In the 1950s an Australian economist, Douglas Copland, likened the Australian economy of the decade to a milk bar. It was in the sense that Australia had lots of fripperies but did not produce any heavy goods. The economy was unbalanced.
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Just two years ago Tony Abbott declared Australia was open for business. Australia was under new management. The economy was likened to a shop, a milk bar. As opposition leader, Abbott always liked to be seen visiting shops savouring cuisine or trying out new goods or apparel. As proprietor of the shop, Abbott made a captain's choice by having Joe Hockey as treasurer. Call him shop assistant if you like.
You might draw comparison with Albert Arkwright and Granville in the old BBC TV comedy Open All Hours, but you'd be dead wrong. Behind the counter Abbott had little sense of humour or bonhomie while the bumptious Hockey took himself so seriously that he authorised a biography of himself. Arkwright, too, was a good salesman except for getting rid of the g-g-g-gingercake.
Abbott & Son could never really sell any of their wares; no one bought the GP co-payment, higher HECS or a brand of soap called Austerity last year. This year the budget seemed so unusually generous that we did not buy it. The latest ware from Abbott & Son, the preferential trade agreement with China had too much fine print for customers to absorb: in the back of our heads we recalled the free trade agreement with that other big economic power, America, had rendered more benefit for Americans than for us.
Since Abbott & Son opened for business the economy had underperformed. Sure, the resource boom had lost its lustre and the economy was transitioning to a new model, but low interest rates, low wages and a conducive business environment should have smoothed it over. But people were just not spending and even small business and tradesmen were not taking up the last budget challenge to "have a go".
We were in danger of slipping into recession. Whenever you walked into Abbott's shop and asked "How's business?" he would never level with you but go talking about how axing taxes, free trade and infrastructure. At other times Abbott would lurch off on another direction blaming the previous owners of the shop for his current woes: "Ah! We have not forgotten Labor's deficit and debt disaster!"
The funny thing is that all that fearmongering so spooked us that we pulled the purse strings. Abbott blames Hockey for the falling sales. His key player could never get over to us in a compelling narrative why "the age of entitlement" had to end; we probably did not want to hear it anyway especially after we heard what our politicians were up to with their own allowances.
Abbott & Son have now gone out of business. It was inevitable. The new man, Turnbull, is a self-made millionaire with a good business brain. He has such chutzpah that he claims he brought the internet to Australia. Wow! The fact is though that Turnbull seems to understand what moves us – optimism, hope and opportunity mixed a little bit of personal charm and humour.
Turnbull models himself on John Key, a slick Kiwi merchant banker turned prime minister. It's said that Turnbull is going to hire Scott Morrison, a marketing man, to become his treasurer. He was the chap who when he was managing director at Tourism Australia authorised the slogan "So where the bloody hell are you?" ... ka-ching ... you can already hear the registers ringing!
