Quick, bump up the immigration rate, pump up the first home buyers grant, give Holden and Ford some more money....We can still be the enviable economy of the world !!


Quote:

State close to recession VICTORIA is on the brink of recession and South Australia and Tasmania are already in one, as the high dollar, high interest rates and government spending cuts slowed Australia's economic growth in the December quarter to just 0.4 per cent. A day after Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens left interest rates on hold, telling Australians that growth was ''close to trend'', the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that growth in the year to December slowed to 2.3 per cent. Even in the six months to December, annualised growth was just 2.5 per cent. Virtually all of the growth was in the coal and iron ore states of Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania all went backwards. The figures came as Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson revealed that federal and state revenues are now in crisis, with tax collections down by 4 per cent of GDP - almost $60 billion a year - and unlikely to return to former levels ''for many years to come''. He warned of more pain ahead, saying: ''For both levels of government, surpluses are likely to remain at best razor-thin without deliberate efforts to significantly increase revenue or reduce expenditure.'' Dr Parkinson blamed the revenue collapse partly on tax breaks for mining. He revealed that mining companies earn about 20 per cent of all corporate profits, but pay only about 10 per cent of all corporate taxes, thanks to their huge deductions for depreciation. Yesterday's figures show that in the first half of 2011-12, company tax collections rose just 1 per cent year-on-year. Last May the federal budget papers forecast an increase of 29 per cent. If the gap persists, it implies a revenue loss of $16 billion a year. The bureau said state governments' revenue across Australia rose just 1 per cent in the first half of the financial year, while their spending rose 5.4 per cent. The state revenue collapse - mainly due to the slump in house prices - turned a combined surplus for the states of $4.15 billion a year ago into a deficit of $500 million. The Baillieu government is implementing deep spending cuts to keep its budget in balance, cutting 3600 public sector jobs. The Gillard government has told departments and agencies their budgets will be cut by 4 per cent next year, implying thousands more jobs lost. Treasurer Wayne Swan said that the poor revenue and weak growth figures would force the government to make ''significant'' spending cuts and/or revenue increases in the May budget to achieve its goal of a budget surplus in 2012-13. ''There's no doubt that there'll have to be significant savings,'' he said. ''But we think we absolutely need to do it … to send a signal to the world that we're in good fiscal nick.'' Yesterday's figures show spending cuts are already dragging growth down. Cuts in state government investment wiped $2.5 billion off the nation's output for the December quarter, falling 15 per cent year-on-year as federal stimulus payments end and governments put off projects to stay in the black. Victoria was less affected than most. But in seasonally adjusted terms, the bureau estimates total spending in the Victorian economy fell 0.5 per cent in December, after growing just 0.1 per cent in the previous quarter. On its preferred trend measure, Victoria's bottom line fell marginally in the December quarter. Victoria, SA and Tasmania are being dragged down by the combination of a very high dollar, relatively high interest rates and government spending cuts. NSW is being kept going by coal investments, while WA and Queensland are booming. The bureau figures show a very sharp divide across Australia. Spending in Queensland, NT and WA combined grew 11.3 per cent year on year. In Victoria, NSW, SA, Tasmania and the ACT, combined spending grew by just 1.4 per cent. Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/state-close-to-recession-20120307-1ukme.html#ixzz1oVMzcvwc

That's interesting actually.

I was talking to one of our Australian heads yesterday who is over for the week.

His brother in law is in construction in Victoria and he said there are TWO sub-contracting companies going bust every single week in Melbourne.

He said all of the materials are coming across from China. The large glass companies like Pilkington are being total priced out of the market by the Chinese etc.

Large construction companies are pricing $0 for some projects - and then trying to make a margin on the side on the materials etc.

Also the larger companies are moving into the retail space because work is drying up in the corporate sector.
As a result the smaller guys in Melbourne are being priced out now in the retail sector as a result.

Scratch the surface and the Australian/Victorian economy - particularly in construction - is not in that good shape.

Was a very interesting convo where I learned a fair bit about how bad things are out there.

I posted about this here before.

Its insane. And the Reserve Banks refusal to drop rates and instead tell us we are doing ok is as insane as Swan aiming for a surplus. We may be  entering a recession we definitely don't need to have, and they are are trying to cut back on government spending?  ::)

Lower interest rates means a lower dollar, which is a good thing.

