Labor’s Broken Promise! Here We Go Again!
There are two sorts of broken promises. Here is an example of each:
- I borrow $500 from you and promise I’ll pay it back next week even though I have no intention of paying it back and you deserve to lose your money for being such a fool as to lend it to me.
- I promised that I’d drive Barry to the airport this weekend but I don’t because he’s now in intensive care in a hospital and his trip has been cancelled.
In the latter case, I’m sure that keeping my promise is probably not something that I’ll be praised for.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m unhooking all these tubes so I can get Barry to the airport like I promised…”
“But he’ll die if you move him.”
“Sure, but a promise is a promise and I can’t let a little thing like his life stand in the way of me keeping my word!”
I’ll leave you to decide whether Labor’s broken promise on tax cuts is an example of the first one or the second one…
I do want to point out, however, that Labor went to the election promising not to make changes to the Stage 3 tax cuts. After the election they were often asked if that promise still stood to which the reply was always something like: “We have no plans to make changes,” or “We haven’t changed our position.”
Now that changes are proposed, these will be regarded as weasel words and, while it’s impossible to prove that they were always going to make the changes, the media is putting forward the idea that Labor promised on a number of occasions that there’d be no change even though all they said was that they had no plans to make changes. It may seem a pedantic point but anyone who listens to politicians of all persuasions should hear the silent “at this point” at the end of that statement.
Of course this begs the question: Why did journalists keep asking a question that had been answered hundreds of times?
If I were to give my answer to that question it would be that it was because just about everyone knew that the Stage 3 tax cuts were a silly idea because they were unaffordable, they were inflationary and they benefitted people who were already well off.
Naturally when I say “everybody” I don’t mean actually everybody. I just mean everybody who was part of the media group asking the question. After all, if you thought the tax cuts were just fine and dandy, why would presume that it was necessary to check with the government that they hadn’t changed their minds? Surely you’d be better off asking a question where you didn’t know that the answer would be: We haven’t changed our position on that.
If I were cynical, I might suggest that Labor were always going to find a way to tweak the tax cuts and that waiting until now and calling the MPs back early because something needs to be done about the cost of living “crisis” makes it easier to argue that they really didn’t have any plans and that it’s just something that happened… sort of like Barry’s accident… and it would be wrong to keep the promise and that it’s a sign of strength that they’re prepared to do the right thing even if it’s hard…
At what point did the cost of living become a “crisis”? It’s interesting. I mean we had a budget “crisis” when Australia’s debt blew out to almost $300 billion but then the Liberals were elected to fix things and it was no problem after that. It was no problem even when it grew to three times that.
Similarly, the cost of living and housing is always a crisis for the people who can’t afford to feed their families or put a roof over their heads. It’s interesting to try and work out at what point does this become the sort of problem that always has “crisis” attached to it when the media talks about it. Maybe it’s as soon as we’ve had a Labor government for more than two months…
So how will this broken promise/change of circumstances/help for struggling taxpayers play out?
Well, the Coalition will oppose any change, and The Greens will argue that the changes don’t go far enough. On past form, the Coalition will block it whatever, while The Greens will try and extract some change to make the point that there’s a point to them having a large number of Senators.
The Coalition will run hard on the idea that governments should never break promises and hope that nobody remembers that they promised to introduce a federal integrity commission which they argued that they couldn’t do because Labor didn’t agree with their proposed model, conveniently overlooking the fact that there are many things that they did without worrying whether Labor agreed or not. And they can hope that nobody will bring up the fact that they were the party that introduced the term “core and non-core promises” because it’s just so last century, like the “never, ever GST”…
If Labor can’t get the legislation through, it could be a trigger for a double dissolution down the road. While it seems unlikely that they’d want to go to an election on the basis of not being able to pass legislation that enabled them to break a promise, it’s hard to know how popular the proposed tax changes will be.
Personally, I suspect that a large number of people will decide that they only care about broken promises when it hits them personally and, while they’ll support the idea in principle that promises should be kept, they’ll agree that circumstances change and one of the things that helps them understand that is the idea that the change in circumstance is that they need the money more than someone earning more than they are… although it could be argued that that’s not really a change.
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Return to home pageOn the eve of the 2013 federal election Tony Abbott promised no cuts to education, health, or the ABC and SBS, and no changes to pensions.
