From one of our founding board members.
Ian Marsh. Australian Financial Review, 28 May 2014.
Tony Abbott’s fall from grace has been precipitous. But it is not unprecedented. Its causes are much more fundamental than poor political judgment. How so?
Take the precedents. The Resource Super Profits Tax was released in May 2010, and was followed by a public opinion firestorm which unseated Kevin Rudd. WorkChoices led to the downfall of John Howard’s government. Refugees and climate change destroyed Julia Gillard. Earlier, John Hewson was undone by Fightback and sponsorship of indigenous reconciliation and a republic contributed much to Paul Keating’s defeat. In all cases, an
unprepared public opinion delivered a populist verdict.
Full article here
Ian Marsh is a visiting professor at RegNet, Australian National University.
