If you want to govern the country

then surely you should "have a plan"?

Our Prime Minister went to the election saying he had a plan, that his party had a plan. He said there was plan for this and a plan for that. He promised cheaper power bills, higher wages and much more. 

He did what every other politician before him has done. He has done what every other politician has done too. He has failed.

What makes him stand out is the way he has blamed everyone except himself, his party or his policies. He has been able to do this because of the global situation. He has blamed the war in Ukraine, the trade relations with China, the weather, global warming, the need to transition to renewable energy and more. He is telling us that the problem is external not internal. 

Two governors of the Reserve Bank have disagreed with him. He failed to renew the appointment of one because that one oversaw interest rate rises that were trying to rein in inflation. He is now trying not to listen to the new appointee when she says the problem is "homegrown" and not international.

In his last speech on the topic he has told us what he is going to do. He is going off to the Department of Finance and Treasury to get some ideas. Really? 

He should have gone there before the election. He should have continued to consult with them and still be consulting with them. Mind you he may not like what he is told. It is unlikely we will like what they are likely to say. 

Looking around at the amount of money being spent over Christmas and New Year I know one response from Finance and Treasury would be, "People need to lower their expectations about their standard of living. They need to spend less on non-essentials."

No government ever wants to tell people that. It would be a brave government which did. But, there should have been other plans. Even this union based government should have had plans, should have been saying no to excessive pay rises for some - including themselves. 

One of the neighbours asked me how I would spend half a billion dollars - the cost of the failed referendum on an indigenous voice to parliament. I suggested that perhaps we could start with some lessons in basic household economics but I am not sure whether it would work.  Being "economically responsible" is not easy.