That is the horrendous $1 billion per month - $12 billion per year, the Abbott government has to pay out for the incompetence of the former governments.

It is irresponsible waste of precious taxpayers dollars.

Is each household prepared to put up with paying $112 each month/$1344 per year in this way? 

The Abbott government wants us to tighten our belts for a year or two to pay it off so that those wasted taxes equivalent to $1344 per household per year can be put to much better use.

But the polls indicate that the majority want things to continue.  

Several decades ago the American psychologist Abraham Maslow published the “needs hierarchy”.  

This took the form of a pyramid.  The bottom layer being our individual needs for food, shelter and survival.  The layer above represented our personal needs - love, a sense of belonging and social acceptance.

The highest layer represented our needs for learning, knowledge and understanding: and, perhaps to fly intellectually.

Since the 1950s, economic growth and development and generally sound government had adequately financed our climb to the upper layers with improved standards of living. Our expectations reflect these improving circumstances.

 But, between 2007 and 2013 the incompetence of government was so overwhelmingly bad that Australia is confronting dramatically changed circumstances: from all Australian households having no equivalent government debt to pay, to the level described above. 

This will require adjustment and adaptation by every household. 

To disregard the severity of the change circumstances would be utter folly and a descent from atop the pyramid.

Neville Hughes

Surf Beach