Wrong End of the Stick?

Having read the Sydney Morning Herald for quite a while, I have come to the conclusion that it is the unofficial mouthpiece of the ALP. In fact, it has almost become a mirror of the current federal government, with Lenore Taylor acting as the journalistic equivalent of Gillard, while Philip Coorey is happy to be a scribbling Wayne Swan (and Peter Hartcher both acting as Kevin Rudd and providing a direct feed from the man himself). Normally, when it comes to national politics the reporting guidelines adopted by Taylor and Coorey can be summed up thus: 'If you can't say something nice about the Gillard government, don't say anything at all.' It therefore came as quite a surprise to read this in this morning's edition:

Far be it from me to question the sages at the SMH, but my understanding is that Swan hit the airwaves yesterday in a bid to say exactly the opposite - his line was, as I understood it, that he and his government are not going to take anything out of our pay packets at all.