In early 2008 when the Coalition were convinced that the government would fall flat on it's face as a consequence of the GFC they were saying that they handed over the economy in good shape, and that after the May budget of that year what happened in the Australian economy was the responsibility of the new government. By those standards, if the economy collapsed it was the Labor government's fault, if it prospered it would be to the credit of the government. The economy is prospering. Should it continue to do so, with low unemployment and strengthening company profits, and the withdrawal of the stimulus, the budget will be returned to surplus within 3 years IMO.
