Get Mike to do it.
As with so many of his categorical promises, when Tony Abbott said “the GST won’t change – full stop, end of story”, he lied.
Having ruled out any form of revenue raising, and with the debt and deficit growing, he was in a dilemma – well not him personally because he finds economics dull. Someone else can worry about that.
And then along came Mike, good looking popular Mike who, having just won an election, won’t have to face the polls for another four years.
I know, we’ll cut funding to the states, get Mike to propose raising the GST, ignore any alternatives, and then blame it on the states who have no other option while we cut income tax and company tax to compensate for the 50% rise in the tax on everything. We come out smelling like roses. Perfect!
At one of those hideously staged camera shoots, Tony was applauding the Premiers for laying down arms to have “a conversation rather than a scare campaign” – which was somewhat in contrast to the hysterical campaign being waged by Greg Hunt about Labor’s renewable energy target and the emissions trading scheme which the Coalition insist on calling a big scary carbon tax that will drive up electricity prices. Why hasn’t anyone pointed out that raising the GST to 15% immediately drives up the price of everything including energy?
When questioned by Leigh Sales, I held my breath hoping he wouldn’t – please just once, don’t. But there it was – counting on his fingers Tony’s first answer was “we’ve scrapped the mining tax, we’ve scrapped the carbon tax, we’ve stopped the boats, we’ve got three free trade agreements in place, we’ve done a lot of budget repair.”
When asked “aren’t you one of the Parliament’s worst offenders when it comes to scare campaigns?”, Tony replied that their campaigns against the carbon and mining taxes were “truth” campaigns.
When asked if he was fear-mongering by saying “Islamic State is coming for every one of us”, he said this is exactly what they want to do – “Go out and kill the unbelievers” in countries like Australia.
On the subject of rorting entitlements, it was an error of judgement, everyone makes mistakes, and they have already tightened up the rules. I wonder if Joe Hockey charging $20,000 to go and visit his Queensland farm 13 times while shadow treasurer was an error of judgement because it too was “within guidelines.”
I am starting to think the guidelines are like when you put bumpers in the gutters at ten-pin bowling. You can’t make a mistake because when you go near the gutter you bounce off and keep on rolling – unless you are Peter Slipper of course.
I can only hope that Mike Baird extracted something good for NSW in payment for being the obvious patsy. The smile and good looks are increasingly wearing thin and he is playing a dangerous game being Abbott’s messenger boy.
Where is the outrage at the Federal government slashing funding for health and education? Where is the compensation package for this suggested hike in GST? How can we believe any promise made by Abbott?
This “retreat” seems more like a surrender to me.
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stephentardrew -
Evely wheeler -
Kate M -
Kaye Lee -
John Kelly -
Kaye Lee -
denis crowther -
kerri -
townsvilleblog -
Terry2 -
heatherex -
Terry2 -
lefturnahead -
Free-Thinker -
Kaye Lee -
Kaye Lee -
Trevr -
Andreas Bimba -
Peter F -
Florence nee Fedup -
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James Cook
Return to home pageThank heavens for your endless research and succinct summaries of events Kaye.
Day by day you do the job of a feckless opposition by informing us of the facts.
With the polling demise of Abbot we all thought Labor would fill the void with fight and facts and all we have is complicity and deviousness which is not far away from Abbott’s blatant lying.
Our country and world is being eviscerated while these fools sit on their hands.
Mike Baird is playing Abbott’s little minion while Labor is clearly bereft of ideas.
Listen you dumb bumbs it is called making a moral stand and fighting for what is right.
Now it might be a hard concept but there is such a thing as a moral right and you no longer understand your moral obligation to the people of this planet.
You just let Abbott and Baird walk allover the people while continuing their unjust and inequitable redistribution of wealth to the greed infested oligarchs of capitalism.
Shame on you.
On the nail, well done
So much for the Mike Baird of 2014 – who, after the Federal Budget in 2014 (prior to the NSW election) – said of the cuts to health and education:
“”What we’ve had last night from the federal government is a flick pass. It’s cost shifting. And it says to this state: we have a problem, you work it out. Our message back to Canberra is no, we are in this together. You cannot outsource your problems to the state.”
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/budget-2014-a-kick-in-the-guts-for-nsw-says-premier-mike-baird-20140514-zrbvu.html#ixzz3glncVaU4
Just to quantify things, if you use $1000 worth of electricity per quarter, you would pay $4,400 for the year (incl GST). If they raise GST to 15%, you will pay $4,600 for the year. Of course, it won’t matter to businesses because they can claim the GST back so they would much prefer a higher GST than a carbon price – tough luck to Greg’s mums and dads and pensioners however.
I chose not to watch the Sales/Abbott interview. I couldn’t cope with what I anticipated was the usual drivel. Sounds like I was right.
It was predictable John.
LEIGH SALES: But people such as the US President Barack Obama, his National Security Advisor Susan Rice have said that the threat should be kept in perspective. Is calling it an evil death cult and saying it’s coming for every one of us keeping it in perspective?
TONY ABBOTT: Well funnily enough, President Obama himself has called it a death cult.
funnily???? I’m surprised he didn’t add “ner ner” at the end.
@John Kelly
Should watch it, Leigh Sales was brilliant.
How she kept a straight face and calm demeanour whilst that idiot was flappin on was amazing.
