{"id":192174,"date":"2025-10-05T21:02:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T21:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/192174\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T21:02:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T21:02:12","slug":"if-australians-want-nice-things-try-shunning-the-destructive-newsrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/192174\/","title":{"rendered":"If Australians want nice things, try shunning the destructive newsrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead\">The latest economic update strongly endorses Labor and repudiates the media-backed Coalition, as <a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/profile-on\/alan-austin,67\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Alan Austin<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n<p>IN APRIL 2022, the independent heads of Treasury and the Finance Department released their detailed pre-election <a href=\"https:\/\/treasury.gov.au\/sites\/default\/files\/2022-04\/pefo-2022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">report<\/a> on Australia\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n<p>They anticipated, based on the settings of the well-established Coalition Government, that over the next three fiscal years, deficits would total $181.5 billion and the gross debt would expand to $1,117.0 billion, well above a trillion dollars.<\/p>\n<p>That was fine by the Australian Financial Review (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.afr.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">AFR<\/a>) and most other mainstream newsrooms, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.9news.com.au\/national\/federal-election-2022-media-endorsements-scott-morrison-anthony-albanese\/09890317-45b3-4255-8473-55fab0b0bdf2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">endorsed<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aph.gov.au\/S_Morrison_MP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Morrison<\/a>-led Government for a fourth term.<br \/>Many of us in the alternative media monitoring economies in comparable countries were <a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/politics\/politics-display\/department-heads-give-worst-ever-economic-report-after-eight-coalition-years,16294\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">appalled<\/a> at that prospect and <a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/politics\/politics-display\/12-reasons-why-the-morrison-government-should-be-toast,16376\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">urged<\/a> a change of government.<br \/>We can now review the outcomes over those three years after voters defied the Financial Review, ABC News, the Murdoch newsrooms and others.<\/p>\n<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/article-display\/department-heads-give-worst-ever-economic-report-after-eight-coalition-years,16294\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/article-16294-thumb.jpg\" alt=\"Department heads give worst ever economic report after eight Coalition years\" class=\"w-100\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Electors resoundingly vindicated<\/p>\n<p>The Final Budget Outcome (<a href=\"http:\/\/archive.budget.gov.au\/2024-25\/fbo\/download\/00_fbo_2024-25.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">FBO<\/a>) for the 2024-25 year, released last week, overwhelmingly validates the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aph.gov.au\/a_albanese_mp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Albanese<\/a> Government.<\/p>\n<p>Federal revenue over the three years from 2022-23 to 2024-25 was $306.1 billion higher than the boffins forecast in April 2022. This followed Prime Minister Albanese\u2019s instructions to the tax office to go after the <a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/politics\/politics-display\/getting-away-with-murder-time-to-go-after-the-tax-evasion-sharks,18033\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">tax cheats<\/a> the Coalition had been protecting.<\/p>\n<p>Spending was marginally higher, but none had been wasted on rorts and rackets. It all went to community-building projects, including hospitals, medical clinics, roads, rail, the\u00a0National Disability Insurance Scheme\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndis.gov.au\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NDIS<\/a>) and higher incomes for workers and welfare beneficiaries.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of deficits deeper than $180 billion, those three budgets yielded net surpluses of $27.9 billion. Gross debt at June 2025 was just $928.6 billion \u2014 a thumping $188.4 billion lower than the Coalition was slated to inflict. The deficit was just $9.99 billion over the year to June.<\/p>\n<p>Coalition banished forever<\/p>\n<p>The FBO shows that if the Coalition hadn&#8217;t stacked on more than $600 billion in gross debt during its criminally incompetent regime, the budget would have been in surplus in 2024-25 \u2013 for the third straight year \u2013 and likely have remained so henceforward.<\/p>\n<p>If we revisit the six boom years between the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2008_financial_crisis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Global Financial Crisis<\/a> and the COVID downturn, from 2013-14 to 2018-19, we see that all well-managed advanced economies generated strong budget surpluses.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/norway\/government-budget\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Norway<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/germany\/government-budget\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Germany<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/luxembourg\/government-budget\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Luxembourg<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/kuwait\/government-budget\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kuwait<\/a> delivered six surpluses out of six. New Zealand, Denmark, Switzerland and Hong Kong delivered five. The Netherlands, Sweden, Iceland, Lithuania, Malta, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and even Greece delivered four.<\/p>\n<p>Australia\u2019s Coalition couldn\u2019t generate one surplus even under the most benign conditions. Had Australia not been saddled with the least competent economic managers in its history, all those deficits could have been surpluses.<\/p>\n<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/article-display\/australias-news-media-landscape-may-have-changed-forever,19754\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/article-19754-thumb.jpg\" alt=\"Australia's news media landscape may have changed forever\" class=\"w-100\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Then, if the Coalition had only squandered 2% of GDP in 2020-21 during the COVID downturn instead of an appalling 5.4%, the debt would be lower today by another $112 billion, near enough.<\/p>\n<p>Absent Coalition corruption and mismanagement, Australia\u2019s gross debt and resulting interest bill would be around half its current levels. Had last year\u2019s interest \u2013 an appalling $24.3 billion \u2013 been halved, all else equal, the surplus would have been $2.15 billion.<\/p>\n<p>The message is clear. Never let the Coalition anywhere near government ever again.