Labor senator breaks ranks on 'new economy'

[Matilda]

A bad day for the Prime Minister may have got worse, with Labor Senator Doug Cameron taking a swipe at what has become the Government's new mantra: the "new economy".

(snip)

"I don't like it because it doesn't seem to me as a new economy. It's a mining boom, in fact it's a mining bubble," he said.

"I'm sick and tired of hearing economists tell us that you've got to crowd out good jobs in manufacturing, crowd out good jobs in the finance sector, crowd out high-paid, high-skilled jobs because we've got a mining bubble.

"I just don't think it's a new economy. I think it's a very, very challenging economy."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-14/twt-cameron-breaks-ranks-on-27new-economy27/3829490

I have to agree with Sen. Cameron - my business is strongly reliant on advertising, and that's been in the doldrums since the GFC hit in 2008, and it hasn't recovered yet. In my experience, advertising has always been a very good guide to general business confidence, and I would say that right now, confidence is seriously lacking.

And any shopkeeper, small business owner, or taxi-driver, will tell you that the work isn't there. There is money out there, somewhere, as shown by our strong dollar, but it's not filtering through to either the middle-class workers or to those who are on the factory floor. Gillard has already caved in to pressure from the mining interests by watering-down the taxes to be levied via the mining tax, and it's time she got a backbone. The community needs to share in this boom while it's still happening.

I love Senator Cameron - long may he speak for us!

[Swagman]

1. and Rupert Murdoch's tabloids drove the case to lessen the mining tax

and destroyed Kevin Rudd in the process.

That's the same Rupert Murdoch whose UK tabloid The Sun is being investigated for bribing police and is now screaming : "who polices the police?"..seemingly oblivious to the irony !

[Matilda]

2. I wish the government didn't allow themselves to be spooked about returning the budget to surplus.

I doubt most people give a damn - they want regular work. Every country in the world is in deficit, and ours is one of the lowest, so they should focus on stimulating the economy – we still need it.

Yes, our dollar is strong, but that's mainly due to the resources boom, which is heavily dependent on China. But every day now, big companies are sacking more workers. Walk down any suburban street and you will see empty shops, often for a year or more.

I'd rather the government spent a little more supporting manufacturing industries that will keep things ticking over when the mining boom is over. I wish they would tell us the truth, as Senator Cameron is. But they don't dare, because the Murdoch press keeps trumpeting Abbott's inane ravings, and the dummies out there fall for it, and the government gets scared and lets Abbott call the shots.

We need another Paul Keating right about now, but meanwhile, Senator Cameron is the only one talking sense.

And we definitely need more media diversity.