Ross Gittins has delivered a thought-provoking speech on the prospects of government reform and why he believes reform has been so difficult since the Hawke-Keating era. Gittins says that not only has bipartisan support disappeared for reforms that benefit the national interest, but the self-interest of government has extended towards fierce lobbying interest groups. He uses examples such as the mining tax, where the large miners were unwilling to take private losses for the benefit of the economy at large, including smaller gains for all businesses. However, he notes that despite all the other benefits to business in the package, there was little positive response from business. As a result, their long-term goal of a company tax cut looks further than ever, even though it would have been funded by the mining tax which will inevitably be repealed by the Abbott government. (VIEW LINK)