#OtherThingsThePoorDontDo: Twitter fuels ridicule of Hockey
When Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey suggested that Australia's "poorest people either don't have cars or actually don't drive very far in many cases", he may not have expected the aggressive response he was about to face on social media.
His now-famous gaffe sparked a sarcastic and critical response as Australia's Twittersphere lit up with frustrated responses to Hockey's attempts to justify a proposed increase in fuel excise.
Of the near 4000 tweets shared using the hashtag #OtherThingsThePoorDontDo, here are the best posts that poke fun at Joe Hockey, Tony Abbott, the Liberal Party and even Gina Rinehart.
BREAKING NEWS: @JoeHockey announces the poor needn't worry about metadata retention as they don't have internet #OtherThingsThePoorDontDo
— Luke Sulzberger (@LukieSulz) August 13, 2014
#OtherThingsThePoorDontDo Walk all over town to apply for their 40 jobs/month.
— Sal (@SalPiracha) August 13, 2014
Go to mate's wedding and get the taxpayer to cover out of pocket expenses. #OtherThingsThePoorDontDo
— Sir Pwoiter (@pwoiter) August 13, 2014
#OtherThingsThePoorDontDo ....take the family to Flemington on Cup day and charge expenses back to taxpayers pic.twitter.com/HPnxSPoUjF
— Gary (@b_spectabilis) August 13, 2014
#OtherThingsThePoorDontDo arrange 60K scholarships with nil-HECS for their kids
— Dame Nellie (@woolkebb) August 13, 2014
Fly a celebrity chef to Washington at the cost of $50,000 to the tax payer #otherthingsthepoordontdo
— Shary Bobbins (@sharybobbins) August 13, 2014
#OtherThingsThePoorDontDo write thank-you note for a bottle of Grange
— M'Lady Mallott (@mallottk) August 13, 2014
#OtherThingsThePoorDontDo pretend $10000 in an envelope never existed
— Jenna Price (@JennaPrice) August 13, 2014
Pose for reflective photos on reflective surfaces #OtherThingsThePoorDontDo pic.twitter.com/kF9wt5JCRJ
— Dame Cath (@AstraKate) August 13, 2014
Give massive subsidies to mining millionaires while cutting public health and education #OtherThingsThePoorDontDo
— Lord felft (@felft) August 14, 2014
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten also ridiculed Hockey's statement, asking the Treasurer: “Are you really the caricature of the cigar-chomping, Foghorn Leghorn of Australian politics, where you’re saying that poor people don’t drive cars?”
Having riled even coalition colleagues with his comments about the fuel tax, Hockey is now warning everyone else they may have to swallow tougher budget measures.
Nationals senator John Williams says people in the bush need cars, a point echoed by Liberal Ian Macdonald.
"You have to have a car whether you're rich or poor," Senator Macdonald told ABC Radio on Thursday.
But Mr Hockey is not running away from his argument that richer households pay three times more in fuel taxes than the poorest because they own more cars and drive further.
However, he now concedes there may be proportional impacts because the excise is applied equally to everyone's purchase of petrol.
"That is the case with any indirect tax," he told ABC radio on Thursday.
Mr Hockey also argued that every dollar from the fuel excise increase would help to build new roads, helping create jobs and boost productivity.
Labor and the Greens oppose the measure, saying it will hit low-income families the hardest.
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen challenged Mr Hockey to go to Western Sydney and tell the people on low incomes they don't drive cars.
"He just keeps showing he fundamentally misunderstands the impact of his budget," he told reporters in Cabramatta.
Even NSW Premier Mike Baird was not convinced about the treasurer's reasoning, telling reporters in Sydney: "I can't agree with those comments".
Cabinet colleague Peter Dutton came to Mr Hockey's defence, denying the government was out of touch with ordinary people.
"These are tough days, but the fact is that the government has a task to do, and I think Australians respect that fact," he told ABC radio.
News break – August 14