Social policy consultant, Terry Barnes ( and ABC News) advise that the removal of the GST on female hygiene products will cost the federal budget $30 million a year. Terry, advises that the GST cost on the products is a measly $24 per year: not much individually, but the government is going to have to restore $30 million to the budget, somehow.

Terry Barnes believes that the capitulation to pressure to remove the tax is “gesture politics at its most pointless”. It won't gain a single vote, and it simply adds another “costly to administer exemption” to an already sieve-like GST revenue pool.

Minister Freydenberg is ingratiating himself to a feminist lobby when his government will not get a single vote from it. And, who is going to make up the 30 million bucks? A further cut to the ABC, perhaps.

Barnes thinks that the government, instead of 'cherry picking’ exemptions to mollify “noisy special interests”, should be sticking to the principle that a GST is more efficient and fair the broader its base is; and, if the Liberals think that a saving of $24 a year will help them at the next election they are dreaming.

Last night on the news I saw a woman say that this removes the "sexist" tax on these products.

Well call me an ignorant idiot but I fail to see how this is sexual discrimination to tax these products. It would be discrimination if is was the case that if men bought them they didn't pay the tax while when women bought them they did. However, the way the tax worked is that the exact same amount of tax has always been paid regardless who buys these product.

Now, feminists argue that these products are almost exclusively bought by women so it is unfairly taxing women more. However items like power-tools and tickets to boxing matches are predominately bought by men and not women, so by applying the same line of reasoning used by feminists men shouldn't have to pay GST on them because it is a "sexist" tax in this case.

Terry Barnes also thinks removal of the tax discriminates against men.

As a by the by, Tony Abbott used to be advised by Terry Barnes, but I note that yesterday Abbott said that the removal of the tax was a “step in the right direction”, which goes to show that all politicians are opportunistic bastards. Abbott hasn't been for the removal previously.

I would bet that, in the case of married women, the cost would be borne by the family budget, not wifey personally.

Feminine hygiene products are vital for a woman's
health. They're a necessity. Those who question
the removal of a tax on these essential items - might
want to ask - why aren't condoms and viagra taxed
for men? Why the double standard?

Why should women have been taxed all these years - and not men?

Vote buying 101 by a desperate PM who will lose unless he pulls a rabbit out of his hat. There will be plenty more like this.

You mean their is such a thing as gender!