Former prime minister Scott Morrison announces he will retire from politics at the end of February, ending a 16-year career in federal parliament, including four served as prime minister.
Probably the worst Prime Minister Australia has ever had, certainly in living memory. Competing with Tony Abbott, whose worst excesses at least were reined in by the Senate.
The world is just a little better without you in power Scotty. You won't be missed.
Howard, for all the many terrible things in his legacy (Iraq War, work choices, and the extreme politicisation of refugees are the biggest ones that come to mind), at least has one thing that we can look back on and say was definitely good, and another which was probably necessary. (Our gun laws and GST, respectively.)
What can be said positive about the Prime Ministerships of Abbott and Morrison? Because off the top of my head, I can't name a single positive policy for either of them.
I was very anti-GST when it was implemented. I honestly didn't think it would stay at 10% for more than a year or so. I looked at the UK VAT, and assumed it would happen to us like that, as well.
I am very happy to have been proved wrong on that one.
We often hear about the suggestion to broaden the GST, but honestly I think that would be the worst thing we could do. I'd sooner see the rate of the GST increased while narrowing the range of products on which it applies, than support any suggestion to broaden it.