kevin rudd

Like a lot of people I thought the idea of Australia 2020 was a brave and interesting concept in opening up a genuine dialogue with the public about the future of the country. Only time will tell whether it was a good idea or simply a feel good talkfest to be swept under the carpet in a couple of years time?

Clearly organising such an event inevitably meant that some of the really interesting, challenging and confrontational public agenda points will have been smoothed out. However, there did seem to be a number of ‘good’ ideas that have captured the public’s imagination.

A ‘Fat Tax’ could be an interesting challenge for the marketers over at McDonalds and YUM!….that exclamation mark could be highly pertinent as time goes on! If ‘junk Food’ also becomes relatively expensive instead of relatively cheap then the need to drive other kinds of brand attachment is going to become important if they are going to keep the western suburbs on side.

McDonald’s has already gone some way to defending itself via new ‘heathier’ meal options and nostalgic advertising campaigns that remind you of Macca moments in your childhood…the building blocks of being a kid? However, if we get a Fat Tax then much of this work is going to be undone. Not least the spotlight that it will draw in terms of what really is going on with the sugar, fat and chemical impact of those Big Macs and Cheese Crust pizzas!

Back onto Australia 2020. I found this article on larvatusprodeo.net which is a related left wing piece which wheels around a huge agenda, from the Howard era, to climate change and back to 2020 and joins all the dots.