ANOTHER JOB FOR THE BOYS

If Treasurer Costello was a horse trainer, he would be serving a life time disqualification for not allowing a fair tax system, such as a transaction tax to run on its merits. To make matters worse, he appointed Peter Hendy the C.E.O of the Australian Chamber of Commerce for five weeks, to see how the Tax system can be improved. Well, you may ask, who is Peter Hendy? Mr Hendy was one of the Howard Government's most enthusiastic backers of the Governments Industrial Relations reforms. Mr Hendy pops up regularly on television - clapping and praising the Howard Government's anti-worker legislation as well as writing supportive articles in the national media. Government ministers quote him continuously as an "independent third party" to support the questionable new industrial laws. This couldn't be the same Peter Hendy, who was chief of staff to former Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith who ordered the war dogs to attack waterfront workers? It couldn't be the same Peter Hendy who accompanied Peter Reith to give evidence before a Federal Senate committee inquiry into the "Tampa, kids overboard affair?" Peter Reith singled out Peter Hendy for special thanks in his retirement speech when he quit parliament in 1998. Yes it's the one and same Peter Hendy. Peter Costello was quite contented to give the job to one of the boys, knowing that the majority of brain dead Australian voters wouldn't know, and at best, wouldn't Remember who Peter Hendy was.