The surplus will get soaked up in no time paying out unemployment benefits.

Hoover tried to balance the books after the 1929 stock market crash.

Great man Ted, great man ;) just like our Barry, turned it all around.

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Mar 8^th, 2012 at 7:04pm:

That's interesting actually. I was talking to one of our Australian heads yesterday who is over for the week. His brother in law is in construction in Victoria and he said there are TWO sub-contracting companies going bust every single week in Melbourne. He said all of the materials are coming across from China. The large glass companies like Pilkington are being total priced out of the market by the Chinese etc. Large construction companies are pricing $0 for some projects - and then trying to make a margin on the side on the materials etc. Also the larger companies are moving into the retail space because work is drying up in the corporate sector. As a result the smaller guys in Melbourne are being priced out now in the retail sector as a result. Scratch the surface and the Australian/Victorian economy - particularly in construction - is not in that good shape. Was a very interesting convo where I learned a fair bit about how bad things are out there.

This is true.......my husband works in construction. There is NO work to price for medium companies.

Juliar's BER work killed the industry!!
Many State Govts gave the contracts to large multi-nationals. This meant that the usual medium companies that build schools etc were left out. Now there is no work in the public sector to quote and the few jobs around are being under quoted in order to win jobs.

Many construction companies are going broke or only just surviving.
This is happening in NSW, Victoria and SA
Insurance/flood repairs are keeping QLD afloat and WA is still on top.

beware wrote on Mar 8^th, 2012 at 9:53pm:

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Mar 8th, 2012 at 7:04pm: That's interesting actually. I was talking to one of our Australian heads yesterday who is over for the week. His brother in law is in construction in Victoria and he said there are TWO sub-contracting companies going bust every single week in Melbourne. He said all of the materials are coming across from China. The large glass companies like Pilkington are being total priced out of the market by the Chinese etc. Large construction companies are pricing $0 for some projects - and then trying to make a margin on the side on the materials etc. Also the larger companies are moving into the retail space because work is drying up in the corporate sector. As a result the smaller guys in Melbourne are being priced out now in the retail sector as a result. Scratch the surface and the Australian/Victorian economy - particularly in construction - is not in that good shape. Was a very interesting convo where I learned a fair bit about how bad things are out there. This is true.......my husband works in construction. There is NO work to price for medium companies. Juliar's BER work killed the industry!! Many State Govts gave the contracts to large multi-nationals. This meant that the usual medium companies that build schools etc were left out. Now there is no work in the public sector to quote and the few jobs around are being under quoted in order to win jobs. Many construction companies are going broke or only just surviving. This is happening in NSW, Victoria and SA Insurance/flood repairs are keeping QLD afloat and WA is still on top.

If the BER was aimed at fixing up existing old schools in desperate need of repair instead of building unnecessary structures for wealthy private schools then perhaps your husband would still be in a job, but that would have been too sensible an idea and not politically glamorous enough !!

nairbe wrote on Mar 8^th, 2012 at 7:51pm:

Great man Ted, great man ;) just like our Barry, turned it all around.

INDEED !




buzzanddidj wrote on Feb 19^th, 2012 at 9:54am:

