for failure.
Swan inherited a strong economy thanks to Howard and Costello,and would not have been in the position to implement his so called stimulas package without it.
And now we have a 200 billion debt to pay off.If it wasnt so serious it would be laughable!!!!!
Pete W:
You have got to be kidding!!! This guy inherited a great economic position, tried his best to wreck it and was only saved by the fact we have lots of natural resources that the the Chinese really want. Surely there were better finance ministers that managed their economies in a more competent way?
Turns out that actual economists think not. Perhaps you need to reevaluate some of your assumptions?
Lopez:
Praise coming from debt addled Europe, high praise indeed!
Well I think it is imortant to remember that every one of Swann's decisions were opposed by the Liberals.
Seems to me that the BER, cash handouts and infrustructure spending were all good decisions in the end.
Would be interesting to see modeling of the Australian economy had we done what Abbott/Turnbull/Hockey/Bishop were suggesting..
To all those that actually believe this, can you please provide 5 key economic reforms that Swan has introduced that has saved this country from a recession due to the GFC.
I suppose the implication being that only "key reforms" are worthy of recognition.
Here's the only piece of reality I need: While much of the world has sunk into recession, under Swan's watch Australia has not.
And the interesting bit? No "key economic reforms" needed. Just foresight, coupled with sound financial and risk management strategies; the very one's opposed by Abbott, Hockey et al.
Felix:
The award should be renamed as inheriting the best economy.
An award from a European banking magazine - not exactly on top of the finance game are they...
Funny how our other 'world's best' racked up massive debt as well. Maybe that's what gets Europeans excited? ;-)
He's probably already updated his CV... *sigh*
spark:
Was he the only nomination??
Congratulations Wayne, you have a lot of supporters !! Knockers on the comments page here seem to overlook the fact that at any given time Swan could have made very different choices about managing incoming financial meteors, and is not simply riding on the back of the Howard government. Concur with others about the highly divisive role of The Australian news group in the broader perception of treasury.
kali:
If a few more Australians had the opportunity to be on the outside looking in, they would realise how well Australia is regraded internationally. Of course we are fortunate to have our resources which are in demand but despite all the angst, we have done well and the Treasurer is entitled to take some credit for this.
Its a bit like the asylum seeker issue. While we as a nation rip ourselves apart over this issue, from a distance, it is a storm in a teacup, compared with what other countruies are dealing with.
margaret :
Well done Swannie!
Too bad that those on the Right can't even give credit where it is due. Strange to me that they slavishly follow the Republican party line, without being the least aware of the realities in the U.S.
Americans are being carried to hell in the Republican handbasket, which is paralysing the U.S., and making ANY economic reforms impossible.
Instead of being thrilled that Australia is managing to keep it's head above water, the Liberals want to bring the same impasse here, only to save their own skins, and cushy government perks!
For heaven's sake, the Liberals are opposing their own refugee policy, now that Labor supports it, just so they can say "NO!" Who do they think they are fooling?!
Merlin 23:
Keating - yes.
Swan - no. I mean how friggin hard is to spend a $45b surplus . . . .
Burningfeetman:
Does this mean that we all get given another $900 again?
Chris243:
Early last year Gillard said that Australia's economy would be at full capacity in the second half of this year. At the time I thought it was comical. Now that Wayne Swan has been awarded Treasurer of the year, it looks like Australia is being run by a circus. Look out Australia your on borrowed time. The Australian economy is a long way south from being at full capacity.
What you think he did it on his own? What about all the advisors and staff underneath him - they are the ones that should get the credit - and never do.
dreamland:
Poor right wing whingers. It is only ever a good thing when the conservatives get accolades. If the departments get the credit then "stopping the boats" had nothing to do with Howard and Howard /Costello stockpile of cash was not their doing either. Question: If the fund build up was such a great thing, why are we requiring so much infrastructure investment now? Its our money and shuld be spent on us and for future generations. Tax the miners, put a price on carbon - that is the future need. And for goodness sake, no more pictures of Tony the factory worker !!!
RobS:
Well done, Mr. Swan! You've held your nerve, stayed the course and managed a difficult set of circumstances well. And, you
had more than a bit of luck on your side. But, sadly, Messrs. Abbott/Hockey will probably find some
sort of sarcastic rubbish to fling in response to your well-deserved moment of recognition.
