After the announcement by Prime Minister Julia Gillard that a budget black hole of some $12 billion dollars is coming our way, you have to ask the question, where has all the money gone.

We are by international standards a very wealthy country, our standard of living is the envy of the rest of the world.

The amount of people who try to get here illegally highlights that fact in no uncertain terms.

Our reliance on the mining sector has to change, sticking to a simplistic game plan of just digging it up and flogging it off just can't go on forever.

The carbon tax was never going to be the big money spinner Gillard tried to tell us it would be.

Of course that's where it all went pear shaped, two big taxes that promised a lot and delivered little, in fact they have not even generated enough income to cover the cost of their implementation.

Most economists agree an increase in the GST is the logical way to go, but unfortunately that approach is politically on the nose with both the major parties.

I'm Pete Davies