MESMERIC Malcolm Turnbull has declared that fairness would be central to his government’s decisions, especially the tax reform debate he and Treasurer Scott Morrison are setting in motion.

What’s fair in tax reform? Paying less, of course, and that’s never going to happen, which gave Opposition Leader Bill Shorten a welcome chance to be heard, saying Labor is “resolutely’’ opposed to touching the GST but committed to closing tax loopholes exploited by high-­income earners.

And how does the PM define “fair”?

“We’ve got an egalit­arian tradition and I think that the test of whether any set of measures is fair is going to be whether people look at it and say: ‘Yep, that seems fair enough’,” he said.

MEANWHILE, the ACT Government is awash in tax receipts with a boost of $81 million (6 per cent), in the most recent financial year, thanks largely to what some think as the grinding far-from-fair hikes in rates. This year, rates rose an average 9 per cent making the average rise over four years 42 per cent.

But possibly sensing the unfairness of being kicked out of office next October, Chief Minister Andrew Barr has suggested a slowdown in the shift from stamp duty to rates this year.

ACT Justice Minister Shane Rattenbury thinks it’s unfair that inconsistent standards for motorcycle helmets mean riders can be breaking the law by crossing state borders (mercifully, not between the ACT and NSW).

Taking up the frustrations of riders at a meeting of state and territory transport and infrastructure ministers in Adelaide, he said some local standards had been updated to meet the latest European rules, but riders can’t buy helmets meeting the standards because of outdated Federal sale rules.

AND Shane may need a helmet of his own to counter the news that he and a group of fellow Greens lost a bid to shut down a defamation action over a failed attempt to expel environmental lobbyist Geoff Lazarus from the party.

Defence barrister Greg Stretton argued it was an abuse of process, unlikely to succeed and breached the proportionality principle in that the costs far exceeded any damages that could be won.

Despite the prospect of two weeks of court time and more than $500,000 in costs, associate justice David Mossop would have none of it and dismissed the application, saying that while the defence appeared strong, the case wasn’t so hopeless or weak.

He also found the disproportion between the cost to defend and any remedy was more a poor reflection on the legal system than a reason to shut down the case.

PROBABLY not the best time of the year to be upsetting firefighters, but the announcement that former British fire chief Mark Jones has been appointed to reduce duplication and drive efficiency in the ambulance, fire and state emergency services has smoked out the United Firefighters Union, which has slammed the decision, saying what’s desperately needed is more skilled workers.

“We now have a dangerous development where a toecutter from the UK has been announced as overseeing the strategic reform agenda,” harrumped Union secretary Greg McConville.

But ESA Commissioner Dominic Lane assuringly said the reform is not about cutting firefighter numbers on the road.

NO surprise in the news that police will be targeting drunk and drugged drivers throughout the party months to January. However, during last month’s target of anti-social driving, plod was inundated with more than 300 reports of dangerous driving that included burnouts and road rage.

Acting Sergeant Clint Gordon said 15 anti-social drivers were slapped with traffic infringements last month.

“The information we’ve received from the public has helped us build a better picture of hot spots for this sort of driving behaviour,” he said. “The Cotter Road on weekends is a target area.”

AND the best story of the week defies the imagination of even Hollywood – Michelle Payne’s incredible Melbourne Cup win. It had everything, the first female jockey to win the race in its 155-year history; the winning mount Prince of Penzance strapped by her brother, Stevie, who has Down syndrome; beating odds of 100-1 and gloriously cocking a snoot at the racing establishment with the post-race comment: “Everyone else can get stuffed [who] think women aren’t good enough”. Fair enough.