Well done Mr Swan.
And it was gracious of you to acknowledge the efforts of past governments and the millions of Australians who have helped to make this award to Australia possible.
Now, if only those opposite could be a little more gracious in acknowledging good work when it has been done.
MJ of Perth:
Maybe he should be named the luckiest treasurer...no mention of the strength of the economy when he stumbled into this job...
and as for the $42B handout and the failure of the school buildings...the judges must be from currently failing economies...
"the failure of the school buildings..."
Endlessly repeating a lie does not make it true.
LORD TOAD:
Australia is a social laboratory. The boy has done well with your money.
steggie:
Just goes to show that you can't believe everything that you read in the press.
Mr Swan is in coalition with the Greens - have you seen the Greens economic policies?
Who would have thunk it?
What great news - to be recognised by the rest of the world - I mean - Australia is hardly noticed for anything else, is it?
A good job well done, Wayne (and of course to the Treasury staff). This is a pat on the back for you, and for Kevin Rudd, and of course for Julia Gillard, and not forgetting the other Minister at the time (Finance) Lindsay Tanner (who is no longer in the Parliament).
And - to Mr Joe Hockey and Mr Tony Abbott - well, what can we say - NA NA NANA NAHHH.....! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!!!!!
Marrow Master:
Well done Wayne Swan:
Now for the real test:
Will this award go to his head?
Will Hockey and Joyce have the good grace to say well done?
How will Keating regard this?
How will Peter Costello regard this?
My Answers are 1) I do not know - let us find out and act accordingly. 2) I doubt it 3) I suspect Keating will
say nothing 4) I think Peter Costello will try to say something and nobody will bother to ask him.
What did Mr Swan have to do with it. I praise the economists in Treasury and the Reserve Bank who developed the policies he followed. Australia is run by the Public Service not by come and go politicians.
M. Dhanasekar:
Wayne Swan is one of the decent and honest Politcians; he richly deserves the honour - hearty congratulations, Hon. Swan!!
John Oh:
I suppose amongst a bunch of world treasurers whose economy are losers, a country whose economy is held together by iron ore, coal and gas and selling it to the soon to be the most polluting country in the world, while claiming we are virginal in our attempt in cleaning up Australia, its a bit of a miracle, rather than an honest atttempt at being the worlds best treasurer.
Going into billions of dollars of debt a stamp of approval?
WOW Alan Bond was going well too! Too bad he ran out of time...as we could do!
Ah yes the CARBON TAX, a tax built on a revenue raising idea, with help from the UN. The banks love it, as do all the other hangers on.
Its a circus with untrained clowns running the economy.
If youve ever had ideas of going into Parliament, now is the time. YOU cant do any worse!
Well you can actually.
Direct action is by the accounts of economists a much more expensive less effective way of reducing our carbon emissions than is the ETS. But never let a dose of reality get in the way of your ideology.
I wonder if the Murdoch anti-Labor newspapers & their other news outlets will properly report this, if they censor or hide it in a back page somewhere? All the hysterical & misleading crap they wrote about Mr Swan & the government's successful stimulus programs during the GFC, were always front page news. They basically blamed the govt. for any fires & deaths that occurred during that time; which were nothing to do with them - & were statistically less than the normal rate in the industry. They put every house fire & every death of a worker, (at times caused by dangerous & incorrect installation techniques), as front-page news over many months, & all laid it all at the feet of the government. (If these news services actually cared about worker's deaths, where were the front page stories of all the other people killed in the building & the home insulation industry since that time?) The school halls program was a resounding success, & most schools benefited greatly from it. Only a minority had problems, & that was caused by individual's dishonesty. Not something that can be predicted or prevented. Yet the tiny minority with problems were also blaring front page news stories over many months. Not a thing written about the majority of successes, & the schools that were delighted with their new facilities, though.
Getting such prestigious international recognition will probably barely register a blip in the hate-media's negative campaign to get rid of this government. It just goes to show that the main problem with this government, isn't so much that they are doing a lot wrong, but that they are simply unable to get what they're doing, fairly reported by a media, which has such concentrated ownership, & which has turned what are supposed to be news services, into a propaganda outlet; which seeks control over our country, through cynical, dishonest reporting under the guise of news, in order to manipulate public opinion.