buzzanddidj wrote on Feb 18th, 2012 at 3:12pm: Andrei.Hicks wrote on Jan 25th, 2011 at 10:03am: buzzanddidj wrote on Jan 25th, 2011 at 9:56am: But, BACK on topic ... LOL Back on topic? A 59 page personal meltdown following the belting of a poor Labor Government. The topic, my friend, is frightening ludicrous. Baillieu Government leading the nation  - on unemployment growth February 17, 2012 VICTORIA is taking the brunt of Australia's job losses. Official figures show a net 33,000 full-time jobs have been lost since April, equivalent to one in every 60 full-time positions in the state. Yesterday's bleak jobs data came as Qantas foreshadowed hundreds of job cuts and the possible closure of one of its two heavy maintenance depots at Avalon and Tullamarine, which together employ more than 1000 people. Nationally, the jobs figures have gone back to a zig-zag pattern. On a seasonally adjusted estimate, the Bureau of Statistics says Australia gained 46,000 jobs in January, after losing 41,000 in the previous two months. Seasonally adjusted, unemployment edged down to 5.1 per cent, but the bureau's figures show the big movement has been of people leaving the workforce altogether. In the past year, while unemployment has risen only marginally, the workforce participation rate has fallen by the equivalent of over 100,000 workers. Roughly half of those lost workers were in Victoria, where the seasonally adjusted figures reported another 15,000 full-time jobs lost in January. The bureau figures show a tale of two economies. In the past year Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory have added 44,000 full-time jobs, while the south-eastern states have lost 38,000 full-time jobs. http://www.theage.com.au/business/victoria-bears-brunt-of-job-cuts-20120216-1tbyt.html#ixzz1mht6b2yf Remember the "good old days" ? Quote: Victoria leads states in jobs growth Tim Colebatch November 12, 2010 VICTORIA has added more jobs over the past four years than any other state, with 278,000 more people in work than at the time of the last state election. Jobs figures released yesterday by the Bureau of Statistics show that Australia's buoyant jobs growth continued in October, with employers adding almost 30,000 jobs in seasonally adjusted terms. On the more reliable trend figures used to analyse state data, Victoria has added 95,000 jobs in the past year, with jobs growing 3.5 per cent in the state, compared with 3.2 per cent growth in the nation. Over the past four years, the bureau reports that Victoria has enjoyed the biggest jobs growth in the nation in absolute terms, and the third fastest growth behind the Northern Territory and Western Australia. ''Victoria is Australia's jobs engine room,'' Treasurer John Lenders declared. ''Not only have we achieved the 150,000 jobs target promised at the last election, we have created 138,000 more jobs than promised and more than any other state.'' http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victoria-leads-states-in-jobs-growth-20101111-17per.html [quote] Mr Baillieu himself said Victoria was in a good position, shortly after taking Government. "After he received his initial briefings from the Department of Treasury and Finance he came out and spoke to the media, this is back in December, and said that the state's finances were sound," he said. "[Mr Baillieu said] that the budget was in strong surplus and the finances were sound. "It now suits his political purposes to come and and invent and scaremonger about black holes. "There are no black holes." http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/09/3158794.htm The government did not inherit a budget deficit or hidden ''black holes'' http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/baillieu-breaks-promise-that-matters-20110309-1bnwe.html

[/quote]

buzzanddidj wrote on Mar 8^th, 2012 at 11:39pm:

Quote: Australia's jobs market is still flat. Jobs are growing strongly in Western Australia, but collapsing in Victoria. Victoria has lost 30,000 jobs since last April, while WA has added 30,000 ... more than 100,000 people who would normally be in the workforce have stopped looking for jobs, and hence don't count in the figures. Why? That's the real riddle in these figures, and no one can fully explain it. Most of the people dropping out live in NSW or Victoria But it wasn't happening a year ago. Read more:http://www.theage.com.au/business/jobs-riddle-hints-at-weakening-economy-20120308-1um2h.html#ixzz1oX0hHLWQ. http://itsamystery.com/itsamys07.jpg What COULD have happened to Victoria and NSW, in the past year or two - to bring on this "turnaround" ...  ?

27,000 jobs down the drain
Josh Gordon and Peter Martin
March 9, 2012.



VICTORIA has become the employment drain of the nation, shedding more than 1000 jobs a week since about the middle of last year.

As new figures showed Australia's unemployment rate had climbed from 5.1 to 5.2 per cent, it emerged that Victoria was bearing the brunt of the pain, shedding 27,700 jobs in six months to the end of February.


http://images.theage.com.au/2012/03/08/3109790/ipadWINNERSlosers_panel-420x0.jpg



Victoria's latest jobs figures were by far the worst in the nation - equivalent to an average of 1065 positions lost each week using the Bureau of Statistics' less volatile trend measure.

Trucking magnate Lindsay Fox suggested the political imperative for surpluses should not precede the need for better infrastructure to create wealth and boost employment.

''My biggest concern is by the end of the year we'll have probably one of the highest rates we've seen of unemployment for years,'' Mr Fox told The Age.


Labor's employment spokesman, Tim Pallas, said the latest figures should be a wake-up call for the government. ''Ted Baillieu might be a big man, but he is casting no shadow over this state's economy and he is putting at risk jobs due to his continued indolence as a Premier,'' he said.


The May budget forecast of 500,000 new jobs over two years now looks unrealistic.
Nine months into the forecast period only 7000 more Australians have been put into work


http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/27000-jobs-down-the-drain-20120308-1unbb.html#ixzz1oXEfFwD3