Listening to the Prime Minister give his thoughts on Australia’s ‘economic outlook’ could be considered a form of torture.
This is not because Albanese is a very difficult man to listen to, which he is, but because the contents of his speech carry that same creeping feeling as the discovery of a termite trail in the kitchen.
There is no version of the future that does not involve an expensive demolition, dangerous volumes of Surface Spray, frightened bystanders, and a bonfire of screaming ants.
It is with this Nostradamian anxiety that Australians listened to Albanese gloat about Labor’s plans for their bank accounts.
‘An Australia that is stronger and fairer – indeed “stronger” because we are “fairer”.’
Oh yes, it is going to be one of those speeches, where words operate with the same flimsy tether to reality as the truth-telling commission.
‘In order to bring people and businesses and civil society with us in the pursuit of that vision, to mobilise all the talent and resources of our nation to meet this moment, we have to deliver, here and now, to prove the practical value of a reforming government.’
My favourite line of the introduction is where the Prime Minister declares that his leadership is acting ‘to demonstrate that the people’s democratic choice makes a positive difference’.
He must mean, unless that choice conflicts with the Labor Party agenda, otherwise, why hasn’t the Prime Minister called out his Labor state governments over their ‘Voice’, truth-telling, and treaty agendas when the Prime Minister’s referendum returned a very stern and clear ‘No’ vote?
Is Labor committed to the democratic will of the people, or not?
Evidence suggests they couldn’t give a toss.
Speaking of broken promises, remember when Chris Bowen pledged cheap energy bills? Everyone should save a copy of the following from Anthony Albanese just in case it gets shoved into a hole beneath a wind turbine and buried.
‘Stronger Medicare, cheaper medicines, building more homes, lower taxes, and higher wages. So Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn.’
Ladies and gentlemen, Albanese looked the camera dead in the lens and said that last bit with a straight face.
This almost magical ability to produce outrageous spin and deliver existing realities as if they were some sort of invention of the Albanese government is quite extraordinary. The Prime Minister’s talent is The Art of the Swindle, which makes him a challenge for the Liberals.
Labor’s bad ideas are delivered with convincing and solemn monologues while the danger of their implementation is well hidden by omission.
It is only when he is cornered by members of the press that the façade breaks down. Credit to Sky News Australia’s Andrew Clennell for making Albanese fumble his way around tax reform.
Here’s a segment:
‘You mentioned tax reform,’ began Clennell. ‘Are you open to raising the GST and lowering income tax?’
‘Well, one of the things that we are trying to avoid is just that question.’
‘You brought it onto the agenda, though?’
‘No. No. No. What we are trying to do is to have an adult conversation, and what has occurred over a long period of time is that people, you know, is it on my agenda? No, it’s not, okay.’
‘Would you consider it?’
‘No.’ Then the Prime Minister starts getting worked up. Shifting in his seat. Side-eyeing the camera. ‘One of the things we are trying to do is to not say we’re going to have this forum and people are entitled to come along and have ideas, but at the very beginning we are going to do interviews between now and August where we get asked by you, and others, to rule things in or out.’
‘I am not asking you to rule it out…’
‘Yes, you are.’
‘I am asking if you will consider it.’
‘Yes, you are. People are entitled to put forward whatever they want to put forward.’
‘What’s your instinct about it?’
‘It’s not a… Well, you can ask it different ways, but it’s the same question, Andrew. And it is the same headline that you’re looking for. And what I want is a mature…’
‘I’m actually curious, as is the audience I’m sure, as to what your view is about increasing the GST and lowering income tax.’
‘Well, no, it’s not something that we have given any consideration to […] I am a supporter of progressive taxation. Uh, consumption taxes, by definition, are regressive in their nature. So, that’s something that, you know, doesn’t fit with the agenda, but people are entitled to put things up.’
The conversation finishes with a rather petulant Prime Minister saying, ‘I am not going to play the rule-in rule-out game.’
Poor Clennell. Interviewing Albanese is like prodding Grok for facts.
No doubt Clennell was pushing the Prime Minister on the GST not for a tacky headline but because it is a matter of serious concern, not only to consumers who are already struggling to afford bills, but to retail businesses.
Economists and politicians often forget the enormous implementation cost of a taxation change. Adjusting the GST means re-pricing an entire company’s products, changing the software, reprinting labels, retraining staff, and adjusting hundreds of projections. All of this costs money that they do not have, especially not after an energy hike and minimum wage rise. There is nothing left in the margin to cover a GST change. This is not counting the loss of business, because raising the GST will push even most customers into the arms of TEMU and Amazon.
