There was no government in waiting in broke Queensland

Abbott's speech was a "gird the loins" rather than a call to arms. The difference is that Abbott is digging in, he knows that he lacks the common touch and indeed common sense in many respects, but there is no doubt in his resolve to do good.

There was a hint of, dare I say, the real Tony, with his plea: "We are on a journey, and we have to succeed."

He is dead right when he states that "our problem is not that taxes are too low; our problem is that government spending is too high".

He is also dead right in saying: "We can't wait for a crisis - like Europe - to address this problem because the solutions then will be much worse than the solutions today."

So what can the commonwealth do to cut spending?

I offer this cunning plan. Politicians cannot take lollies from voters but they can take them from government.

When the commonwealth sought to open the commonwealth's workers compensation scheme to national companies the main objection came from state trades hall officials; not so much the ACTU. Why? Because they would miss out on the spoils of committee work, commissions and the like.

It was the spokespeople's interest, not the workers, that dictated where politics was played.

Translate this observation to the fact the commonwealth funds schools, hospitals and universities, without running any. Should the commonwealth vacate these fields and transfer responsibility to the states and universities with a formula for funds, the spokes­people would scream bloody murder because they are set up to lobby Canberra, not because it may harm their constituency.

There are modest savings to the system from not having federal departments of education and health. The move sends a signal to the states that they are on their own. Give them pocket money and make them, and their electors, grow up.