The economy has become a symbol for politicians to exploit rather than a system for them to manage. Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s recent speech about Tasmania highlights that talking about the economy is something politicians like to do, but making good economic decisions has become an optional extra.

While Mr Abbott claims that no government has ever subsidised their way to prosperity and Treasurer Joe Hockey claims to want to end the Age of Entitlement, they seem unconcerned about the hundreds of millions of dollars spent propping up the destruction of some of the world’s oldest forests.