In a world of rising fear and uncertainty one thing is crystal clear: for the Australian economy to live the Morrison government's surplus hopes must die.

Our economy is sick and needs help, and it needs it now. Money needs to be spent to fix it fast. For the next three years the deficit doesn’t matter - saving the economy does.

Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg face a stark choice. Credit:Lukas Coch

It might not be reflected in the sharemarket or talked about in cabinet, but the state of our economy and the fragility of consumer confidence should scare you witless. The people whose judgment I rely on don’t think coronavirus is the next bubonic plague; to them it looks more like a very serious flu.

However, with a 67¢ Aussie dollar and a per capita recession well in progress, the idea that our "economy is robust" is laughable. This economy is sick and for it to get out of the intensive care ward it doesn’t need retrovirals and oxygen, it needs money and heaps of it.