Dear Govt: tampons are not a luxury item.
Coles supermarkets have announced they're cutting the price of pads and tampons by 10% to off set the GST placed on them by the federal government. It's a smart campaign that's going under the banner:
"You shouldn't be taxed for being a woman", is expected to save us about $6.5 million a year.
According to the Herald Sun:
It follows market research in which almost three in four female customers said the tax was unfair.Women's Electoral Lobby national chair Eva Cox said female sanitary items were essential health products……
……that should never have been slapped with the GST.
"It's not applied to fresh food or pharmaceuticals. It's making money out of the monthly," Ms Cox said.
Coles marketing director Joe Blundell said the GST slug on feminine hygiene products should be reviewed: "We've acted on our customers' concerns and so we've made an ongoing commitment to reduce the price of all feminine hygiene products sold in our stores by about 10 per cent, effectively removing the cost burden of the GST from our customers."
The Howard government sparked outrage and claims of sexual discrimination by including the GST on the products when the tax was introduced in July 2000. Then health minister Dr Michael Wooldridge clashed with furious women's groups, declaring tampons and pads were just like shaving cream and should be hit with the GST.
The Government rakes in about $25 million a year from GST on female hygiene products. Labor is not reviewing the charge despite protesting against it when in opposition.
Assistant Treasurer Senator Nick Sherry's spokeswoman said: "The parameters of the GST were set following extensive community debate."The Government has made a public commitment not to change the current GST arrangements."
Coles spokesman Jim Cooper said prices had been cut for more than 100 products, with savings ranging from 30c to 70c.
So what do you think? Did you even know there was a tax on your tampons? Is this a cynical marketing exercise by Coles or a valauble contribution to a debate we've been distracted from for a decade? And will this change where you buy your feminine hygiene products (and how much do you hate that term…..)?
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Luxury tampons: for women with fancy vaginas
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Ok, this is weird.
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Something to think about while you weight for a bus.
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Last night I reached new heights as a wife and mother.
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Britney, tampons and Mia Culpa.
Rise up, ladies. You will never have total equality until you stop submitting to paying for your tampons.
About five years ago I became so disenchanted at the government and it’s approach towards women that I designed a poster to express my beliefs and ideals. It is relevant to this discussion.
If you go the the art section and hit ‘reclaimthestreets’ you will find my poster. I will warn you that some of the language may be considered offensive. I however want to embrace my sexuality and anatomy and challenge the notion that the c word is offensive!
NB: it is a flash website so it takes awhile to load you will need to exercise patience.
http://www.carolineswork.com.au/oldsite.html
Every month I pay for those items. It’s a must. I also buy Panadine for the pain I go through (migraines and cramps). Every day my hubby shaves… it’s a must if he wants me to kiss him! But he doesn’t need shaving cream – he uses an electric shaver. If he does use a regular razor, he gets the shaving cream, but it’s not a necessary item… I mean, I could use shaving cream if I wanted on my legs, but I choose soap… come to think of it, does soap have GST? It would be super if it didn’t – we use it because we want to, but if people didn’t it wouldn’t be so sweet. Do you think if Julia Gillard were in charge she would think of reversing this GST on ladies personal products? And toilet paper… if we lived without toilet paper, how would that go? I suppose if I were Miles it would be not so bad (guessing there wasn’t much in that hallway…), but I am me with a kid and husband.
Tax me on cooked chickens, tax me on dinner out. don’t tax me on what is needed to get through the day.
Sure, its wrong. Its pretty disgraceful.
But I mean..come on..we always knew all the government cares about is making money. Surely we didnt expect them to actually care?
We can always start buying the homebrand pads/tampons..
My husband is in the defence force and he MUST shave every morning, so you can imagine how much money is wasted on his shaving cream and razors; but we can not claim any of it come tax time. Not fair. It also isn’t fair that there is GST on pads. The GST alone would be enough to pay for maternity leave that women have been waiting on for decades. If the GST stays, we should lobby for government/GST sponsored period-pain leave of up to 7 days each month. When I was in the defence force I was lucky enough to have paid sick leave but now that I’m a civilian I have lost hundred of dollars not being able to work during my painful period as I get no paid sick leave anymore
I would also be happy to see the tax removed from shaving products as a shaved man is more pleasing to the eye. I hate beards and always refused to date hairy men. I even make my darling take off his leg hairs.
Just read the last page of comments – it would appear I have been living under a rock, but that I have some company, in relation to alternatives.
Mooncup??? Had to google it! Is it just me or have others never heard of this?
Re the GST on ‘femine hygiene products’, when GST was introduced wasn’t it the fact that only tampons, not pads, attracted GST that was the big issue that resulted in Johny being pelted with tampons? All this would suggest that all ‘femine hygiene products’ including pads now attract GST.
I’d like to add my voice to the non-tampon brand of period-wrangling. I’ve been using a mooncup for a few years and haven’t looked back. The idea that I would ever go back to tampons is laughable.
I have been thinking about this and to be honest I can’t help feeling, so what if pads and tampons attract GST? As has been pointed out, there are alternatives to buying the disposable products – so it’s not like we don’t have a choice about which product to use. We do not HAVE to buy the disposable brands – they are convenient, yes, and easy to use – but we could live without them. Nobody would argue that disposable nappies are not a luxury item that shouldn’t attract GST – after all, if you have a baby you have the choice to use reusable nappies – but they are a hygiene product that fulfil a need, much the same as pads and tampons.
