Malcolm Turnbull

: Add to that a still-hefty budget deficit and escalating government debt and the picture of the economic challenge for Turnbull and his new team is stark, according to The Guardian. This is especially the case when the next election is just a year away where the economy will almost certainly be the dominant issue for voters. Related:Malcolm Turnbull takes first question time as prime minister – politics live The prime minister, and his likely new treasurer, Scott Morrison, take over the economic levers at a time when economic growth is sluggish, unemployment is high, real wages are falling and consumer and business confidence are weak. One major shortcoming of Tony Abbott and his treasurer Joe Hockey was their failure to articulate the challenges before the Australian economy, instead continually reverting to slogans about jobs and growth and stopping the boats . This made it impossible for them to outline a framework of essential economic reform to deal with those challenges and to set the economy on a path to growth and lower unemployment. For the lost two years of economic management, Abbott and Hockey will stand condemned. The fact that the Abbott reform agenda was like Old Mother Hubbard cupboard – bare – compounded their dismal failure. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.