Pisces; the Productivity Commission concluded there is no substantial evidence to demonstrate that deals of the kind being negotiated by Andrew Robb are to Australia's overall benefit. We end up with some winners and other losers but overall selloff at least as much as we get back. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-...ubts-claimed-free-trade-deal-benefits/6572256
Many Australians have lost trust in Tony Abbott's government and suspect these new agreements are again selling out the interests of mainstream Australians to benefit the uber-wealthy and the privileged.
As for the damage Abbott's Government has done to our economy; two years ago Australians were rated the wealthiest people on Earth by Credit Suisse. The IMF declared our AAA economy one of the strongest of any developed nation. Debt stood at $270b and PEFO projected a Budget deficit of $30b. GDP growth was at ~2.5% and unemployment projected to max out on March 2014 at 6.2% and thereafter to decline.
Abbott turned Australia's back to the manufacturing sector and prompted car makers to get out asap, he knee-capped public investment in science and research, frightened off investment in the renewable energy sector, bankrolled another war in the Middle East, splurged an extra $1b per years on 'security', ordered an extra 54 useless F35s, restored middle class welfare such as FBT, gifted mining companies $Billions as he scrapped the CT/ETS and the MRRT. The Budget blew out and debt now stands at $417b [an increase of $147b in just 2 years]. Yet Abbott has even announced plans to spend an extra $80b on navy ships and submarines.
It's apparent from such matters that for Abbott 'fiscal management' is an oxymoron.
