Is the Reserve Bank tiring of the way some politicians in the federal Opposition and some in the media use comments made about other economies and apply them to Australia, even when it’s pointed out the speaker is not talking about Australia.

There have been several instances in the past year when governor Glenn Stevens and a couple of his senior staff have made observations about the US, Asia and European economies and people such as the Opposition’s treasury spokesman Joe Hockey have applied them to Australia, even when it was pointed out that the comments were not being made about Australia.

In a speech in Sydney this morning,  Stevens made some tough comments about highly indebted countries, especially in Europe and especially in the context of the current argument over whether Greece should receive assistance.

Stevens said: “For several important countries there was a trend increase in debt-to-GDP ratios going on before the crisis occurred. For the domestic audience, let me be clear that Australia has been a conspicuous exception.” (his emphasis)

“Particularly in mainland Europe, the pattern has tended to be for debt ratios to rise quickly in periods of recession, then to stabilise for some years, before rising again in the next recession. No doubt multiple factors are at work but the interaction of changing demographics and generous welfare, health and retirement systems is prominent. The same factors also work, other things equal, to lessen future potential economic growth.”

“It is certainly not unprecedented for countries to have debt stocks much larger than their annual GDPs. This has usually been seen when they faced the requirements of fighting wars. Those ratios subsequently came down over time. But the situation now is different.

“The decline in debt ratios seen after the Second World War, for example, driven by rapid growth in output as population expanded and productivity surged, will not easily be repeated in many of the major countries.

“It is these more deep-seated trends, which were in place before the crisis, that are really the greater cause for concern; the crisis has brought them more sharply into focus. The demographic drivers will continue for the foreseeable future, while the unwillingness or inability to tackle the structural trends in earlier ‘good times’ has significantly reduced future flexibility.

“So a number of advanced industrial countries face some difficult fiscal decisions over the years ahead. At some point, significant discretionary tightening will be required.

“Of course, policy makers need to get recoveries well entrenched, which is why many observers warn against attempting an early fiscal consolidation. But unless a credible path to fiscal sustainability can also be set out, growth could easily be stunted by rising risk premia built into interest rates as markets worry about long-run solvency.”

All accurate and tough because an intelligent reader can  have a good idea who he is talking about (The US, UK, Greece and the other Olive economies, France and even Germany. Japan as well).

He gave us a clue with this comment: “Perhaps the broader significance is that the difficulties facing Greece, while unusually stark, are a reminder of the challenges facing many governments in Europe, and for that matter the United States and Britain, over the long haul.”

So I wonder if anyone in the Opposition or in some parts of the media will rise to the occasion this time around, or whether they will notice the bold remarks from Stevens and also understand the vast difference between the current position of Australia and the US, UK, Japan and all of Europe?