budget week

Now that Canberra is back in full swing and the government is going about doing some, well ... governing, I am getting bored of politics again.

The euphoria has lasted a good 8 months, since the start of the election campaign. But this week has just felt like manipulation and spin to me. Swan told us everything, good and bad, that would be in the budget. He tried to talk up how bad it would be, but it really doesn't look bad to me. We seem to come out of it better off than before.

I can't even be bothered trying to push through Nelson's swathe of motherhood statements last night. I switched off when he had the temerity to talk about the importance of "getting it right" on climate change, after he'd just made his patently ridiculous call for cutting the petrol excise. It's the one tax that actually might achieve something by making people think twice about taking their cars out! Yes Brendan, we do need to get it right.

So today I am feeling despondent about politics again. When it comes down to it it's all about perception, spin, talking it up, talking it down, going through the figures with the accountant. I preferred it when Kevin was out there making grand symbolic gestures.