He broke every one of those promises !
We still haven’t seen what Labor will do with Morrison’s stage three tax cuts which were hatched in 2017 and legislated in 2019 when things were very different.
The main policy of local conservative politics here has been lying, from Slack Jack Howard through to the Mighty Maggot, Morrison. You just LIE then work out how to sell it.., no more GST, DEAD, but a few years later.., No more deficits and debt.., But, chronic inability to manage money and endless debt from Abbott the creeping mange to Morrison the Crudulla creep, taking net federal government debt from c. 176 bill $ to nearly a Trillion, and with the worst and highest ratio of tax to debt to GDP in our history. Now we have sensible revision, readjustment, treasury support and good advice, needy citizens.., and Ley the Loonie broom jockey talks up huge about lies and broken promises. Ley IS A BROKEN promise, if ever she was promising.
You ought to know by now that all bullies shout the loudest from the rooftops, claim more pain and discomfort than anyone else and enjoy their displays of grief.
The simple fact of the matter is that they know in their very bones that they have been flagrant with the truth, and the trust that accompanies that, spent more than 20 years breaking every election promise and skewing policy for the donors and their special interests.
They are now running scared of the fall out, and the MSM is the loudest agony aunt in the room for its own benefit that is also on the line. Once you lose credibility and the veil is lifted there’s very little left but scare tactics, and unfortunately far too many are easily spooked.
The sudden diminishing of wads of cash would make many scared, as they will now have to learn to live with what’s at hand or resort to more theft of another kind, that’s human nature in its full ugly glory.
”Why did journalists keep asking a question that had been answered hundreds of times?”’
Rossleigh, how did you know about my day long travels with a dementia suffering friend? In about 100km taking about one hour of country highway driving, my friend asked me the same question(s) at least ten (10) times each. These were ”important questions” like:
.
1) Where have we been; (To the doctor’s rooms – regional patients often have long distance travel to medical services of all kinds, hence the repeated advocacy for the renovation & re-opening of the Great Northern Railway between Armidale and Wallangarra, 216 km having estimated cost of about $50 MILLION compared to $30 BILLION of the Metro South West suburban network line).
.
2) Where are we going? (Home)
.
3) Are we on the correct road? We should take that road over there ….. (No, that road vanishes into the hills not home)
.
4) Are we going to the doctor today? (No, your appointment is tomorrow). Ans so on ….. times ten!!
.
So my conclusion is that these journalists are suffering early onset dementia that has robbed them of their executive function, short term memory and ability to construct prose or any objective reporting without the aid of a COALition press release to remind them of why they are in the Canberra Bubble.
@ Phil Pryor: Now Phil, you are being very hard ….. you know that blondes have difficulty with thinking lucidly and $us$san LeyZee is a classic example of a NOtional$ blonde infected with Liarbral$ inability to work for the best interests of Australian voters.
Cocky, ladies deserve sweet attention, when and if.., but, a few years ago I played in a… band at Rutherglen (wine and food weekend) when Ley turned up with staff and friends, who never talked to her, gave her no attention, so eventually, she went over and got her own lunch, alone. Nobody seemed to address her at all. Socially leprous…and strange, for it was noticed widely (that happens to be now a teal electorate, getting rid of the obnoxious conservative, Mirabella)
Good analogies Rossleigh.
The Opposition, led by the naked emperor will scream blue bloody murder, the Murdoch media scum will bleat but I predict the vast majority of Australians, well the thinking ones, will be relieved that Labor has finally seen some sense while wondering why it (or Albanese) spent so much credibility capital denying it planned changes. So much timidity, so many own-goals.
Susssan’s going apeshit over this. Oh how wonderful is that?
Behind The Oz paywall Tony Abbott claims the Oz government is not doing enough for Ukraine; following up from a WSJ event in December asking the House Speaker Johnson, can the House to pass funding on Ukraine.
This is allowed to fly when he compared Orban positively with Trump who has antipathy towards Ukraine, like Fox News and Koch linked entities.