Gollygosh:
You are so right, Fran.
Interesting how you can turn this into a diatribe about the News Ltd papers. Is it the God-given duty of all media to be as pro-Labor biassed as The Age and the ABC? You obviously think bias comes from only one direction.
Do you think this might have something to do with the NBN that at a blow would sink news limited's pay tv empire? Self interest is always running and in this show the Australian public are being fed bull about a government because of it. People with a bit of foresight understand that the best interests of news limited are not by default the best interests of Australia. The rest vote coalition.
Mr Swan richly deserves this award. As a politician, you are often faced with the difficult choice between listening to experienced public servants and other advisors, or kow-towing to the radio shock jocks and foreign media moghuls. When the GFC hit, just about every other finance minister in the developed world listened to the shock-jocks and adopted 'austerity measures' to 'cut the deficit'. Swan ignored the trend and listened instead to those who knew. As a result, we had 'The Stimulus', which kept economic activity bouyant and kept tax revenues flowing in. This took a lot of courage. The opposition and the shock jocks had a full armoury of weasel words at their disposal: "debt" "deficit" "big-spending-big-taxing Labor government" etc etc. Swan did the right thing and stuck to his guns. Thanks to Swans courage, we have low unemployment, robust economic growth and a federal budget that is showing every sign of returning to surplus as promised. It is also worth noting that the only other Australian treasurer to receive this honour was Paul Keating, who also showed considerable courage and determination in introducing a series of radical reforms in the eighties, that laid the foundations for our economic performance through the nineties and noughties. It is also notable that Peter Costello, who coasted along on a bouyant economy and squandered the proceeds of the first "resources boom" on electorally popular but economically disastrous middle-class welfare, was not honoured in a similar fashion. Obviously, this award is no popularity contest. You need to show a bit of backbone.
Johno:
Well done Swanny. Because of you and your Goverment,I my wife and my 2 kids still have fulltime employment,
and are paying 2% less on our mortgage than we were paying under Howard/Costello. Abbot, Hockey, Robb,
tried to block everything you put in place, which says alot about the negativity, and scare mongering from
the opposition since 2009.
Wayne Swan named best finance minister. Hilarity ensues.
This is genuinely funny. Imagine Wayne being the last Treasurer standing! He got the award because of Australia's good fortune in being a major supplier to an expanding China and for being dumb enough to follow the IMF's advice without question, on Kevin Rudd's instructions. The IMF's 'let's all gather in a circle and stimulate at the same time' cookie cut advice was indeed adhered to. The same IMF today has declined to give further advice on cleaning up the debt mess - you're on your own boys, every country must decide according to its own circumstances but austerity measures will slow future growth. This wasn't foreseen??? Heaven help us all.
Oh well, I may as shut my eyes tightly and find a blind man to guide me. Join the happy throng.
Penny:
All those who say we 'lost millions' through the building education scheme need to have a look around and note the new buildings in Government and Non-Government schools. Perhaps in the Eastern States that is true. We are in WA and in the suburbs around us we see new school halls, library buildings and other facilities covered by the grants. For the first time in donkeys' years some of the very old schools are looking good, surely, others must have noticed.
I heard some time ago that whenever these school buildings are officially opened, the Libs turn up first in the queue to be there, as if it's all down to them.
Tell me when the last time was that poor OLD Government schools got anything from the other lot
Mog57 :
Well Done Mr Swan!
Out of the conservative rhetoric comes the real story.
According to the inept Hockey, Abbott and Robb, Wayne Swan, Australian Federal Treasurer now since 2007 does not cut it,
perhaps they should pull their heads in and lets have a proper conversation in Australia.
Not the spin and the weasel words effectively demonstrated by Abbott on the ABC's 7.30 last night, the real picture in Australia.
Well, we truly are a Nation of Knockers!
Congratulations to Mr Swan and his Team!!
International recognition is of more consequence than the comments of a few dyed-in-the-wool Liberal supporters.
I guess it is not the first time an economics illiterate has received this sort of unjustified praise, probably wont be the last. When the Chinese bubble bursts it may well be a different scenario. Hang on to your hats everyone!
