$7 GP tax scrapped by gov as economy burns

It's happened. Abbott is finally caving. Although it's not going to help. All it'll do is reinforce what the gov tried to do and the voter opposition to it. And it's only one tiny thing in a great stinking pile of bullshit.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has privately conceded defeat on his controversial budget proposal to introduce a new $7 co-payment on bulk-billed GP visits and will formally shelve the policy before the end of the year.

The decision is a recognition of the reality that it had no chance of progressing through a hostile Senate in the face of trenchant opposition from Labor, the Greens, and a majority of the crossbench.

It represents a clearing-away of the first and perhaps biggest political "barnacle" clinging to the hull of the government ship – a description Mr Abbott used earlier in the week to describe policies causing resistance to the Coalition in public opinion polls. more

Removing the $7 GP tax is a political move by a gov on the ropes. It will do nothing to address the wider issue of Australia's economy. Which is looking like it's about as much on the ropes as SSJoe and his silly budget. As if making pensioners pay to see a doctor was going to fix his loony tunes fuckwitedness anyway. 

"We should look at what Tony Abbott's lack of vision has done to Australia's economy," he said. 

"Growth has slumped, the deficit has doubled, we've reached a 12-year high in unemployment and a 13-year high in youth unemployment." more

Much of this is all the gov's doing. Instead of trying a sensible budget they tried an ideological one that was always going to face stiff opposition from the public and senate, but in their conceited arrogance they simply assumed we'd cop it. So psychotic is their world. 

Instead of targeting perks for the wealthy and tax avoidance by large companies, they targeted people with nothing. As if that was going to fix anything. They got rid of the carbon tax and mining tax which further destroyed gov revenue. Again, for ideology. Instead of creating jobs they've been destroying them. Instead of stimulating the economy they're starving it to death.

All in all, this is a humiliating back down by Abbott. One to relish and have him squirm. An opportunity for the public to twist the knife. We won you arrogant prick :)