Economic Reform

The Government is transparently attempting to bore us to death with tax talk as part of this sop to Rob Oakeshott. So far the biggest surprise has been unions and business disagreeing with each other.

It’s safe to assume Prime Minister Julia Gillard would prefer to commit hara kiri with a blunt old pair of Tim Mathieson’s scissors than create more headlines that tie her and tax together, so they’re really hoping to fly under the radar. Treasurer Wayne Swan went so far as to warn any reform would be ‘painstaking’, a ‘slog’. Nothing to see here folks.

Well here at The Punch we think he’s underestimating the appeal of taxes. Look at the shenanigans we saw from the GST, the mining tax, and the carbon tax. Gadzooks, fun times! And while they’re off the cards at the Canberra gabfest, there are plenty of quirky and interesting taxes to talk about. Australia only has around 120 taxes, so there’s room for more. See here, we’ve put together a list for you.

Continue reading "When too much tax is barely enough, here’s some more" »

Gillard is becoming a very good Prime Minister.

History doesn’t judge a Prime Minister by the quality of Australia’s education or health systems, their foreign policy achievements or empathy for flood victims but by economic management, including a capacity for tough economic reform.

In other words, economic policy makes or breaks a Prime Minister and everything else is just noise. By this measure, Julia Gillard is on the cusp of becoming a very good Prime Minister.

Continue reading "Gillard: From policy dud to economic hero" »