Pansy:
Congratulations Mr. Swan. What mean spriritedness from the Liberals. Just Shameful. The Treasurer has been very fair and praised both former Governments and the people of Australia as well. All I can see is thank goodness Mr. Swan is our Treasurer and not Mr. Hockey. Who are the best economic managers. Labor!
Jonno:
Be interesting to see how the Treasurer would be rated by employees in manufacturing and retail areas.
The damage going on in these sectors is huge and might not be able to be reversed.
Can't help but think anyone, including the opposition could have had a winning candidate if they were in power during the same time.
I know people have already pointed out the resources boom but it really has saved our collective arses.
The governments spending/stimulus programs have not always been well conceived or executed, if they had been then maybe Swan could be inter-gallactic treasurer of forever...
The professionals in Treasury and the Reserve Bank are the experts who should be congratulated not a untrained politician.
So I guess the same lack of credit also applies to Costello and Howard, both of whom trained in law, not economics.
Unlike those two, Swan did actually do some formal study of economics during his degree.
jaycee:
After all the insults from the right-wing , you couldn't even let through one little "Hip, Hip Hooray" for Mr. Swann!!....miserable little...
Wayne Swan spends $154 Billion more than revenue and is named British finance magazine Euro-money's 'Finance Minister of the Year'. Back in 1984 Paul Keating won the same title and by 1986/87 Australian inflation had climbed above 9% pa and home loan rates had risen to 17% pa. It is not a good sign!
And in Howard's time as treasurer (uncapped) interest rates went over 20%.
Your point is?
One of the commercial channels debated this, this morning. They said "What about Peter Costello? Surely he was our greatest treasurer".
My answer to that would be Mr Costello Sold the farm, (Telstra etc) at bargain basement prices, and claimed heroism for having money in the bank. At least Mr Swann kept us in jobs without selling anything.
In the case of Telstra, I am told that the quick buck gained selling it would have been paid to the government via the dividend anyway just prior to the change of government.
So in the end we ended up with no farm and no more dividend. I wouldn't call that smart business.
Mr Costello would have been better to do nothing and the income to the government would be the same and the tax payers would still "own the farm."
yys:
21 Sep 2011 12:30:39pm
Fact is the Howard Costello government got rid of all the previous Labor governments bad debt.
Fact is the Howard Costello government made sensible reforms like like the GST, introduced good financial regulations,
Fact is the Howard Costello government left a surplus and thangoodness they did as otherwise Mr Swan would not be having his 5 minutes of sunshine.
If there had not been a bank of money from the Coalition
Swans giverment would not have had their plasma fantasy nor their various Revolutions - of Education and Building
Swan & Co were not content to stop at giving what we had in the bank , no they have left the cupboards bare with debt .
No wonder they love the promise of revenue from the Carbon Tax.
Thankgoodness Hockey and Robb can get it sorted out again soon- hopefully
Now that will be smart business in action.
Briano:
It would appear that a number of those who are praising Swan are the same people who continually denigrate the Liberals financial performance, (and suplus), as a bit of luck created on the back of the resources boom. Well I've got news for you, the only boom in our economy currently is from the same source, so Swan must also be riding the back of the current resources boom, because there's not much else happening out there at the moment, (other than a shrinking manufacturing sector). Oh, and he doesn't have a surplus either.
JJJ:
I thought all this was in response to the 'hissy fit' by 'that woman over there in finance - - -' who gave our market a bump yesterday. Well, that's how it struck me.
gus kohn:
of course Europe is socialist inclined. Take for example Merkel in Germany ,Sarkozy in France, Cameron in Great Britain.Oops!
Now come on, how serious is this award? I mean, the only other Australian Treasurer to be so recognised by this magazine was Paul Keating ... the man who gave us the "recession we had to have". That's the same Paul Keating who, by the time his period as Treasurer and Prime Minister came to an end, left Australia with the largest government debt in its history.
Yet Peter Costello, the man who cleaned up Keating's mess, and left Wayne Swan with the surplus he could spend (poorly) during the GFC to help make him look good, was never so recognised. I suppose that, given Europe's seeming predeliction with crippling national debt, it's no surprise this European magazine who award a finance minister most akin to their own inept financial leaders.
