Gillard: unfit to drive

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is a serial hit and run driver who is hoping to convince us not to look at her past driving record, but to trust her when she says that she is an outstanding driver.

Before looking at how one of her “fixes” will be disastrous to our future, consider her past record.

Six years ago, Julia Gillard, as Shadow Health Minister, was responsible for the disaster of the “Medicare Gold” scheme that was a catastrophe in the 2004 election campaign and seriously damaged Labor’s health credentials.

In the Rudd/Gillard government, Julia Gillard was one of the so-called “gang of four”. She was intimately involved in all of the decisions that have made this such a disastrous government. Worse, Gillard was personally responsible, in terms of portfolio responsibility, for most of the disasters that have occurred in the Labor government’s term.

Consider the home insulation fiasco, with hundreds of house fires and four deaths. Apart from the fact that it was an economic wreck of a policy, distorting the market, costing the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars, the aspect that was most concerning related to the training and safety of workers installing the insulation.

Julia Gillard as education and training minister had direct responsibility for this aspect, yet Peter Garrett was left “carrying the can” despite the fact that he had let the gang of four know of issues related to the program months before it was axed.

Labor’s dumping of the emissions trading scheme was similarly one that Ms Gillard was intimately involved with. Once again, Ms Gillard was front and centre, pushing very hard for the policy to be dumped, despite grave reservations by Kevin Rudd. The Teflon lady sailed through, with Rudd wearing the odour of the decision that was ultimately one that was of Gillard’s making.

Consider the Building the Education Revolution. Billions of dollars in wasted spending, not only for infrastructure that in many cases was not needed, but even where the infrastructure was needed, a massive blowout in costs.

One of the reasons that Ms Gillard called the election early is that the audit report of the BER will probably show at least $8 billion in waste in that program, or $1,600 that the average family of four has paid that the government has been thrown away.

Worse is that average family of four will now have to pay interest on that waste.

And just where are all those computers you promised school students, Ms Gillard? Students are not fooled, and they know that you have not delivered.

There are numerous other policy disasters that Ms Gillard was either directly involved with, or had responsibility for. Yet she drives on, with the carcasses of trashed policies in her wake, and the media seem oblivious, even making her out to be a good performer.

She may talk a good talk, but is unable to drive the policy drive. Here is a person who should be a learner driver, instead insisting she should be on the grid in a Formula 1 race.

Ms Gillard now claims to have solved the super profits tax with a dodgy deal with just the three biggest miners. The fact is, the junior and midsized miners have not been included, and they are very concerned.

The fact is, exploration is not done by the majors, it is done by those smaller companies or individuals, who take massive risks and expect just reward for the risks. The big three don’t take those risks, they simply piggyback off the smaller miners and explorers, so are not as exposed.

In order to see whether a driver should be on the grid with highly talented and experienced drivers, it is essential to look at past performances.

No Formula 1 team will hire a driver based on spin, they will make that decision based on past performance.

That is what the Australian people need to consider on August 21, and past performance is something that Prime Minister Gillard is hoping desperately that the Australian electorate will not factor in.