After the 2013 elections, Mr Joyce was appointed finance minister, due to his previous experience in financial management. 

The current government inherited a debt of $233 billion and the 2016 budget adds $378 billion, so now the national debt is $460 billion. 

Gone are Mr Joyce’s criticisms of debt and deficit, as he and his colleagues have doubled the debt in less than three years – a burden to be borne by future generations of young Australians.

The 2016 budget provides an additional $50 million during the 2019-20 years for the Roads to Recovery program.

This increase is two years away. 

What a letdown for rural areas when the same budget allocates $1.7 billion to Sydney for its metro rail, $857 million for Melbourne’s rail scheme and a further $200 million for improvements to the Brisbane to Ipswich line.

Sluggish budget allocations for phone blackspots and a slow roll-out of the NBN are further examples of the increasing city-country divide. 

The National Farmers Federation’s strange recommendations on the backpacker tax have been deferred to 2017 for further assessment after this year’s spring harvest.

As Minister for Agriculture, Mr Joyce has shown little response to the devastating drought in Queensland and NSW, along with reduced funding for rural counselling in these areas. 

Our future is in jobs and growth coupled to fiscal accountability.

Doubling the national debt over three years is not a promising example.

A. E. Stannard

Hillvue