It is the joke of the 21st Century. Laughable accolade. I cannot imagine those who have chosen him were day dreaming when they acted as the did
Malcolm Fowler:
If Wayne Swan is the best financial manager in the world then it is easy to see why global finances are in such a predicament
Bendaddy:
Well I'd never heard of this trashy little rag mag Euromoney but now I understand why. They've GOT to be kidding!?! They award him for "careful stewardship of Australia's finances and economic performance." What a joke!! It's really not that hard to spend our entire budget surplus and rack up more on the national credit card on one massive idiotic spending spree.
I didn't see him advocating spending the money wisely at all!! If theyd spent it properly, we could be still seeing the fruits now. I liken Swans stimulus to throwing spare fuel on the fire as opposed to putting it in a chainsaw to cut more wood for the fire, and generate long term benefits.
Now we have a second wave of the GFC looming what is he and his simian colleagues going to do now?
How can you give him an award for being the treasurer of a country with massive mineral resources. Absolutely pathetic Euromoney, thoroughly undeserved, and it shows how out of touch you are with reality.
Ken Brennan:
Not with standing the relevance of Tony Abbott always saying no; this is a gong for Australia on our Economy and all things that make it work, so it goes to the Treasurer at the helm! So commentators should remember- steering is saying on course, not what makes a ship or anything else for that matter!!
David Perth:
I don't know why we don't seem to be able to take the acknowledgement that goes with this type of recognition.
Worse was Fran Bailey this morning on Radio National making supercilious comments about Wayne Swan and the award. When she finally got to interviewing Wayne Swan about it, his first acknowledgement was to the people of Australia who had worked hard to make this achievement.
Its time members of our press grew up a bit and start providing more analysis behind the news.
economics student:
Seems everyone posting on this has no understanding of economic theory. Seriously it should take you more than 50 hours research for all of the opinions expressed here. Join the fight against ignorance. FAI.
Logical:
21 Sep 2011 1:25:34pm
Since when does being given a "cerificate of participation" make anyone the `world's best' anything? Swan may be many things but a "Treasurer" he ain't.
Australians told to reconsider travel to China over coronavirus fears
From fish market to global epidemic: How the coronavirus outbreak unfolded (photos)
SPORT Folau back in the game thanks to French rugby league team — but he's on notice
'I wouldn't fly on a Dreamliner': Ex-Boeing quality manager doesn't consider the planes airworthy
Netanyahu indicted on corruption charges as US prepares to unveil new Mideast peace plan
UK defies US warning on Huawei, allowing role in 5G network
Sport Australia complained to Minister about political interference in grants scheme
Defence helicopter believed to have sparked bushfire to south of Canberra
SPORT Tennis greats call for Margaret Court Arena to be renamed after Evonne Goolagong Cawley
Rain but no monsoon — what's going on?
Boy and father dead, mother in serious condition after camping accident
SPORT 'I don't deserve this one': Federer ready to be skiing in Switzerland before storming back to win quarter-final
Emergency bushfire in Perth's south, residents told to evacuate
No evidence of sex attack on Jane Rimmer, Claremont trial told (photos)
Solar no longer 'a licence to print money' (photos)
Impeachment pressure ramps up on Republicans after new Bolton book bombshell
'No-one was aware': The phone call that ended one family's dream holiday
'A shocking indictment': This data reveals the police response to 140,000 sexual assault reports
Analysis: We would need 3.4 Earths if everyone had my lifestyle. Here's how to check your score
SPORT 'I'm not ready but here I go': LeBron joins in tributes to Kobe as Lakers game postponed
Analysis: The future of coal has already been decided in boardrooms around the globe
Africa has most of the world's under-reported humanitarian crises. Here's why you should care
Parental leave gap for preemie families
By national education and parenting reporter Conor Duffy
When babies are born prematurely, parents are often living in limbo. And some argue the inflexible parental leave system can make matters worse.
It's shaping up to be a dismal year for the economy
There's unlikely to be a lift in wage growth or economic growth and no progress on unemployment in a year of low expectations.
How multi-level marketing impacts friendships
By Kellie Scott
Members of multi-level marketing businesses often rely on existing relationships for sales and recruitment.
Analysis: What made Kobe great
Plenty of great players have passed through the NBA, but the sadness and shock Kobe Bryant's death has elicited speaks to a global force who was more than an athlete.