‘The former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has defended a speech he gave in praise of the far-right prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán’ or PM ‘mini Putin’ Orban, as he is known in Hungary
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/13/tony-abbott-doubles-down-on-praise-for-hungarys-far-right-pm-viktor-orban
In addition to his unregistered foreign advisor, he too will work* at the Koch-Heritage linked Danube Inst. with local allegations of funding from not just the Hungarian govt., but Russia too…..
*some media say as researcher, others guest lecturer…..
The same have been called out by US conservative normies Applebaum, and Kristol more or less accuses Heritage Foundation of treason for being anti-Ukraine; Tones needs a heads up?
‘Heritage Foundation and Viktor Orbán are not simply against aid for Ukraine. They are against Ukraine. They hate Ukraine, because a) they’re pro-Putin, and b) they hate liberal democracy, especially one fighting to defend itself against a brutal dictator.’
https://x.com/BillKristol/status/1733892421895746022?s=20
Thnx, Ross Lee.
MT — “Oh how wonderful is that?”
It’s really really really wonderful.
Very disappointed with some ABC presenters (looking at you PK) who seem to be boosting the Broken Promise mantra rather than focusing on the substance of the tax changes which, to this observer, seem to be better calibrated and more balanced.
The ABC needs to remember that it is there to report the news and then invite guest experts to provide informed and impartial analysis – leave it to Sky to interview silly Susssan.
Hopefully the new Chair, Kim Williams will be able to get our national broadcaster back on track, something Ita was unable to do.
Excellent analysis Rossleigh.
Much as I’m not inclined to toady, or big myself up, it accords with my take on it from late 2022 onwards. (I promise not to do it again)
Today (Thurs) I have a pressing engagement. I have already prepared lunch; an endless antipasto, maybe even a wine, and arranged the table so as to settle in and watch the midday news (and analysis), followed by Albo’s National Press Club address. It’ll be like I’m there in person. I’ll be inviting in the dog for a preamble in the front room. He doesn’t like antipasto, but he can stay if he likes.
Top of the season, as near to perfect timing as one can get. Not to be missed. Maybe the year’s best chance to be a fly on the wall.
If we thought Annabelle Ley (still reminds me of the possessed doll) went off her nut yesterday then we should get our umbrellas out for protection when she does the David Cronenberg Scanners opening scene today. Oohh, I can’t wait…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-24/government-rewrites-stage-three-tax-cuts/103383642
We might even get to see Dunceolini get so cranky that his brain (small as it is) will overheat and and turn his head turn into a shrivelled microwaved potato.
Annabelle:
SMH (8.09 am this morning)
Sussan Ley backflips on pledge to roll back tax package
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has backflipped on her comments yesterday pledging to roll back the Labor government’s new tax package if the Coalition won the next election.
Ley was asked on Sky News yesterday whether the Coalition would “roll back whatever changes are made” and she replied, “Well, this is our position. This is absolutely our position.”
But speaking on ABC Radio National this morning, Ley said she wanted it to be clear that she did not pledge to roll back the new tax package.
“I did not say we would roll back Labor’s new proposal. I said we support the existing stage 3 arrangement and we would assess the new proposal,” she said.
“Labor lied about these tax cuts and now they have lied about what I said.”
Asked if the Coalition would vote against the government’s tax reform, which would mean lower taxes for a large group of Australians, Ley would not say if her party would promise to increase taxes.
“Taxes will always be lower under a Coalition government … we will assess the proposal,” she said.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Labor is lying about what I said, it doesn’t surprise me at all. What I said was this, our position is the stage three tax cuts should be implemented as designed and endorsed by the Australian people.”
Poor ickle Annabelle, how dare nasty rotten Labor Party and awful horrible media pick on her by pointing out that she has now flat out lied about not saying what she “didn’t say” yesterday. Trumpism rules…
Labor and the media? The poor get $804, instead of nothing the rich $4500 instead of $9000. The ABC and free to air show -$4500 instead of +$4500
Still the loonies will sink their ‘not enough’ boots into Albo secure that there are enough stupid labor voters to give the bandits access to lnp preferences and takes a few seats from labor.
Seems that Gina is going to back that nasty little skin crawling parasite Ashby –
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/wagyu-beef-all-the-way-as-gina-fuels-ashbys-election-bid,18269
What’s in it for Gina? If Ashby got in she would have her own personal arse kissing crawling sycophantic bent knee money grubbing MP in Queensland.