Kaye Lee you make my day! I can always rely on you to publicise the things I am thinking, and many of the things I haven’t yet figured out
. Total agreement! Mike Baird is the pretty boy! The bait! The softener to get everyone onside!
I do not trust Mike Baird and yes he is playing a very dangerous game! There is no doubt young Mike has his heart set on the top job and like Turncoat, sorry Turnbull intends charming his way to the top. He needs to be called out long and hard by the media for his malleability.
Is it just a coincidence that Julia Baird seem to have left The Drum?
Why don’t the LNP (tories) instead take on the task of enforcing laws that tax millionaires, and multinational corporations, that should bring in an extra $14 billion per year, and when that’s done let us know how much more is needed.
What annoys me – and there is a lot to be annoyed about – is Baird playing the patsy and making it all about the GST has thrown real tax reform out of the window and will allow Abbott to get away with his projected health and education tax cuts and reluctantly go along with the states in their cry for an increase in GST. What happened about everything being on the table and ‘not ruling anything in or out’. What happened about superannuation tax concessions and negative gearing and CGT concessions and family trusts ?
As the Queensland and Victorian Premiers have pointed out, if we have a deficit in health funding then an increase in the Medicare Levy goes straight to the heart of it and you don’t need to compensate those on low or fixed incomes.
Incidentally Shorten’s speech at the ALP Conference was quite good and Labor are on winners with the renewable energy target and female participation.
Kerri , are Julia and Mike Baird related ????
Yes, Julia and Mike Baird are brother and sister.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Baird
The above link shows this. I expect when the subject matter of The Drum is about Mike Baird she would automatically step down to avoid a conflict of interest. They use three or four different hosts for the programme.
Oh dear ! How sad to lose Julia Baird on the Drum ; such a talented and impartial presenter – not saying that any of the others aren’t.
Talented family, though !
Mike Baird”””””” Beware the smile on the face of the tiger.”””
Thanks for this article Kaye.
Abbott’s ‘ We stopped the carbon tax’ has now morphed into : ‘ We now need a much bigger tax on everything, so let’s increase the GST to 15 % ‘
It is such lazy and socially regressive policy, quite aside from adding to Abbott’s litany of lies.
While there may be a case for increasing the GST, it should be considered alongside many other possibilities as the Henry Review indicated.
Personally, I would start by axing the order for the fighter jets and submarines. Hey ho, we have hundreds of billions to spend over the next few decades. High speed rail and NBN anyone? Gonski and hospital funding? Increases in welfare? or more guns…..
I just saw Greg Hunt STILL holding the “electricity Bill will make your energy bills higher” line. How long will it take for a journalist to ask him what the effect of raising the GST will be on cost of living?
In the year 2000-01 when the GST was introduced there was a 6% jump in the cost of living and that took into account the cutting of sales tax.
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/21E3625DDCB365EECA256E84000013BD?opendocument
(scroll down to percentage change table)
Intolerable Abbott as he Divides and Lies, Manipulates and Lies, Sloganeers and Lies, Excoriates and Lies, Belittles and Lies, and it just goes on and f*cken(excuse the french) on, every day is another low and Abbott luxuriates in his lowness, his deception, his Lies, his slogans, his divisions, his destruction of community assets, he is the lowest of the low, without equal, as a Slimeball, as a Scumtrader, as a Thief, as a Liar, as a Mysogenist, as a Hater, as a Creep, as a Shamejob, and I refuse to watch his ” calculated performances”. So the battle goes on, there is a war to be won against the Abbott’s of this world and yours and my lives will mean little if we each do not take up the cudgels and battle for the future.
GST up by 5%, Tony’s toxic tax. CO2 emissions are up, Tony’s direct inaction. Unemployment is rising, Tony will fix the economy. The mining industry is our future, help! We need lifters not leaners, while corporations and the wealthy have ample opportunities to avoid paying tax and the ATO has its staff numbers savagely cut. Cut payments to the unemployed, while greatly increasing their number. Cut funding to the states, when the population is aging and health care costs are rising and we more than ever need to improve education. Say we have a budget emergency, while refusing to close all the tax deduction rorts for the wealthy, CGT concessions, negative gearing, superannuation concessions and family trusts. Pretend to serve the nation and it’s people while only acting under the direction of the IPA and the biggest lobbyists. Say you believe the climate science but do all you can to frustrate all attempts to reduce emissions. Bleet stop the boats, while they keep coming and we torture the asylum seekers. Say the China FTA, the other FTA’s and the TPP will create jobs and help the Australian economy when they will be more like rat poison.
I could go on, and on, and on.
I forced myself to watch Leigh Sales interview Abbott. The strain on her face as she tried to remain polite was in marked contrast to the ease with which she interviewed Bill Shorten. I do not interpret this as bias on her part – she asked as many difficult questions of Bill Shorten, and his interview produced more information than Abbott was ever going to allow. It was interesting to see the interviews back to back, and worth watching on ABC Iview.
One better than Abbott’s recorded interview in his office was Lateline last night. Greg Sheridan was on rewriting history of Abbott, DLP, Santamaria, groupers and Costello. One has never heard such Tommy rot. Tricky from The Business was the host.
I see the Weekend Australian have given Christopher Pyne a page to promote his book , “A Letter to my Children” accompanied by flattering photos including his family.
I sense a media makeover is underway.
I feel ill…Daily!