From fish market to global epidemic: How the coronavirus outbreak unfolded
Folau back in the game thanks to French rugby league team — but he's on notice
Tennis greats call for Margaret Court Arena to be renamed after Evonne Goolagong Cawley
WA 'free from coronavirus' after suspected patients return negative test results
No evidence of sex attack on Jane Rimmer, Claremont trial told
Remote NT health clinic placed under special administration after threats of violence
'Spectrum of severity': Who's at risk from coronavirus, and how does it spread?
We would need 3.4 Earths if everyone had my lifestyle. Here's how to check your score
The future of coal has already been decided in boardrooms around the globe
She had to fight, but Ash Barty battles to Australian Open semi-final for the first time
Even in defeat, Kyrgios gave us a glimpse of a player who cares
Despite the promises, was this new airport and rail project ever going to get off the ground?
Is Ash Barty the best thing to happen to Australian sport?
Kobe inspired the next generation of stars, but the one he wanted to succeed the most now never will
In their first chance to defend the President, Donald Trump's team leave after two hours
Star Trek offers the beacon of hope that we need in 2020
Strangers have written themselves into a foreign land they now call their own


text:
Archives for posts with tag: Robin Williams
"Night at the Museum" (2006) is a perfectly harmless, somewhat entertaining movie that promotes father-son bonding, history appreciation, museums and reading. Ben Stiller stars as the museum night watchman who learns that history really can come alive. For some reason, Stiller carries an aura of unlikeability in many of his movies, and this is one of them. It's too bad, because supporting characters Robin Williams (Teddy Roosevelt) and Owen Wilson (cowboy) are a lot of fun. It's a kids/families movie, so there's lots of physical humor and some ham-fisted jokes that make you groan. But like I said, it's harmless.
Tags Ben Stiller, Bill Cobbs, Carla Gugino, Charlie Murphy, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, movie reviews, Night at the Museum, Owen Wilson, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, Steve Coogan, Teddy Roosevelt
Nine Months
No man who possesses functioning testicles should ever watch "Nine Months" (1995). Ever. I'm serious. It might be the chickiest chick flick of all time. Possibly banned in Russia for being blatant propaganda for Whipped Nation, starring Hugh Grant and his ridiculous, girl-looking Supercuts hairdo. The plot is Every Woman's Dream: She gets pregnant; he throws away his life and cuts off his nuts. Other hijinks ensue, but that's not important. This movie's only reason for being is to perpetuate female delusions. Too bad, really, because Julianne Moore was totally hot. And, strangely, so was a buff, tan Jeff Goldblum.
Tags chick flicks, Hugh Grant, Jeff Goldblum, Joan Cusack, Julianne Moore, movie reviews, Nine Months, Robin Williams, Tom Arnold
A Merry Friggin' Christmas
"A Merry Friggin' Christmas" (2014) was one of Robin Williams' last movies. I know you might feel guilty about not liking it, but that's OK, because this movie isn't that good. (I can imagine the conversation that went on in some Hollywood development meeting: "Picture 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' meets 'Christmas Vacation.' It's pure gold, I tell ya!") So anyway, the guy from "Community" stars as the prodigal son of a dysfunctional family, of which Williams is the foul-mouthed, boozy patriarch. Cliched Christmas hijinks ensue. Road movie hijinks ensue. Sloppy plot construction and awkwardly staged family melodrama ensue. Sorry, Robin.
Tags A Merry Friggin' Christmas, Candice Bergen, Christmas Vacation, Community, Joel McHale, Lauren Graham, movie reviews, Oliver Platt, Planes Trains and Automobiles, road movies, Robin Williams

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Stoopid Buddy Stoodios » A Visit from Sesame the Opossum!
We've had a fair share of interesting characters mosey on through the halls of Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, but before today, our opossum count was at a staggering ZERO!
Well that all changed when Sesame the Opossum, perhaps the most famous opossum on Instagram, nosed his way into the Stoodio and got the grand tour! While most of our guests like to look in awe at everything we create at the Stoodio, Sesame put most of his efforts in finding a place to nap… another Stoodio first!
Sesame, you're welcome back anytime. Mama Possum could always use an Opossum to keep her company.


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