Tredmond said:
It's hard to predict what'll happen next, so I guess we should be ready for anything I guess. Another interesting topic would be the government's utter willingness in embracing Keynesian economics over neoclassical principles. As far as I know from my macro knowledge all of the fiscal stimulus is purely a short term stimulation to the economy - in the medium run (basically over 3 or 4 years) the effect is neutral, or nothing basically. So the government CANNOT sustain or increase economic growth in the medium run, but the way they talk about it (or maybe the way the media presents it) they seem to think they can do this.
I'm no economist, but a few things...
It depends on the type of stimulus. A cash hand out is a purely short-term measure. An infrastructure stimulus is a short-, medium-, and long-term measure (so long-term in fact, that they eventually have to be careful not to increase inflation once the crisis is over). Rudd has issued
both types of stimulus.
But that aside, you should also probably take note of the fact that Australia was growing
rapidly before this crisis, so much so that inflation was a significant worry. And after this crisis, we will grow rapidly again (the developing countries still need our minerals). That is: we don't NEED to worry about economic growth in the long-term, because it's pretty much assured. The only other significant Western country in this enviable situation is Canada - another commodity economy.
As an example, right now, in the middle of this 'crisis' (it's hardly a crisis in Australia), business investment spending is still at record levels, and first home sales have started increasing again:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24718593-5013871,00.html