The time has come to ditch the Libs

Since being elected in 2013, the Liberal governments have all been one great disappointment. They have been riddled with infighting, non-starter policies and dodgy practices. We have a look at some of the promises each government has made, and what we got in return for electing them.

LIBERAL GOVERNMENT 1.0 - TONY ABBOTT 

THE PROMISE
No cuts to education; no change to pensions; no change to the GST; no cuts to ABC & SBS; and Treasurer Joe Hockey announced that “the age of entitlement is over”, and that there was a budget emergency which needed urgent attention to get our “debt and deficit disaster” under control. 

THE REALITY
The exact opposite of everything they promised. Abbott's infamous 2014 budget delivered sweeping cuts to education, health, pensions, the ABC and SBS budgets, and many social services were gutted. Big business and the wealthy were offered tax cuts, and the rest of us paid for it. They called the Royal Commission into Trade Unions; a $50 million exercise which called hundreds of witnesses and found more or less nothing. Abbott himself was known for his terrible “captain’s calls”, like reintroducing knighthoods and then giving one to Prince Philip

LIBERAL GOVERNMENT 2.0 - Malcolm Turnbull

THE PROMISE
When Turnbull became Prime Minister, Australians were excited that a more reasonable moderate would be leading the country. Turnbull was well known for his progressive ideologies around Australia becoming a republic, same-sex marriage and environmental policies. Before the 2016 election the party pledged to crack down on the tax avoidance of big business and multinational companies and campaigned on a mantra of ‘Jobs & Growth’ for all Australians.

THE REALITY
A big disappointment. Although the leader of the Liberal Party had changed, their unpopular policies stayed the same. As Communications Minister, Turnbull destroyed the NBN rollout, and as Prime Minister he got to work on everything else. They did nothing to crack down on big business tax avoidance, and instead offered them $65 billion worth of tax cuts. They established the Registered Organisations Commission and the ABCC to police and demonise unions and union members. 

Turnbull was also single handedly responsible for destroying the NBN. Though he was once hailed as the
man who "practically invented 
the internet in Australia," under his  watch Australia's broadband 
speeds slipped to some of the slowests in the world.

LIBERAL GOVERNMENT 3.0 - Scott Morrison

THE PROMISE
The Liberal Party have refused to explain why they needed a new leader, telling the Australian public that we should just “get over it”. Since becoming PM, Morrison has spent more time talking about Bill Shorten and the Labor Party than about what’s good for the country. The only thing they have promised so far is the vague sentiment that “if you have a go in this country, you will get a go”. 

THE REALITY
They certainly haven’t delivered a fair go to those who have had a go (except for their rich mates and banking executives). LGBTI teachers and students have been in their firing line, they have threatened to deregister the CFMMEU, they are ignoring climate change and they have refused to intervene after BHP sacked 70 Australian workers to replace them with exploited foreign workers. They have spent the 6 months since the leadership spill looking out for themselves, trying to push through as many self-serving policies and stacking as many government bodies as they can before they’re kicked out of government in May.