Cabinet papers released today confirm what most of us knew - that Keating strongly argued for a consumption tax but was rolled by Hawke - who freely admits that it was for political purposes as much as them being unsure if they could devise an effective support package for those most "affected"
Keating has also allowed thousands of newspaper cuttings from the time which he donated to the national archives to be published - many of them with pithy notations about Hawke. Seems just like it was yesterday.
Of course Keating didn't allow his convictions to override his political survival skills to oppose the GST when he defeated Hewson on the back of his faux opposition to it. This imho detracts from his self acclaimed reform championship that he never shuts up about.
His and Labor's opposition to the GST left us with a half baked scheme that is to their perpetual shame.
