Behind the Truth

Kevin Rudd’s honesty and integrity are under question again. Not just by the Federal Opposition but by an increasing number of Australians who are waking up to the fact that what Mr Rudd says is not always consistent with actual events.

One could attribute this variability to Mr Rudd’s confusion about his true beliefs and philosophical position. Remember, this was the man who began as a Christian socialist, through political convenience became an economic conservative and then morphed into an anti-capitalist social democrat.

One can only imagine how tortured these conversions must have been for him as he relentlessly plotted to become Prime Minister without any core philosophical beliefs.

But in giving Mr Rudd the benefit of the doubt rather than simply accusing him of grubby political opportunism, there are other glaring inconsistencies in Mr Rudd’s words.

It is alarming when the Australian public can no longer rely on the statements of our Prime Minister. There are a few examples that immediately spring to mind.

Mr Rudd promised that no Australian worker would be worse off as a result of his industrial relations changes when he introduced them to parliament last year. Last week he refused to give that same guarantee as the litany of employees and employers disadvantaged by the IR changes came to light.

Mr Rudd also promised that families would receive compensation for the increases in the cost of living as a result of his massive tax on everything – the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). As the light of parliamentary scrutiny has shone more brightly on this deeply flawed policy, Mr Rudd and his senior ministers haven’t been able to explain why some people will be substantially worse off as a result of the ETS.

He has also failed to answer a raft of questions regarding the consequences of the ETS which makes one wonder just what the government has been doing while working on this massive new tax and restructure of the Australian economy for the past two years?

If they can’t answer simple questions, what hope have the rest of us got in trying to understand the complex and inefficient ETS?

Most recently, Labor MP Belinda Neal has refuted Mr Rudd’s claim that he insisted she have anger management counselling in 2008. One of them is clearly not telling the truth. Either Mr Rudd did direct Ms Neal to undergo anger management counselling or he did not.

Given the track record of assurances and promises that Mr Rudd has made in the past for political expediency, we would be wise to question the substance behind the Prime Minister’s claims.

These are just some of the matters that are causing the Australian public to question the character of the man who, it appears, will say anything and do anything to further his personal ambition.

Little wonder an increasing number of Australians no longer trust what they are told by our Prime Minister.

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