Charlie says that the economy is not as good as we think.
"Well that's a worry. Most of us think it's not too good now," gasps Louise.
But you could be forgiven for believing that we're starting to do well. After all, our leaders trumpeted growth at 3.1 per cent only a week or so ago. But Charlie, who hasn't made a wrong economic prediction in two decades, points out that 3 per cent of the 3.1 came from exporting more LNG and iron ore in greater volumes at lower prices. That doesn't seem like growth to me.
I can recall from my country background the days of the wool stockpile when the farmers weren't happy to see the price of their wool reduced, so a central body, the Wool Board, artificially restricted the supply to maintain an inflated price. My farmer mates say that nearly 40 years later, the wool industry hasn't recovered. 
The fact is that despite the good news on real GDP growth, Australia is in a real income growth recession. Real per-capita national disposable income is now lower than 2008. 
"What does that mean?" asks Louise.
Well, the average person does not have as much money available to them as they had eight years ago. And our falling commodity prices have been the major cause. Politicians are keen to talk about the positives of the "trickle down effect" but what we have is a negative flow that is eroding real household wealth and therefore consumer spending growth. 
Four things stand out. Firstly, employment growth has been weak since the GFC; secondly, wages growth has been slowing since 2012 and, thirdly, household disposable income growth is the worst in at least a quarter of a century. And finally, this has flowed through to how people feel about events around them. Hence there has been no net increase in the proportion of adults who feel they have discretionary spending power since late 2007.
There was an uplift in people's willingness to spend in late 2014 but that now appears to have peaked. Rapidly rising residential property prices have also helped in some areas of spending but that impetus too, may have peaked. 
In running a successful business over many decades, I know that we had to face the truth in order to succeed in the long term. There was never any use in pretending that things would be OK if they weren't. This means we have to have good people around us and we have to listen to them.
Last weekend I was reading about Napoleon again and how the once brilliant leader finally lost it. He didn't look after his health and as illness overtook him he was no longer the strong leader sitting on the white horse for 14 hours a day. So much so they had to change horses. "Not in mid-stream, I hope!" says Louise. 
And then came two more errors. First, he surrounded himself with sycophants and, secondly, he became a control freak. He demanded to see every detail about everything. And of course, when you do that, you become a manager rather than a leader.
The principles of real leadership and the traps that lead to failure are the same for any level of business or government. The number of zeros in the annual reports might vary a lot but having started with a small business that became the biggest of its kind, I know that to achieve sustained long-term growth we must build the plan based on the unadorned truth.
And the truth is that this is not the most exciting time for Australians to be alive. For many, it's one of the most concerning. 
Our per capita income has fallen by 6 per cent since   September 2011, the proportion of total population in the workforce has not increased since 2008 and wages growth, that is hourly rates of pay, is now the lowest in at least 18 years. 
And neither of the two major parties who have formed governments in recent times can feel proud of this. Nor should they continue to automatically blame each other. It's a tiresome practice that is undermining their credibility with an electorate that is increasingly suspicious of the truthfulness of any of their claims.
As the first President Bill Clinton said, and the hopeful second one in the wings clearly believes, "It's the economy, stupid." 
I know we can fix this but right now I'm not convinced we are telling ourselves the truth clearly and often enough to move forward. Nevertheless, I think the Australian people are ready for the serious discussion the Prime Minister promised. 
As my trainer says to me at 6am, three mornings a week, "more the pain, more the gain". 
The people are ready for it, I wonder if our politicians are.