Spin no cure for depression

In my opinion, it was not wise of the government to throw $10 billion into the economy just before Christmas. It smacked of panic.

There is an old military maxim, never commit your reserves until you know the strength of your enemy.

Rudd has thrown in the palace guard with little prospect of new recruits. He is going to have to introduce conscription: go into debt. There is nothing wrong with that except that he might have had $10 billion of real money to deploy judiciously on strategic targets when they presented themselves.

This panicked response is like pouring petrol on the dying embers of a campfire at dawn. The fire will certainly flair, but when it dies down there will be little left of it. Instead, he should have scouted around for some timber and gradually built the fire up again.

What is required is some leadership. Tell it like it is so that the rest of Australia can all make some timely and prudent decisions.

This is not a time for bureaucratic mumbling; this is a time to appeal to the strengths of the nation. Plain, clear headed, honest speech, of a type that Australians and their leaders were once noted for.

Rudd and the Labor Party need to take a leaf out of Barack Obama’s public presentation notebook.

If they don’t, in 12 months time, Malcolm Turnbull and his air of certainty will look a lot like authority and leadership. The deniers still have an edge, but for how long? And, when reality bites, how far will their fall from grace be?

Ask Nathan Rees; hell hath no fury like an electorate scorned.

Gird your loins, we are in for a tough few years but as a nation we will come out of it stronger, more cohesive, more efficient and more self-sufficient.