Have you ever lost something valuable? Maybe your car keys, your wallet, your engagement or wedding ring, maybe even your virginity in the back seat of some car?

This week, the NSW Coalition, lost something that once had a value, their integrity. NSW Treasurer Mike Baird lost a couple of things with it, all credibility, and approximately a billion dollars. Your Dollars.

This coalition of clowns that make up our government in NSW have often been referred to as a team of “Learners” whose front bench and Ministry should come with L Plates.  It is becoming clearer with each passing day that instead of L Plates, maybe a Dunce Hat would be more appropriate. They could each have a turn wearing it so that they all get a go.

This weeks event has left me with a bit of a dilemma and an apology to make. Allow me to explain…

In a previous post I commended Barry O’Farrell on achieving in two years what it took the former Labor Government thirteen years to achieve, two budget deficits. This as it turns out was completely incorrect.

I apologise to all of my readers who may have taken what I said to heart, and I can assure you all that I have learnt the error of my ways. I clearly should have known better than to put the words Coalition and achievement in the same paragraph, I will try and ensure it doesn’t happen again.

It turns out that the $337 Million deficit announced by Barry O’Farrell and Tresurer Mike Baird, should have been a $680 Million surplus. That is a surplus that is more than double what Baird thought the deficit was.

You see, Barry and Baird lost something rather important.

This is not one of those socks that goes missing in the wash, nor is it the mobile number of that person you fancied last Saturday night and scrawled on the back of a beer coaster, this is Billion Dollars.

Yes that is right, the O’Farrell government managed to misplace One Billion Dollars. Oooops….

What a $1 Billion looks like in US currency, could you lose that?

In another recent post I look at some of the money that the NSW Government was wasting, this added up to over a billion dollars. At the time I thought it was worth taking a look at what the government considered vital spending while Barry and Baird cried poor and blamed the former government. In hindsight looking at this is probably even more important, as when you add what has been wasted to what has been lost and now found, it shows just how unnecessary all of the recent cuts have been.

Alas though, those hoping that the cuts to public education and hospitals won’t occur now can think again. Any hope of this Coalition caving in to the needs of people and showing some respect for those who voted them in is clearly hope misplaced. The Coalition, who used the “Claytons” deficit to get away with cutting so many services people rely on, have already announced that they are not going to take back any of the pain and suffering they have caused by inflicting these cuts on NSW.

Mike Baird goes to see if his cuts have taken effect yet

There are many who are out to humiliate and destroy Treasurer Mike Baird over this debacle, and yes no doubt when the auditor general comes out and says things like this;

“The NSW government is a billion dollar business, it is not a school tuckshop.”

It is clear things have to change, and it is abundantly clear that Mike Baird has to be dropped as Treasurer, the people of NSW deserve to know they have someone they can trust looking after their money.

However, I know that I would not normally come out in his defense,  but I find myself thinking, that although he should be demoted, it isn’t necessarily all Mike Baird’s fault. In fact it would seem that the auditor general’s findings even back me up on this.

You see, when the auditor general finds 37 errors that are over $20Million each, including two that are over a $1 Billion each, it is clearly not an issue with the treasurer, even though some of the blame lies with him. This is obviously a major issue with virtually the entire ministry team. When the auditor general describes departmental financial statements as “rough and ready” it becomes apparent that we have a bunch of amateur hacks, sitting in the offices where ministers once sat.

Auditor General Peter Achterstraat shows Mike Baird a more effective method of counting

Treasurer Mike Baird, attempting to downplay his apparent inability to do his job, has told us that if you take away the Federal Grants, the state is still in deficit.

Hmmm, I’m not quite sure what he means by this, however it could be one of two things:

1. If a well run government and financially sound government like the Gillard government did not provide  him with grants, O’Farrell’s total shamble of a government would look even more inept than it clearly is

Or

2. The Treasurer is saying that when you look at your budget you should ignore a large part of your income when assessing your position. That sounds real sensible. Like when calculating the household budget, ignore you spouses income. Super Smart..

Baird has also said that the problem with this surplus, is that it is not a “sustainable surplus”.

Judging from these two conflicting statements, Baird can’t decide whether it is a surplus or not, so he is taking an each-way bet . The problem with this bet, and this treasurer is that he is gambling with the household budgets of all of us, and using your children’s futures as betting chips.

If there is one thing that is clear given the financial credibility of this government, there is no such thing as a sustainable anything with the Coalition in government, certainly not a budget that they don’t seem capable of understanding.

And with Joe Hockey’s history with the auditing of costings, we will really be in the crapper and not even know which direction we’re facing with the Coalition in control of Federal Government.