--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: John Howard performed a triple reverse…" description: "\"“John Howard performed a triple reverse somersault on his promise to never, ever introduce a GST under a government he led, and was met with no such op..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/kerry-anne-walsh-40217_politics_john-howard-performed-a-triple-reverse-s_1009245.jpg" --- # John Howard performed a triple reverse somersault on his… ![“John Howard performed a triple reverse somersault on his promise to never, ever introduce a GST under a government he led, and was met with no such opprobrium. Unlike Gillard, he consistently lied to the Australian people about his intentions.” quote by Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/kerry-anne-walsh-40217_politics_john-howard-performed-a-triple-reverse-s_1009245.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/kerry-anne-walsh-40217_politics_john-howard-performed-a-triple-reverse-s_1009245.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/kerry-anne-walsh-40217_politics_john-howard-performed-a-triple-reverse-s_1009245.jpg) > ““John Howard performed a triple reverse somersault on his promise to never, ever introduce a GST under a government he led, and was met with no such opprobrium. Unlike Gillard, he consistently lied to the Australian people about his intentions.”” [Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A politician broke his promise about GST, yet avoided criticism, unlike another leader who was more openly dishonest. **In simple terms:** A promise was broken without backlash, while another was openly deceptive. Key Takeaway Beware of broken promises even when unchallenged. Themes politics trust accountability Mood critical skeptical Type political commentary When to use this quote - election campaigns - policy debates - public speeches - media analysis Key Concepts promise breaking public perception media scrutiny Questions to Reflect On - How does media coverage affect accountability? - Why are some leaders scrutinized more than others? A Different Perspective Even without criticism, broken promises erode trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [ \[John Howard\] led the Government. They had the numbers, and just basically automatically went along with the Americans. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/john-howard-led-the-government-they-had-the-numbers-and-just/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) > [John Howard, willing to apologise to home owners for rising interest rates, would not say sorry to Aborigines. He refused to condone what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/john-howard-willing-to-apologise-to-home-owners-for-rising-interest/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [John Howard Davies was not a very human person... if you made a mistake of any kind, any sort of pause in speech, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-chapman/john-howard-davies-was-not-a-very-human-person-if-you-made-a-mistake/) [Graham Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-chapman/) > [ “\[Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard\] would not schedule any Cabinet meetings in the evening because he'd previously observed as a minister that any… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fleur-anderson/former-australian-prime-minister-john-howard-would-not-schedule-any/) Fleur Anderson > [John Howard has gone a bridge too far by not going far enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/john-howard-has-gone-a-bridge-too-far-by-not-going-far-enough/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [John Howard turned the prime ministership into something like a state police minister. He's at the scene of every crime, twice a day on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-keating/john-howard-turned-the-prime-ministership-into-something-like-a-state/) [Paul Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-keating/) > [You would have to say of John Howard's government that he has tended to go after things with a fair degree of determination, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-corrigan/you-would-have-to-say-of-john-howard-s-government-that-he-has-tended/) [Chris Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-corrigan/) > [For John Howard to get to any high moral ground he would have to first climb out of the volcanic hole he's dug for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-keating/for-john-howard-to-get-to-any-high-moral-ground-he-would-have-to/) [Paul Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-keating/) > [John Howard's credibility on the entire Iraq war has been torpedoed by John Howard's own intelligence agency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/john-howard-s-credibility-on-the-entire-iraq-war-has-been-torpedoed/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [“What made this particularly interesting is that John Howard is by far the dullest man in Australia. Imagine a very committed funeral home director…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/what-made-this-particularly-interesting-is-that-john-howard-is-by-far/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [“Only careful political manoeuvring will be able to manage the situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davan-yahya-khalil/only-careful-political-manoeuvring-will-be-able-to-manage-the/) Davan Yahya Khalil > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) ## More by Kerry-Anne Walsh > [“There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead, but let me be clear: I will be putting a price on carbon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/there-will-be-no-carbon-tax-under-a-government-i-lead-but-let-me-be/) [Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) > [“Windsor is contemptuous of the way the media is caught up in personality politics, saying the real story of the government and the revolutionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/windsor-is-contemptuous-of-the-way-the-media-is-caught-up-in/) [Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) > [“offering