What we're talking about

Troy on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' I have seen this family fighting day after day for months trying to get their kids/siblings back home. The dedication and ... more
Pauline on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' DHS have destroyed my own family. They failed in their duty of care to provide a baby moniter for the deaf , thousands of ... more
Christine on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' isn't it funny how DHS don't recognise the psychological effects of domestic violence on children and continue to allow ... more
Warrior princess on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' There is a family In the Cairns Area who are Foster Carers.Atherton Child Safety have threatened the carers and own ... more
duncan on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' i have spent time with this family. it is a house full of love. "mum", grandfather and older sblings.this cannot be an issue ... more
Tracey on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Family Law is different from the rest of the law in this country.. Ie. Family Law is based on probability: ie if it might ... more
carol annetta on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' having known this family for some time i am disgusted with the treatment she has received. it seems more of a witch hunt ... more
Maureen Hillary on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Derryn,I have counselled traumatized parents as a result of DHS staff.There are great staff workers who care but they ... more
Janet Tavener on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' I am a visitor to this country.My attention was drawn to the case of these children and their foster mother by a relative of ... more
sam on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Happening in Tasmania also.Wewon a court case over 8 months ago and due process still hasn't been done.We spent 17,000 ... more
Anne Glover on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' I just cannot believe what the DHS has put the Foster Mother, and the children through - I thought the DHS was supposed to ... more
Tracey on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' DHS are the most disgraceful organization I have ever had the displeasure of becoming involved with. They are so ... more
Vicki on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Hi Derryn,I have known this carer since primary school, she has always put others above herself. Being a carer myself I know ... more
Gran'ma Pam on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' As any of us with any sense know, these children should NEVER have been taken from this lady (mum) in the first place, they ... more
Dominic Lombardo on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' I see my daughter every six months DHS are conducting a vendetta against me I have not been told why I can only see her ... more
cassy houghton on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Hello Derryn,Firstly i would like to thankyou for your support and the willingness to help this beautiful family.I ... more
Warrior princess on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Im a carer also in Qld. I see this happen way too much from our Government. They are starting to use Carers own children as ... more
paul on "I'll pay the fee," says Hinch I believe what Liberal Party has done is stupid. But I feel for candidates like Joh Bauch and James Buonopane who want to ... more
Andrea on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Why are these public servants allowed to blatantly flout the law without the same consequences the rest of society faces? I ... more
birth mother on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' i am the birth morther of these 4 children and i just want to say dhs dont care they just want the kids in care so they can ... more

Hinch crunches the Coalition numbers

Posted by: Derryn Hinch | 2 September, 2010 - 4:12 PM

HINCH: Well, blow me down. I thought the numbers we were concentrating on involved the number of seats that Gillard and Abbott are horse-trading over in Canberra to see who gets the keys to The Lodge.

But now there is another set. And for the Coalition they are not ‘a beautiful set of numbers’ as Paul Keating used to say.

The Treasury figures are out. They have costed the Coalition’s election promises and say there is a ‘black hole’ that could be as high as seven to $11 billion.

No wonder Treasurer Wayne Swan dived on the news like a seagull on a hot chip. And no wonder Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey sounded flat on Mitchell this morning. Especially when Tony Windsor, one of the The Three Amigos, described the costings as ‘a black hole’ and talked about trust.

And yet Abbott, Hockey and Andrew Robb fronted the media today to claim their numbers are right, they stand by them and they will deliver in Government.

That these billion-dollar deficiencies are based on different interpretations.

Tony Abbott today was asked if this wasn’t a bad look in the midst of the delicate negotiations. Created a bad perception. Abbott said he wasn’t into debating perceptions. He was just ‘one of 22 million Australians’. Sure. But he is one of only two people trying to be prime minister. He he will get possession of the cash register.

To add to the fiscal puzzle, Tony Abbott claims that after four years (if he gets into office) the Treasury figures show that the Coalition will produce a surplus of around $800 million compared to a Labor Government surplus of less than $200 million.

The bottom line, to use those Canberra buzz words, is that the Coalition was reluctant to let Treasury examine their books. And once they did they were found wanting.

I suspect though that out in the electorate people are suffering ‘pollie fatigue’. There’s a feeling of ‘get it over with’. Either come up with a solution, form a sustainable government, or go back to the polls.

Right now we all seem to be staring down a black hole. And the view isn’t good.

3AW FOOTNOTE:

Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie decided just before 4pm to support Labor, giving Julia Gillard 74 seats in her bid to form a minority government.

Costings black hole to sink Coalition?

Wayne Swan says a massive black hole in the Coalition's costings shows they can't be trusted to run the economy. Treasury's revealed savings put forward by the Coalition might only add up to $1 billion instead of $11 billion the Opposition is claiming.