<\/p>\n<p>Other highly positive news<\/p>\n<p>Gross disposable household income <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abs.gov.au\/statistics\/economy\/national-accounts\/australian-national-accounts-national-income-expenditure-and-product\/latest-release\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">increased<\/a> to an impressive $1,678.3 billion through the year to June. This is an increase of 6.6% over the previous record year, up 4.5% after inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Total household <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abs.gov.au\/media-centre\/media-releases\/household-wealth-27-june-quarter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wealth<\/a> reached a record $17.76 trillion in the June quarter, up an impressive 7.49% on the year before.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.spglobal.com\/ratings\/en\/regulatory\/article\/-\/view\/type\/HTML\/id\/3449621\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">S&amp;P Global<\/a> has reaffirmed Australia\u2019s AAA credit rating, keeping the economy within the club of nine trustworthy creditors with top ratings with all three major agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Inflation, employment, wage rises, housing starts, retail sales, exports and GDP growth are all close to optimum.<\/p>\n<p>Media mendacity exposed<\/p>\n<p>Throughout Labor\u2019s term, the Financial Review has consistently sought to deceive its readers. Headlines above misleading if not blatantly mendacious \u201cstories\u201d include:<\/p>\n<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/article-display\/getting-tough-for-mainstream-media-liars-to-ignore-economic-facts,19601\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/article-19601-thumb.jpg\" alt=\"Getting tough for mainstream media liars to ignore economic facts\" class=\"w-100\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>AFR also lies about Charlie Kirk<\/p>\n<p>Swerving slightly from economics, the AFR confirmed its lurch to the nutter Far-Right last month with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afr.com\/world\/north-america\/the-left-celebrate-kirk-s-death-because-they-couldn-t-cancel-him-20250915-p5mv5h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">opinion piece<\/a> from the <a href=\"https:\/\/ipa.org.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Institute of Public Affairs<\/a> containing multiple destructive lies about political activist\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlie_Kirk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Charlie Kirk<\/a>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/politics\/politics-display\/god-and-guns-the-real-forces-behind-charlie-kirks-killer,20194\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">murder<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Titled, \u2018The Left celebrates Kirk\u2019s death because they couldn\u2019t cancel him\u2019, the AFR\u2019s unhinged rant asserted:<\/p>\n<p>\u2018&#8230; because the Left is obsessed with dismantling power structures, many openly celebrated the silencing of a debate they could not control.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Blatantly false. No leader or significant figure from the Left welcomed Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic former Vice-President <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KamalaHarris\/status\/1965864889651704135\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Kamala Harris said<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I am deeply disturbed by the shooting in Utah. Doug and I send our prayers to Charlie Kirk and his family. Let me be clear: Political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The second lie was that violence is from the Left: \u2018Kirk\u2019s opponents could not match his words, so they reached for the sword.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>As shown <a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/politics\/politics-display\/australians-much-safer-than-americans-in-an-increasingly-dangerous-world,20212\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailykos.com\/stories\/2025\/9\/15\/2343622\/-None-of-the-last-31-political-killings-was-by-anyone-from-the-Left-Not-one-We-can-count-them\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">elsewhere<\/a>, none of the 24 political assassins in the USA since 2018 was from the Left. Four killers were registered Republicans, 15 were MAGA faithful, three were far-right extremists and one was a Black nationalist. Kirk\u2019s killer came from a gun-loving Christian family of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Donald_Trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trump<\/a>-voting registered Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>The principal target of the AFR\u2019s irrational anger, Hannah Ferguson, has ably responded with this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/804677869190875\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Facebook clip<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If Australians want economic rewards for effort delivered fairly and abundantly and also a harmonious community, they should marginalise the Financial Review and its malignant fellow fabricators.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/profile-on\/alan-austin,67\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Alan Austin<\/a> is an Independent Australia columnist and freelance journalist. You can follow him on X\/Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/alanaustin001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@alanaustin001<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"noshow\">\n\t\t\tSupport independent journalism <a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/about-ia\/subscribe\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Subscribe<\/a>\u00a0to IA.\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/about-ia\/subscribe\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755072489_891_sub-banner-wide.png\" class=\"img-fluid\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/independentaustralia.net\/about-ia\/donate-to-ia\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755072489_452_ia-donate-pp.png\" class=\"img-fluid\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Related Articles <\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The latest economic update strongly endorses Labor and repudiates the media-backed Coalition, as Alan Austin reports. IN APRIL&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[121547,80255,16169,121551,64,8931,63,13464,121548,68261,92325,121545,61155,121550,121543,121552,121544,33844,101935,121549,44,56830,121546,35747,121542],"class_list":["post-192174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-aaa-credit-rating","tag-alan-austin","tag-albanese-government","tag-alternative-media","tag-au","tag-auspol","tag-australia","tag-australian-economy","tag-australian-financial-review","tag-budget-surplus","tag-charlie-kirk","tag-coalition-mismanagement","tag-economic-performance","tag-far-right-misinformation","tag-final-budget-outcome","tag-fiscal-responsibility","tag-gross-debt","tag-labor-government","tag-mainstream-media","tag-media-bias","tag-news","tag-political-violence","tag-public-spending","tag-tax-reform","tag-treasury-report"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}