Facing the prospect of financial ruin thanks to an out-of-control debt and deficit disaster, Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsipras today rang Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey, for guidance on making budget emergencies vanish.

“Australia was on the absolute brink just a few years ago, but they seem to be tracking quite well now. So I just wanted to get an understanding of some of the techniques they used to avert disaster,” Tsipras said.

Tsipras described the phone call as ‘confusing’. “He [Hockey] asked me to imagine a fire burning out of control, and then a fire brigade coming to get things under control. I’m not exactly sure what he meant. Maybe he’s offering to donate water to Greece? Maybe it’s a cultural thing”.

Mr Hockey was unavailable for comment.