I will ignore the assumption that the deficit needs to be paid back immediately. I will also ignore the fact that the increased debt was essential to this countries ability to roll through a world crisis unscathed. Because that is all simply uneducated humbug from the likes of Hockey.

However, if the current government feels they need to decrease the deficit, the answers are simple nero:

• You tax those earning the highest. The higher the income the lower the threshold. The lower the income the higher the threshold.

• You tax company profits in exactly the same way as above. In addition there are those companies that should be slugged on top of their standard company tax - those companies who have detrimental impacts on society (cigarette producers for example) or detrimental effects on the environment (mining for example).

• You rein in spending on strategies that are of little benefit to the country as a whole (Abbotts parental leave being a classic example) and spend your (supposedly) limited funds on what is of value (public education, public health, public welfare).

• You ensure your strategies are for the long term rather than to see the country through the next 4 years. And therefore you develop policies to fund the future rather than knee jerk reactions to contemporary issues that you think will win you votes.