There is nothing "Fair" about politics - they play to win and don't care whether the victory is Pyrrhic. If they get voted out they still get their pension. Look at Gough - still raking in hundreds of thousands per year.
I dislike RUDD but he has played it smart so far.
He has a huge deficit and as the latest figures showed only his stimulus waste is hiding the real truth so he needs income so he doesnt have to borrow , Tax or print more A$. If the A$ falls too much inflation will really hit hard.
He knows the miners would always disagree with whatever tax he may propose so he made his opening gambit , like his union mates asking for a 70% pay rise. That there will be an extra Tax is effectively non-negotiable. I bet the rest will be.
But by not having any legislation drafted he has signalled that there is an opening for the miners to become involved.
He can "Win" the game by reaching a compromise with the miners before the election and thereby disarming the opposition.
I suspect that he has started this fight so late to show he can really be a "Leader" after his disastrous past in the hope that the electorate will not recall the details. If he gets back in he will have a reduced majority for sure. If the miners have agreed to some compromise the opposition will be hard pressed to oppose the legislation.
He can "Lose" if the miners are still at war with him at election time because he has refused to budge an inch. His Trump Card might be that if the miners wont "negotiate" the electorate will be told that they will have to bear an increase in the GST, just like NZ has just done.
We can all dislike RUDD but he is a "Fine" specimen of the Political Animal. I don't think that even those who voted for him realised how far-Left he really is , as he Passed himself off as "Howard Lite".
