Suppose Gillard had said that, suppose she had said there would be no balanced budget under a government she led, and had then broken the promise. Suppose she had done that. You know what? It wouldn’t have bothered me a bit.

The problem with the broken promise on carbon taxes was not just that she had lied but that it was bad policy. The carbon tax has sent manufacturing industry out of this country, made Australia a very expensive place to live and do business, and raised government revenue which it was able to squander at every turn.

The carbon tax lie was a game changer. It brought the ALP into government in a hung Parliament. If she hadn’t said it, Tony Abbott would have been Prime Minister three years sooner than he was.

The last election did not turn on whether or not there would be tax increases as part of a package to balance the books. The last election turned on whether we could get a decent set of economic managers, along with a slew of other things such as stopping the boats.

The Government we now have looks set to deliver an adult government. I have plenty of bones to pick with what it is doing (or not doing) but nothing they do to taxation will make the slightest difference to my wish to seem them succeed as the government of this country which so far they are doing infinitely better than the mob they have replaced.