Joh For Canberra - The Campaign Platform

The Campaign Platform

Bjelke-Petersen's candidacy rested on his promotion of a 25% flat tax rate for all Australians irrespective of income, a proposal that drew the support of Queensland businessmen and those on the right of politics. At one point, members of the "white shoe brigade" who were sympathetic to Bjelke-Petersen pledged millions of dollars to help his campaign, though the money never materialised. Although the 25% flat tax rate was the basis of Bjelke-Petersen's campaign for prime minister, it was subsequently argued that he had "no idea of how such a tax would operate still less of what was needed for responsible introduction". Bjelke-Petersen identified restricting the power of unions, reversing Aboriginal land rights decisions and promoting states' rights as other goals of his campaign. Ultimately, the Nationals retained a limited base of support and were unlikely to become Australia's major non-Labor party. The belief that Bjelke-Petersen could have defeated Bob Hawke in the 1987 election has been called "one of the greatest delusions ever entertained in Australian politics". Ironically, before Bjelke-Petersen began his ill-fated run for the office of prime minister, Bob Hawke and Labor stood a very serious chance of losing government, deflated by the introduction of the unpopular Australia Card and a growing grassroots trend towards conservatism.