Mr Oakeshott seized upon a Productivity Commission report to support his case, disregarding a 2007 Sydney University study which found that Work Choices had cut the wages of many retail and hospitality workers by as much as 33 per cent. True to form, Mr Oakeshott recently sided with the NSW Business Chamber's position that the nation's ever-increasing cohort of casual workers must continue to be denied leave entitlements, redundancy and notice of termination.

I also haven't forgotten that Mr Oakeshott was perhaps the most vocal supporter of the Henry tax report in Canberra. He was once quoted as saying: "I'm a bit of a purist on the Henry report and tax reform." Ken Henry's report recommended corporate tax cuts and replacing our progressive tax system with a flat tax model. Under Henry's system those earning $180,000 would pay the same rate of tax as those earning $25,000. To rub salt into the wound, the wealthy would no longer have to pay the luxury car tax. The GST would be increased with current exemptions on fresh food, health, and education removed.

Henry's flat tax is a relic of the Dark Ages because it collects insufficient revenue to fund things like public hospitals. The few remaining countries where the flat tax can still be found include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Hungary, Romania, Bosnia, and East Timor. Almost 100 per cent of Ken Henry's 138 recommendations were rejected by the then treasurer Wayne Swan just as I call on the voters of Cowper to reject the candidacy of Rob Oakeshott.

Furthermore, it's unclear if Mr Oakeshott supports a truly public health system. In 2009 he said the following during a speech to parliament: "universal free health is not and never was intended as a system of delivery of health within Australia."

Ryan Mainey

Bellimbopinni