Treasurer Joe Hockey was on a mission - to scare the hell out of Australians and pave the way for government spending cuts and reforms.
The mid-year budget update - his first major economic statement since the September election - made for grim reading.
It pointed to budget deficits until 2023, gross debt heading towards $700 billion over a decade, slowing growth and rising unemployment.
The treasurer went straight for the heart-strings in selling the government's message.
"The worse thing we can possibly do is leave our children a lesser quality of life than that which we have inherited," he said.
"That is what we are going to end up doing, unless we take immediate action."
The challenge for the federal government going into 2014 is balancing the need for "immediate action" with its election promises.
The coalition may also find itself facing a credibility problem.
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen is sceptical about the projections in the mid-year fiscal and economic outlook (MYEFO), which are in stark contrast to the less alarming pre-election fiscal outlook (PEFO) released three months ago.
PEFO, which is produced independently by Treasury, forecast a $30 billion deficit for 2013/14, before the budget moved to a modest $4 billion surplus in 2016/17.
Gross domestic product (GDP) growth was to rise from 2.5 per cent to three per cent in 2014/15 and unemployment to dip to five per cent within two years, from 6.25 per cent.
But now, according Hockey, the economic storm clouds have gathered Down Under.
The MYEFO estimated an unemployment rateof 6.25 per cent for at least three years, and growth flatlining at 2.5 per cent until 2015/16.
Treasury's PEFO talked about low interest rates and the lower Australian dollar underpinning "a return to around trend growth in 2014/15".
The same section of Hockey's doom-and-gloom MYEFO became: "The weaker outlook for real GDP growth, coupled with the softer outlook for wage and domestic price growth has resulted in a substantial downward revision to forecast nominal GDP growth in 2014/15."
Bowen says the government is trying to lay the groundwork for a May budget that will cut much harder than the coalition promised at the election, and break a range of its promises.
"What we're really seeing here was not an economic update but a political circus and we're seeing Joe Hockey paint this picture of what he's inherited to justify what are deep cuts coming our way," he said.
One of the biggest dangers for the government is the future of the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS).
Voters at the election were left in no doubt both major parties were committed to the NDIS for the long-term.
But a subtle shift is under way within the coalition, says Bowen.
What were called "launch" sites by Labor, and announced by state and federal governments as the start of the NDIS in full, are now "trial sites" under the coalition.
"That sounds like code for cuts to me," says Bowen.
Hockey argues it's only right that the government ensures the NDIS provides value for money for taxpayers and delivers services to those who most need it.
The coalition's paid parental leave scheme is another political vulnerability.
The government insists the $1 billion a year scheme to start in 2015 will improve productivity by improving workforce participation by women.
However, Hockey admits the parental leave legislation may need to be tweaked to get the Greens' approval in the Senate - which could see it become less generous than promised.
The government's decision this week to provide $60 million towards assisting Holden workers also fell flat, with Labor, unions and the two most affected state governments of Victoria and South Australia all describing it as inadequate.
Being so downbeat going into Christmas - traditionally a bonanza period for retailers - poses a risk for the economy and it's starting to show in research.
A Roy Morgan survey released this week showed consumer confidence at its lowest point for 16 months and one in five consumers expecting "bad times" for the next five years.
With political opinion polls now giving Labor a slight edge over the coalition, Hockey has some way to go to convince the public he can be both bogeyman and earn their respect.