news grabs or picture opportunities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/offering-news-grabs-or-picture-opportunities/) [Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) > [“The car bumper sticker for the discerning Sydney motorist, ‘Is it true, or did Alan Jones tell you?’, should be letter-boxed around the country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/the-car-bumper-sticker-for-the-discerning-sydney-motorist-is-it-true/) [Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) > [“constant marking down of her performance is wildly at odds with the reality of the minority government. Despite the government’s wafer-thin margin, the parliament…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/constant-marking-down-of-her-performance-is-wildly-at-odds-with-the/) [Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) > [ “I see prime ministers and ministers and so on going to see Rupert \[Murdoch\] every time they go to Washington,’ he tells me. ‘The… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/i-see-prime-ministers-and-ministers-and-so-on-going-to-see-rupert/) [Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) > [“Opposition leader Tony Abbott also promptly set his tone about her, taunting her as an untrustworthy political assassin—a rich description from a man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/opposition-leader-tony-abbott-also-promptly-set-his-tone-about-her/) [Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) > [“Struggling for survival and relevance, we as a profession of political journalists and commentators have collectively debased our craft to the lowest common denominator—writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/struggling-for-survival-and-relevance-we-as-a-profession-of-political/) [Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) > [“There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead, but let me be clear: I will be putting a price on carbon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/there-will-be-no-carbon-tax-under-a-government-i-lead-but-let-me-be-2/) [Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) > [“Tony Windsor puts the economic doomsaying down to the Opposition Leader: ‘Abbott’s behaviour in relation to a lot of this has been absolutely disgraceful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/tony-windsor-puts-the-economic-doomsaying-down-to-the-opposition/) [Kerry-Anne Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) [Explore all 11 Kerry-Anne Walsh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/) ## More Politics quotes > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [“Only careful political manoeuvring will be able to manage the situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davan-yahya-khalil/only-careful-political-manoeuvring-will-be-able-to-manage-the/) Davan Yahya Khalil > [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [For the Scottish government, the practice of having meetings in different parts of the country is well established, but for the U.K. government, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/for-the-scottish-government-the-practice-of-having-meetings-in/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/) [Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/) > [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [“Jim Reston: Walking through the crowds of air-kissing politicians, actors and high fliers, it was tough to tell where the politics stopped and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/jim-reston-walking-through-the-crowds-of-air-kissing-politicians/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [A man who kills on his own is a murderer. A man who kills at his government's request is a national hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramman-kenoun/a-man-who-kills-on-his-own-is-a-murderer-a-man-who-kills-at-his/) [Ramman Kenoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramman-kenoun/) > [Politics in Philadelphia is a contact sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nutter/politics-in-philadelphia-is-a-contact-sport/) [Michael Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nutter/) [Browse all 44,914 Politics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“John Howard performed a triple reverse somersault on his promise to never, ever introduce a GST under a government he led, and was met with no such opprobrium. Unlike Gillard, he consistently lied to the Australian people about his intentions.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kerry-Anne Walsh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/john-howard-performed-a-triple-reverse-somersault-on-his-promise-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Politics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/john-howard-performed-a-triple-reverse-somersault-on-his-promise-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/kerry-anne-walsh-40217_politics_john-howard-performed-a-triple-reverse-s_1009245.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/kerry-anne-walsh-40217_politics_john-howard-performed-a-triple-reverse-s_1009245.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/kerry-anne-walsh-40217_politics_john-howard-performed-a-triple-reverse-s_1009245.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“John Howard performed a triple reverse somersault on his promise to never, ever introduce a GST under a…” — Kerry-Anne Walsh", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kerry-Anne Walsh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-anne-walsh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“John Howard performed a triple reverse...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/john-howard-performed-a-triple-reverse-somersault-on-his-promise-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-anne-walsh/john-howard-performed-a-triple-reverse-somersault-on-his-promise-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```