You may recall that, prior to the introduction of the GST, the federal government ran a lengthy advertising campaign featuring Joe Cocker’s “Unchain My Heart”, images of people being freed from the chains and shackles of the old tax system, and voiceovers answering “questions” about the new tax system in much the same way that a government MP will gladly waffle on for many minutes during Parliament Question Time in reply to a Dorothy Dixer.
I was trying to find footage of some of these advertisements online. I didn’t find any (although I didn’t look very hard) but I did find a rather amusing sendup of the advertisements by Paul McDermott and the rest of the Good News Week team. It features voiceovers by Robbie McGregor so there is definitely no way that I can stop myself from sharing the video with you. Happy eighth birthday of the GST!
Incidentally, I forgot to mention it when I wrote this the other day, but at the time this was filmed, Australia was going through one of its many “Sorry” debates, this one in the leadup to the Sydney Olympics. How is that relevant? Watch the video and you’ll see.
Samuel