The NBN is not counted because there is a capital asset that...

The NBN is not counted because there is a capital asset that backs the debt. It is misleading in the extreme to count the debt and the forecast opex without counting the asset value and the forecast revenue.

It is also misleading to count debt used for capex in an budget deficit. Fair enough, count the interest, but not the debt.

The way I see it, it only takes one kid somewhere out in the wide brown land to develop the next facebook or youtube or whatever, that requires the speeds permissible by fibre and the NBN has paid for itself.

Don't forget that the NBN is there not just to earn a return for itself, but also to expand the economic capacity of the country. So even if NBN co returns a loss, the rest of the economy benefits and the shortfall being made up with higher tax receipts on the higher profits. In theory, that is how all public investment assets are supposed to work anyway.

In answer to the thread title, Swan should get more credit for the past 4 years, but I think a surplus in 2012/13 is fanciful. I also don't think it matters that much anyway. Labor have tripped over themselves on this (amongst other things), and spin or no spin the surplus good deficit bad mantra is wearing a bit thin and is a bit nonsensical in the grand scheme of things.