ANALYSIS
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is treading a well-travelled path in breaking an election promise he made – repeatedly – to the n public.
Many leaders before him have done the same, but few have survived politically.
There was Julia Gillard with her carbon tax, Kevin Rudd with the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, Tony Abbott with cuts to health, SBS and ABC spending, and John Howard with the GST.
Of them all, only one survived the election which followed the broken promise.
Mr Albanese channelled former prime minister Howard when he delivered his National Press Club address on Thursday – his opportunity to sell the new Stage Three tax cuts to voters.
He painted these changes as a valiant effort toward the greater good – even at the expense of his own reputation.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is treading a well-travelled path in breaking an election promise he made – repeatedly – to the n public. Of them all, only one – John Howard (pictured) survived the election which followed the broken promise
The PM has undoubtedly broken a promise. He’s hoping voters won’t mind when they realise they get more cash back under the new policy
‘I am very clear about the fact we have changed our position. We have changed our position for the right reasons. I stand by and accept responsibility for it,’ he told the crowd.
‘I lead a Government that is focused on the needs of the n people. What we have done here is put people before politics.
‘We expect there to be some controversy around that but I have a responsibility to put people first. Not to put the politics of this first.’
Some 24 years earlier, Mr Howard struck a similar tune in trying to take the moral high ground.
He told his critics he was the ‘unashamed architect’ of the GST package he’d once ruled out and said he would ‘never ever’ pursue.
‘The reason I have done this and I have taken the risk and I have put my head on the block, and accept it, is that I believe it is good for the country,’ he said.
Mr Albanese will be hoping the n public trusts his motives as they trusted Mr Howard’s.
Mr Albanese channelled former prime minister Howard when he delivered his National Press Club address on Thursday – his opportunity to sell the new Stage Three tax cuts to voters
Mr Howard took his new GST position to an election in 1998 and was voted back into government despite his broken promise.
The key difference between Mr Howard and Mr Albanese is that the current PM will not face an election between now and the time his new Stage Three tax cuts come into effect on July 1.
Mr Albanese has hinged his credibility on being a ‘man of his word’ throughout his election campaign and his 20 months in the top job.
Now, he’s walked back on a promise made no less than 36 times – a decision he said was ‘not the easy choice, but the right choice’.
Mr Abbott pledged no cuts to the health sector in September 2013, before later cutting health and education by $80billion over the span of a decade
Journalists and voters were alerted that something was amiss when the PM began getting tricky with his wording when asked about Stage Three.
‘Our position has not changed,’ was his go-to response. At one stage, senior Labor MPs were given clear instructions to say the same thing if they were asked about it.
Even as late as Monday, the PM’s office was issuing the same response.
‘Our position has not changed,’ they said again. By that stage, radio host Chris O’Keefe had already revealed that changes were being made.
The PM was asked about these ‘lies’ at the National Press Club on Thursday.
The logic he gave for the phrase was that the government’s position did not officially change until Tuesday, when he held a cabinet meeting.
That’s even though he knew it would change on Monday. Even though by Monday he’d already commissioned the Treasury and received the advice that it should change.
Technically, Mr Albanese argued, his government didn’t officially change positions until Tuesday night.
Julia Gillard pledged she would not introduce a carbon tax on the eve of the election – which she later broke
Kevin Rudd pledged to introduce an emissions trading scheme, which he later reneged on
It’s a technicality that may be right, but sounds a lot like a tricky, political word-game.
‘We changed our position on Tuesday in the cabinet, I’m here at the National Press Club on Thursday with everyone here being accountable for that decision,’ he said.
‘We made the decision on Tuesday. I have announced when we have changed our position. We changed our position on Tuesday.’
Asked at the press club what makes his broken promise different to those which have come before him, Mr Albanese made clear that he believes his motives are sincere.
‘We are being very upfront with the n people that when economic circumstances have changed, it is a responsible thing to do to change our policy,’ he said.
‘We are changing our policy for the right reasons.’
Mr Albanese said over the Christmas break, he was meeting with everyday ns – low and middle income earners – who shared stories of the financial pressure they are under.
‘We have a responsibility to do something about it. Not just to wring our hands and to say, well, that’s difficult.
‘As prime minister, I have a responsibility to act and that is what we are doing. We are acting in a way in which we will provide assistance to people with out adding to inflation because that will be counter-productive.
‘This is not an easy decision to make. The easy option is to kick the can down the road. This is the right decision. Done for all the right reasons.
‘And as Prime Minister, I will always do what I believe is in the national interest.’