@ GL: I suggest that that is exactly what Gina wants, two turkeys giving her early access to LABOR government policy decisions. like they say over at Kangaroo Court of Australia, ”Why buy a political party when a couple of down-and-out ineffectual sitting politicians can do the job for a fraction of the price”.
I can see the veins on Annabelles face and neck bulging with anger and frustration (please, please, do a Scanners) as she seethes about not being able to backflip on her backflip this morning and thereby making herself look even more the cretin she is at the moment.
Beetoota Advocate sums up P Duddy’s “rage” about the tax cuts:
Felt deeply wounded after an IPABC presenter grieving over loss of tax cuts to the tax dodging oligarchy. Poor old Gina and co. Tinned sardines and water, no Crayfish and champagne? God…another Gaza!
Labor still being a bit tricky, but it needed a diversion from Gaza and the tax cuts for the rich tax dodgers who pay none or little, have been shown up as absurdities in real rather than abstract metaphorical ways.
Well said, Mike.
“Of course this begs the question: Why did journalists keep asking a question that had been answered hundreds of times?” The answer to that is they were not real journos asking those questions, they were Murdoch pretenders lacking the intelligence to think of any real questions.
And should it come to a double dissolution election on this issue Labor would win in a landslide. There are a whole lot more of us ornery folk than there are rich arseholes.
And Der Spud just lies and lies and lies…
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/politics-live-updates-anthony-albanese-unveils-stage-3-tax-changes-australian-of-the-year-to-be-announced-20240125-p5ezw2.html
He has a giant case of the shits because Labor, finally, decided to do something about the LNP looking after rich mates and screw the poor tax cuts bonanza.
The AIM Network,
Most of the screaming appears to be coming from the Costello meedja at the moment. It will be interesting to see the spin from the RBC, I mean ABC.
Der Spewing Shit Spud is having a major Morriscum level brain fart.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/jan/25/peter-dutton-calls-for-election-over-very-significant-change-to-stage-three-tax-cuts
In the eyes of the Libs MSM, it doesn’t matter what Labor says and does. It is always presented as wrong, with Labor bad, Liberal good.
I will never forgive the hypocritical and lying MSM for claiming Julia Gillard lied about a “carbon tax”, when the MSM deliberately left out her full quote that included, … “But I will put a price on carbon”. The Libs and their MSM lied. NOT Gillard. We got a price on carbon, it was not a carbon tax. That lying mole Peta Credlin admitted as much.
Sadly, though Labor annoys me with never having the guts to correct that record, even now.
Anyway, the Libs MSM are all undemocratic biased scum, who don’t believe in democracy.
Our mediaocracy continues…
Watched one minute of the Nat Press Club, one slovenly journo asked Albo a question which was to the effect ‘Are you a liar?’. Albo fluffed around and attempted to answer the question. He’d be better off answering the questioner by asking why she was upset about sharing the tax breaks with those on lower income than herself as $150k+/yr journo.
Further to that, how much simpler would it be to just address bracket creep by increasing the tax-free threshold each year in line with the CPI, matched by similar increments in all brackets?
Journalism, except for some independents, is fawning self-serving rubbish and trolling of the public.
Can’t wait to see the whole show go down and totally exposed for the damages they are doing.
It should be clear, by today, that the rotten rigged Mad Morrison Tax proposals are no longer vaguely alive, useful, relevant, honest, even economically literate. They are DEAD, as is the skull of P Duckwit-Futton, an economics ILL-literate fraud. Surely every well known proper economist, of the Gittins, Oliver, Kohler, Uni Prof. types, will endorse the balanced, fairer, more even and honest approach as endorsed by treasury to suit current situations, over 80% of the people and circumstances. Rich Arsehole Whining types and their media hirelings do not really know or care. AND, we must tax foreign corporations quite firmly, the maggots. Australia’s irreplaceable resources must return us MORE, NOW.
Someone remind me, how much tax does the Rupert Media Mafia pay?
I wish to (insert name of favourite deity here) Albo and Labor would STOP trying to justify their changes to Morriscums huge tax gift to the 1 – 10% club. All it’s doing is continually playing into the hands of the Spud and Murdoch and Costello sleaze who will gleefully keep calling Labor weak and big bunch of “promise” breaking lying rats.