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Posts tagged as “mutual obligation”

John Howard: Philosophy and Political Tactics In Action

With the Ryan by-election only days away, and polls continuing to show growing support for the ALP, Prime Minister John Howard has made a number of speeches and statements in recent days that reveal much about his approach to politics.

HowardWith polls indicating that the ALP may secure a swing of up to 13% in Ryan, on top of the 8% it achieved in the 1998 election, it seems clear that the affluent electorate, containing a high proportion of small business operators and professionals, may react strongly against the Business Activity Statement and other compliance procedures of the new tax system.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister mischievously suggested that the ALP would increase the GST rate from the current 10%. Having once promised that he would “never ever” introduce the GST, Howard demonstrates a breathtaking approach to winning at all costs by being prepared to argue that his opponents will increase the rate. This is despite the fact that the ALP has opposed the introduction of the GST at every election since 1993. During parliamentary debate on the GST legislation in 1998 and 1999, the ALP voted against the GST in both houses of parliament.

Mark Latham On Kerry Packer

The following speech was delivered by Mark Latham, ALP Member for Werriwa, during “Statements by Members” in the House of Representatives Main Committee on Thursday 31 August, 2000.

The speech is printed as it appeared in Hansard.

Mark Latham speech in the House of Representatives, August 31, 2000.

LathamMr LATHAM (Werriwa) (9.46 a.m.) — I wish to reflect on the news that Australia’s richest man, Kerry Packer, lost $34 million last month on a gambling spree in Las Vegas. I am sure that most Australians will feel uneasy about this sort of extravagance. Notions of public morality and justice are under threat when it is possible for one person to accumulate such extraordinary wealth and then use it in such an extraordinary way.

Treasurer Peter Costello’s 1999 Budget Speech

Treasurer Peter Costello has delivered the Howard government’s fourth federal budget.

For the third year in a row, the budget is in surplus, expected to be more than $5 billion.

  • Listen to Costello’s budget speech:

Text of Peter Costello’s 1999 Budget Speech.

Treasurer Peter CostelloMr Speaker, I move that the Bill now be read a second time.

This is the Budget for the last year of the Century.

In putting together this Budget, the Government wanted to achieve a number of things:

  • We wanted to deliver the election commitments we made last October.
  • We wanted an economic framework which would help families by keeping home mortgage rates low.
  • We wanted to deliver increased services to rural and regional Australia.
  • We wanted to build the nation’s educational and research capacity.
  • We wanted to keep Australia strong — having come through the first two years of the Asian economic and financial crisis.
  • We wanted to keep the Budget in surplus.

We wanted to frame a Budget which would set us up to enter the next Century much as we entered this one — a world leader in living standards, prosperous, free, and with all the potential of a dynamic young nation.

AustralianPolitics.com
Malcolm Farnsworth
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