The Rudd Government last year splurged $10.4 billion on a package designed to stimulate the economy. After initially noting a rise in sales, unAustralian Of The Year nomination, Gerry Harvey, now reckons that sales are such that it’s like the stimulus “never happened.” (Mind you, it could just be the kind of rhetoric that makes it easier for Harvey to shut stores and shed jobs.)

In other news, Australia spends about $1,000 less per year, per public school student on buildings and equipment than Britain and the USA. For the relatively paltry sum of $2.2 billion per year we could bridge the gap and — dare I say? — start an education revolution that would deliver strong and positive long term benefits for this nation.

I don’t recall The Australian ever being this critical when the Howard government (peace be upon it) was busy slashing funding to welfare programs and public services:

Labor razor gang slashes carers’ bonus

LABOR will scrap annual bonuses of $1600 paid to carers as its budget razor gang carves deep into welfare programs to cut spending and curb inflation.

It will replace the payments with a higher utilities allowance but will leave the sick and disabled and their carers hundreds of dollars a year worse off.

But I’ll let that slide for the moment and say I agree that this announcement is disgraceful. Full-time carers have it tough enough as it is, and were barely supported under the previous government.

Wayne Swan, get your fucking act together. Or join the Liberals.

Senator Andrew Bartlett’s excellent guide to the budget: