A GST increase? - Turnbull's big mistake

*Update* The Coalition can try to 'sell' a GST increase, but Australians won't buy it 

It appears that Turnbull is so delusional about his status as not being Tony Abbott, that he's convinced himself he can do a Howard and clobber everyone with a great big new tax. Or at least a great big 50% inflation of an existing one; I think the former will stick in the public's mind.

Has he forgotten Hewson and his birthday cake? Has he forgotten that even though Howard managed to get the tax through, even the mighty 11 year reign if TERROR!© Howard was very nearly interrupted after his first term where he nearly lost it over the GST? Does he now think that the present polling is real instead of simply because he's not Tony Abbott? 

It seems yes to all of the above.

However, in true Lieberal fashion, reality is something they have a fairly loose relationship with. Like Abbott, he thinks all he's got to do is be a good salesman and the public will buy it (is that how he got rich?). However, this is making the same mistake as Abbott; not realising that a great number of us are actually intelligent people, and no matter how much persuasion is directed at us to sell a turd, we will still know that it's a turd. Who the fuck wants to buy a turd, just because some guy in a Teflon suit says so? 

The public opposition is well underway to any increase in the GST. ACOSS has come out strongly against it. The unions are dead against it. Federal Labor itself is opposing it. To go ahead with an increase will be electoral poison. Remember the scare campaign that finished Hewson?

For anyone who thinks that Turnbull's popularity is untouchable now, remember Kevin Rudd? Nobody is irreplaceable. 

The PM also returned this week to the comments he made when challenging Tony Abbott for the Liberal leadership. 

Malcolm Turnbull Turnbull said only ‘fair’ tax changes would be supported by the community. Photo: AAP Mr Turnbull emphasised the government needed to respect the intelligence of Australians, and have a grown up discussion “across government, business, the labour movement, the wider community” that clarifies policy goals and then identifies and removes any obstacles to generating “growth, productivity, investment and jobs”. 

That’s all good and well, but the PM also set a particularly high bar for himself on the matter of fairness. 

“It is not enough to persuade the public that your motives are good,” Mr Turnbull said, “you also have to demonstrate that you’ve taken decisions in an open, consultative way, that you’ve carefully weighed up the various options and arguments.” 

And when it comes to tax reform, the PM has set himself this task: to deliver a reform package that raises revenue, shares the burden fairly across the community and is seen to be fair. 

“Any package of reforms which is not and is not seen as fair will not and cannot achieve the public support without which it simply will not succeed.” The New Daily