To be fair to Pickering (there's a first for everything), the article was written by Renny Carter, an "old journo and one of the Liberal Party's faceless men".
Indeed 'faceless', as it is difficult to locate any historical activity or connection to the Liberals beyond his claim. If you do get the opportunity to read his articles (mostly on the Pickering site) you do get a strong pro-Liberal, anti-Labor/Greens narrative; which is fine if this is his position. He does get quoted a few times on the Rise Up Australia website.
I agree with you, that he does himself (and readers) a genuine disservice when he makes claims, for example crippling debt, without backing them up with available evidence.
