The public record confirms the 2010-11 budget not only mentioned small business, but also introduced the very instant asset write-off, which was abolished in the Abbott government’s first budget, only to be reintroduced in this year’s budget. 

Furthermore, under Labor, this measure was not time limited as it is now.

Each budget by the former Labor government contained measures to assist small business. It is simply deplorable sloppiness for the IBC to suggest otherwise.

Gino Mandarino, Mangerton 

The government has missed an opportunity to improve the efficiency of our financial system which delivers too much for housing and consumer spending and not enough for things that deliver like ongoing employment and productivity.

Our banks lend mostly for domestic finance, and our households are now the most indebted in the world. Household finance is not an efficient generator of future production and employment.

We use household finance to buy existing property which causes inflation of property value. 

 While this domestic lending binge is happening, as a nation we are scrimping on finance for productive things. 

The  Treasurer’s encouragement of additional household debt is the opposite of what is needed.  We need tax, government spending and regulatory measures to divert finance to more productive purposes, to limit speculative housing investment, and encourage more sensible housing.

By doing this we protect our citizens from indebtedness and keep house prices down so young people can afford to buy.

Rowan Huxtable, Mangerton

Congratulations to the owners of the newly painted buildings on Crown Street towards Keira Street, particularly Howarth’s Excelsior Hall which has historic connections.

 Hopefully other shop owners take notice and do the same to their premises.

J. McCarthy, OAM, Wollongong

I will always admit our debt was high since Paul Keating left government, however not as high as the Murdoch press makes out.

 It does not look like any jobs will be created, not much on education or health, and big business will be free from paying tax like always.

Yes Swan, Rudd, and Gillard made big mistakes while in government, but this mob are also economic lunatics without any sense of a moral compass.

 Matty Ryan, Fairy Meadow

Wherever the returned nuclear waste from France ends up permanently, and it looks like it’ll be back home at Lucas Heights temporarily by the end of the year, residents have never had a say in this.  

As with the original reactor decision, the second reactor and the desalination plant…there wasn’t a lot of democracy there.

 As for permanent toxic waste dumps – pie in the sky! The US have theirs deep in the too hard basket as well.

Brian Johnson, Gymea