It was 2003 when Howard era Minister, Amanda Vanstone, dropped an infamous clanger in a media interview about a Budget tax cut.
“Five dollars. Hell, what will it buy them? A sandwich and a milkshake if you are lucky. Not much,” the South Australian senator thundered – much to the consternation of her Cabinet colleagues because it was a Liberal-National Budget.
In 2016, Labor’s Bill Shorten was livid that tax cuts handed down by Malcom Turnbull’s Government only averaged just $6 a week for people earning $80,000 a year.
“That’s not much. I’m not going to insult the intelligence of people and say that’s a reason to go out and buy a Tatts ticket. But we will back that particular change in, because we are on the side of people at work every day,” said the man now earning $860,000 a year as the head of a Canberra University.
Fast forward to 2025 and the Albanese Government is handing out tax cuts of…$5 a week. Is that enough to buy a cup of coffee?
Not in the once down-at-heel but now gentrified Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, where Primary is based. You’ll pay up to six bucks, with the notable exception of The Balkan Butler in Foveaux Street where a regular cup comes in at $4.80.
There’s no way you’ll buy a milkshake. At the salubrious Keg and Brew Hotel, a fiver won’t get you a whiff of the froth on top of a schooner of Resch’s.
Bill Shorten backed in the 2016 cuts despite saying they were designed for millionaires. That’s the kind of thing that politicians do. This time around, the Coalition is Just Saying No. At the time of writing, the Government is forcing the Opposition’s hand by trying to make the cuts law before it calls an election.
Reality is that whatever goes down at Parliament House over the rest of this week will go largely unnoticed by the people whose hearts, minds and votes all sides of politics so desperately want to win.
Craig Regan, Senior Account Director, Primary Communication
