by50 you mention roads(infastructure),education and health.No Federal Govt in Australian history cut back its contributions(in %)to these three areas as did the previous Howard Govt. To parade a surplus,they cutback so the states had to dig deeper and deeper in all areas. Abbott said he found around $30b in savings at the last election......savings in Education,health and infastucture spending and many other worthwhile areas.All so he could give a maternity allowance of up to $150,000 a year and other rediculous waste. When you look for reasons these systems are woeful,look no futher than previous Howard Govt spending in these areas and compare that to the Rudd spend.
