OK, we all make mistakes. But how come when I make one, the media treat it like it’s an end –of- the- world event? I’ve been called all sorts of names for mere slips of the tongue.
When Tony Abbott admits that in the heat of the moment, something he says may prove to be something that later on he cannot deliver, he is castigated for it. He was not lying, but perhaps making a statement about wishing to do something to solve a problem that, on later reflection or in possession of more evidence, is not the optimum way to proceed.
So, have a look at this from Kevin Rudd at the Community Cabinet Meeting in Tasmania yesterday. He was asked to explain how much more people would get in their retirement fund by a rise in the superannuation contribution from 9% to 12%. He said-
“If you're 30 years old and you're on average weekly earnings, with these changes, come retirement, you're more than $810,000 better off.”
The figure is actually $108,000. Only a small difference!
Or did anyone pick up on Mr Rudd’s statement to Kerry O’Brien on the 7.30 report when he said that the assistance package to the insulation companies would lead to “unemployment”?
Rememeber the silence in the media when Lindsay Tanner was out on our debt figure by a mere $6 billion? Or when he admitted that he didn't have time to "dot the i's and corss the t's"?
There are no headlines about Mr Rudds gaff today. Perhaps these slips of the tongue or lapses of memory aren’t that important after all?