Give two cheers to Premier Dr. Ewart Brown for his turnaround on giving help to senior citizens.

Last week, Dr. Brown announced that senior citizens would no longer have to pay driving licence fees and that they would also be getting some relief on health insurance costs through an as yet undefined plan.

Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson was quick to seize on the point that with no details on the health insurance relief, the total benefit to seniors came to $4.50 a year, which would help no one.

So Dr. Brown very quickly announced on Sunday that seniors would no longer have to pay vehicle licence fees either. That at at least is a meaningful cost saving for seniors, and will certainly be welcomed.

But the move gave every impression that Dr. Brown, having seen some "pop and sizzle" exposed as mere spin, had to move quickly to show that he was giving a meaningful benefit to seniors.

And as ever, there was no detail to accompany the announcement. How much revenue will Government be giving up, will it be replaced, and if so, how?

As with the closure of the Medical Clinic, Government seems to be quick to launch programmes, but increasingly one has the sense that little consideration is being given to what they will cost, and it is much the same story for everything from Premier's residences to Ministerial travel.

For some years after it was first elected in 1998, Government worked hard to show it was fiscally prudent and balancing the books. There is much less evidence of that now, and while Government is flush with cash from a booming economy (and, yes, it does deserve some credit for that) it seems to be spending it as fast as it gets it.