If the goal is to grow the Australian private business sector, the very last thing you would do is muck around with the GST.
As the Prime Minister is asked later, instead of obsessing about tax reform, why doesn’t the government put some work into spending reform…
The Prime Minister also had the cheek to talk up the superannuation guarantee in his speech. Considering this is a mechanism that robs Australia’s low-income earners of a portion of their take-home wage and stuffs it into the pockets of Labor’s union mates to play with for the best part of 50 years, there is not a lot of enthusiasm for its expansion to 12 per cent.
How long before 50 per cent of a person’s wage is stolen by the state?
Politicians and public servants love it. They get it as a bonus. That is not the case if you are a retail or hospitality worker. Economists are very slowly starting to come to the conclusion that we warned them about from day one: $4 trillion of money locked away from citizens ‘in trust’ is a temptation too large for the Treasurer to resist.
More and more, super is turning into a hostage situation for Australian cash.
Moving on, the Prime Minister was very keen to talk about his record on job creation, but neglected to mention that this rise followed record business collapses. It is also slipped his mind that this job creation was largely in the public sector which means the job creation he is talking about presents a drain on public finances rather than a growth in the economy.
‘No other advanced economy has navigated this period like Australia.’
We can give the Prime Minister that one.
Finally, Albanese advertised his roundtable event and something rather suspicious began to surface… See if you can spot it.
‘We are seeking a broad range of views so we can build broad agreement for action. Tax reform will be an important part of this conversation.’
While making it sound as if he is talking about reducing regulation and government overlap for small and medium businesses, he pivots effortlessly to getting more renewable energy projects approved and built to meet sustainability targets.
‘Making it easier for business to create jobs, start and finish projects, invest in new technology, and build new facilities. Some of this involves government doing less. Clearing away unnecessary or outdated regulation. Eliminating frustrating overlap between local, state, and federal laws. Yet value also lies in areas where government can do better. Better aligning our investments in TAFE and vocational education to deliver the skilled workforce that employers need and making sure those vital skills can cross state borders in real time. Working to our ambitious goals in housing and renewables by getting projects approved and built faster while maintaining our commitment to sustainability.’
Ah, there it is. Labor’s undying commitment to developers, the unions, and foreign renewable energy companies.
When he talks about cutting red tape and regulation, does Albanese mean his government will make it easier for a farmer to build a shed or a dam, or easier for a foreign wind farm to butcher a rainforest?
He continues…
‘We are convening this roundtable to help deliver on the commitments that Australians voted for.
And because we recognise that the agenda we took to the election is the foundation of our mandate, not the limit of our responsibilities or our vision.’
Never have more frightening words been spoken by a Labor Prime Minister.
‘To serve that oldest and deepest of Australian aspirations, the determination to pass on a better life and greater opportunity to your children.’
Someone better have that ready to throw back at the Prime Minister if their whispers about inheritance tax turn into a tax reform conversation.
Essentially, the Prime Minister labours the point about ‘hoping’ other voices will put up ideas. That he doesn’t want to ‘limit’ ideas. A roundtable where nothing will be ruled out… Not even absurdity.
We are left with the impression that Albanese is hoping someone else will table a tax reform idea that the government would never get away with. That way, when businesses start screaming, Labor can claim it ‘came from industry experts at the roundtable’ and that they are only implementing the voice of the people.
If you listen carefully, you can see the future public manipulation being laid out. Not that the Liberals have chirped up to sound the alarm. They’ll probably be very helpful and polite about the tax reform agenda so they can make a claim to being modern and/or progressive.
Indeed, Ted O’Brien said: ‘I have accepted the Treasurer’s invitation to attend the Productivity Roundtable. The Coalition will be constructive where we can and critical where we must, and I will engage in a business-like fashion. The Coalition will hold the government to account every step of the way and won’t be there to rubber stamp a talkfest. It’s worth the Treasurer knowing from the outset that I believe rhetoric is no substitute for reform. I want to see honesty in how the government defines the economic problems our nation faces, and I will be looking to tangible outcomes as real measures of success. Australia is becoming a poorer, weaker and a more dependent nation under Labor. I look forward to being involved.’
Personally, I would prefer to see O’Brien treat the roundtable as you might an infestation of feasting termites hollowing out the Treasury, but I digress.
Flat White is written by Alexandra Marshall. If you would like to support her work, shout her a coffee over at donor-box
