JOHN’S CAKE RETURNS IN BILL’S SUPER GAFFE

BILL Shorten is beginning to look a lot like John Hewson.

Indeed arguably, he has already far out-Hewsoned Hewson in not understanding his own policies and how they would directly hit millions of Australians.

Or, alternatively, he’s being deliberately ‘terminologically inexact’ about them; on the assumption you can fool enough of the voters, at least for long enough to get you past polling day.

Back in 1993 Hewson only got himself into trouble trying to explain how his proposed GST would apply to a cake bought from a cake shop.

In contrast, this week Shorten ‘forgot’ about $30 billion of new taxes he plans to hit savers with.

Shorten categorically stated that Labor had no plans to increase taxes on superannuation. He didn’t just say it once but repeatedly.

“We have no plans to introduce any new taxes on superannuation,” he said.

And for added emphasis: “I make it very clear: no new taxes, no higher taxes on superannuation under my government ever.”

Labor is categorically committed to not just one new tax on super but indeed four – and, by the bye, is almost certain to deliver them in government with the help of the Greens in the Senate.

Well, those explicit ‘no gaps’ denials were on Tuesday. His ‘clarification’ yesterday only dug the Hewson-style hole deeper.

He claimed he’d “misunderstood” the question: he claimed that he was being asked whether Labor had any “unannounced” changes to super.

Apart from the rather basic fact he was not asked anything remotely like such a question, the bigger problem with that ‘clarification’ is that it doesn’t sync with his Tuesday answers.

Then he had specifically claimed that Labor had “no plans” to increase taxes on super.

An ordinary person would think that a stated policy proposal is exactly such a “plan”.

Further, voters would be entitled to expect that a leader of a party seeking to become prime minister might actually remember the major policies that he is trying to sell to – or indeed, even hide from – the electorate.

But Shorten’s Hewsonstyle hole digging was actually much worse on Tuesday.

He refused point-black to even try to answer other questions from Ten’s News reporter Jonathan Lea on the cost of Labor’s climate change policies.

These are to basically close down Australia’s coalfired power stations by 2030 and put all out faith – and our access to electricity – in the wind blowing and the sun shining. With some batteries included.

Three minutes of waffling and bluster from Shorten ensued, accompanied by the classic what I have dubbed “Shorten wivel”.

This is Shorten’s unique combination of the classic poseur head tilt and the head swivel from right to left and back again, taught in Public Speaking 101.

Watching it, I almost felt for him.

First he couldn’t remember his lines: all he needed to do was just repeat the lying mantra that more and more unreliable wind and solar will make electricity cheaper.

Or that he couldn’t just respond: “I don’t know what she said, but I endorse it.”

Or indeed, even just be able to borrow her – then PM Julia Gillard’s – most famous quote: “there will be no carbon tax under a government I, Bill Shorten, lead”.

What Tuesday really revealed is two things.

First, frankly, Shorten is just not leadership material. He can talk a smooth game when he doesn’t have to carry the ultimate responsibility. When the bucks pile up on his desk, he goes to water.

Many could say: Bill, I knew Julia (and even Kevin); Bill, you are no Julia (or indeed, even Kevin).

Secondly, he’s lazy. He can be great company, but he’s just not prepared to put in the hard yards to get on top of what he is supposed to be offering, or indeed just to get his soporific lines right.

And he’s got a lot, a lot, of hard yards to cover in the next four weeks.