Bank tax bumbles on but ScoMo can’t run from his past denials of a revenue problem

Scott Morrison introduces his major bank levy in the House of Representatives, yesterday:

Australia’s five largest banks are highly profitable — earning more than $30 billion a year after tax — and benefit from a regulatory system that has helped to embed their dominant position in the market.

A big tax from a Liberal treasurer. Funny how things change … Morrison speaking in Canberra, September 25, 2015:

We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

But boo hoo hoo, the Senate is too hard. The Treasurer on ABC’s 7.30 budget night special, May 9:

… we had $13.5bn of savings which the Senate rejected. We’ve got two ­choices — we just ignore that and allow the deficit to go up and blow out over more years and raise the debt, or we take the responsible decision, which is ensure we keep the budget on track …

Commentator Peta Credlin in The Australian, May 10:

Watching your back worried about the polls drives decision-making risk-avoidance and reactionary policy.

Peta, the banks are evil, didn’t you know that? Morrison speaking in the house, yesterday:

(A parliamentary review into the big four banks) concluded that Australia’s banking sector is an oligopoly and that Australia’s largest banks have significant pricing power which they have used to the detriment of everyday Australians.

So ScoMo is going to support Bill Shorten’s royal commission? Morrison on Sky News, August 6 last year:

Apparently the royal commission is going to deal with banks changing interest rates decisions, it’s going to deal with executive salaries; it’s going to deal with issues around investigations and particular past practices. I don’t know what the royal commission is apparently into, but sadly neither does Bill Shorten. It is nothing more than a populist whinge from Bill Shorten.

And there has been a lot of talk about discrimination in the tennis world this week. Tennis Australia’s member protection policy:

Discrimination is treating or proposing to treat a person less favourably than someone else in certain areas of public life on the basis of an attribute or personal characteristic.

Are Christians an exception? The Australianonline, yesterday:

Grand slam champion Samantha Stosur has hinted that tennis stars may try to boycott Margaret Court Arena at next year’s Australian Open. Stosur has backed (openly gay tennis player) Casey Dellacqua in her stance against Margaret Court after the legendary 24-times major winner created a firestorm with her public opposition to same-sex marriage.

Sam Stosur speaking after her French Open match, yesterday:

I guess we’ll cross that bridge … next year and (see) who wants to play on Margaret Court Arena and who doesn’t, and we’ll go from there.

Not in the spirit of non-discrimination, is it? Tennis Australia member protection policy, continued:

The personal attributes or characteristics against which a person may be discriminated are … religious activity or belief.

Thanks, Sam, for telling us why renaming Margaret Court Arena is a dumb idea. Paris, yesterday:

The court’s named Margaret Court Arena because of what she did in tennis, and that’s why basically.