Julia Gillard battling flood levy backlash

JULIA Gillard is fighting to contain a growing public and political backlash against her $5.6 billion flood reconstruction package, as community goodwill from the Queensland disaster threatened to evaporate and one Labor state broke ranks over the rescue plan.

On a day when the Prime Minister hoped to tap into Australia’s spirit of generosity to win support for her one-off tax increase on middle- and high-income earners and spending cuts, she found herself struggling to get on the front foot.

Ms Gillard was forced to slap down Kristina Keneally after the NSW Premier demanded changes to the proposed $1.8bn levy, claiming it was unfair to Sydneysiders because they faced higher living costs than other Australians.

Ms Gillard was also dragged into a testy exchange during a radio interview in her home town when Melbourne talkback host Neil Mitchell repeatedly pushed her over Labor’s ability to deliver value for money, in the wake of the waste exposed in the $16.2bn Building the Education Revolution program.

Read the full story in The Australian HERE

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The Cost of Our Surplus Obsession

Gillard’s spinning in a straightjacket

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