A gay-marriage tax?

In her ongoing and largely successful campaign to alienate herself from every reasonably mainstream group of people in Australia, Julia Gillard has just lost the smokers’ vote.

By withdrawing from her speaking engagement with the Australian Christian Lobby over remarks made by its president comparing the respective health risks of physical homosexual acts and smoking, Jules has effectively taken sides against one of her most profitable community groups.

• Estimated number of smokers in Australia in 2010: 3-4 million (around 15-20% of both men and women; closer to 40% among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations)
• Revenue raised by smoking, 2005–06: over $6.5 billion

It’s going to take a LOT of gay weddings (and every single one of them to be taxed at least as heavily as carbon and mining) to bring in that kind of cash.

Philippa Martyr blogs at Transverse City