I WISH to respond to Syd Edwards (Letters, May 16) regarding how "weird" a mob Australians are by wanting to toss out the Labor government at the next election because we have a net government debt of about 10 per cent, unemployment at 5.5 per cent and low inflation of 2.5 per cent, which is apparently the envy of the world, which Mr Edwards continues to tell us.
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Sure, when you compare Australia to other Western basket-case economies the figures look fantastic in comparison, but look closer and it isn't anywhere near as rosy as it appears.
The continuing high Australian dollar and policies like the carbon tax are killing our manufacturers and exporters, with small businesses closing daily.
The low inflation figures are reflected by people saving money, not spending, as they don't know how secure their employment is, and if you look in regional areas such as Tasmania the unemployment figures are closer to 10 per cent.
If we use Mr Edwards's logic, why was former prime minister John Howard tossed out of office in 2007?
When unemployment figures were about 4.5 per cent, the country had tens of billions in savings, and yearly budget surpluses.
- TODD HILLS, West Launceston.