A government that needs to counter rumour and spin

I know we are a long way off an election, but I'm bothered by the lack of concerted pushback from the Labor government against the populist and right wing spin machine that is running wildly out of control on the topics of both tax reform and immigration.  (And hence the surge in support for One Nation.)

(I have a bit of concern for the culture war topic of trans rights too, given that recent decision of the Federal Court which was caused by poor old Julia Gillard more than a decade ago.  Presumably, she didn't imagine that a man who does not pass well as a transwoman would actually try to join a women's online social app and then claim discrimination.)    

But back to tax and immigration.

The other day I was speaking to a 60-70 year old retiree who told me that her friends had warned her that she should put her house into a family trust, otherwise the government would take 40% of it when she died.

On further questioning, it had always been her principal place of residence, and never rented it out.  There was therefore no basis on which to fear Capital Gains Tax would apply to it on her death - there has never been any serious suggestion that the government would apply CGT to the family home, as it would be wildly unpopular and seen as a de facto death duty.

Yet, this fear mongering is presumably running riot amongst retirees at the moment.

Then there is the spectacle of Dave Hughes - the former working class poor man (who still looks like he can't afford decent grooming - he's a seriously unattractive man)  turning up on social media complaining bitterly about CGT changes and Labor.   This from the guy who invests in real estate, including a high profile purchase of a 3 million dollar house that he claimed he should not have as the banks valuation showed he paid too much.  But he also turned up a few years later confirming that he had offers for it well above the price he paid.   Websites which give an estimate of celebrities' net worth put his at $10 million, although I those estimates are old now too.

So yeah, of course he's a very rich man complaining about taxes.  But he would be influential with some people.

And as for immigration:  it's the other topic that is extremely susceptible to lies and gut reactions that are based on exaggeration and misleading use of figures - all with the added assistance of easily stoked racism.   (I really feel sorry for Indians at the moment.)

So yeah, in this day of social media crapola, I don't think the government can afford to let people continue with RW propaganda without pushing back in advertising and social media themselves.   Maybe they are keeping the powder dry, so to speak; but I think early action may be better.