It is totally unacceptable that tampons and pads attract the GST. It reflects an absolute lack of female perspective in politics – no compassion, no imagination. And no touch with reality – I mean define luxury! I think any grey areas in the definition and its application to menstrual products would be cleared up pretty quickly if women chose to forego using them for a month or two.
Of course, it is a reminder too that many women are totally dependent on these products and yet there are alternatives – and must be for women who can’t pop down to the shops for some factory made tampons.
As if Coles aren’t going to hide the GST they are so generously paying on our behalf in some other product we cannot do without by inflating the price. Last time I looked they weren’t pumping out goods from the North Pole and we weren’t living in fantasyland.
I think it can also be said that men can shave without shaving cream, but women can’t have their period without something to stop us from bleeding everywhere. Public health issue, much?
I’m with Helen! I have a keeper:
http://www.keeper.com/aboutkeeper.html
and never again will I pay for tampons (or dispose of them in landfill).
Highly recommended
Helen – Thank you – I had forgotten all about these since my Uni days when they sold them at the co-op and i was just ‘too cool’ to use them – now they make a hell of a lot of sense…so thank you
Can’t believe nobody here has suggested subverting the system.
Three words, ladies: Alternative Menstrual Products.
Some links:
http://www.divacup.com/
http://www.wemoon.com.au/
http://www.moonpads.com.au/
http://www.jadeandpearl.com
I also work for Coles (have been with the company for five years through school and uni), plus I currently study marketing and public relations, so it is interesting to have that perspective from both sides.
At the moment the company is really pushing to make positive changes from the inside – fresh produce improvements, opening up the stores,testing new formats, streamlining operations to make sure the right staff are in the right place and reducing some workloads so that service is the number one priority.
The changes at store level obviously need to reflect and support the media campaigns and it all seems pretty tightly integrated and timed (Masterchef sponsorship, Gift Card Giveaway, Brand Relaunch, etc). So the GST thing is probably just another tactic, but it’s a newsworthy one! And in the long run that 6.5 million dollar investment does a lot for reputation and image.
When the tax came in a few years ago, it didn’t directly affect me then, but I remember being unimpressed by Howard’s ignorance! I think Coles is making a good point, regardless of the obvious public relations ploy.
I was about 10 when the GST came in, so I didn’t have a clue there was a luxury tax on FHP (also don’t like that expression. Sanitary products is also nasty) until recently. I wasn’t happy when I found out, either. They are NOT a luxury.
I fail to see how tampons are anything like shaving cream. You don’t shave for a week, you might get a bit of stubble, maybe even an actual beard. You go without tampons for the week of your period, you have a buttload of clothes and bedding that needs soaking, and may not be saved anyway, and you probably end up smelling pretty gross, too, especially in hot weather.
Somewheresouth is right about the pill as well – only she’s actually missed out one of the biggest problems women have with the pill. If you’re estrogen sensitive, which quite a few females appear to be (or I may just attract them as friends, I don’t know), then taking a standard pill can actually make you naseous to the point where you throw things up, and the pill isn’t actually absorbed into your system, so the only pill you can hold down is extremely expensive – often in the vicinity of $60 a month, compared to the $20 I pay for 4 months. And they also tend to be on it for reasons OTHER than birth control, like PMS that makes it difficult for them to function, or really bad cramping. That seems REALLY unfair (not that making birth control expensive isn’t unfair).
Sadly I actually can’t sleep the way I would like to on the first few nights of my period!
I’ll be shopping for my stuff at Coles – I reckon the more people that buy tampons and pads at Coles (even, or especially without buying anything else in the transaction) the better! It’s a pretty good way of sending a message that the public still feel the issue is topical.
I too hate the advertising for FHP. I actually really enjoyed the beaver ad a few years ago – I thought it was funny, tongue-in-cheek, and did not find it at all offensive. I realise I am in the minority though! Any creative geniuses here? What would be an appealing way to advertise FHPs? They can’t be easy to advertise!
Larissa, thank you
I am pass my used by date, I do not need tanpons anymore, I am willing to march with you for moral support,love to all ooxx
It has always annoyed me that tampons and pads were taxed (imposed by men?) How can they be luxury items? How can women do without?
However, as others have said – there are reusable pads. I’ve actually just purchased a couple to try out. I don’t want to fork out any more money on these “luxury” items.
Definitely a marketing ploy by Coles but tampons, etc should NOT and never have been taxed. I’m more of a Woolies girl nowadays but still occasionally still shop at Coles. I’ll be stocking up (which I tend to do anyway) everytime I shop there.
I have a vague memory of a discussion well prior to GST that tampons and pads had a luxury tax on them. Definitely not a luxury!
Very clever marketing ploy by Coles – can’t believe no-one else has done it before!
The tax on pads and tampons makes me so angry at ‘the man’ that I try not to think of it. So unfair, I wonder how those men’s wives, significant women reacted when they learnt of it? I would’ve either given the silent treatment or withheld certain benefits from the offending parliamentary male.
The Coles campaign I like, it’s a marketing ploy but it’s obviously brought the issue to the table again, finally. Which is a good thing.
Yeah and I work at a Coles supermarket, right now they’re going through a whole revamp of the shop and promotions and everything.
Kerrysackville – will you really?
I have been wanting to do that for 10 years now.
Your parliament or mine?
I remember the slug when the GST first came in and the uproar it caused; but then we – as women – do what we usually do: we adjusted, perhaps not happily, but we did. And then, I think, we forgot. Well many of us did. So now this is happening part of me feels insulted. Insulted that this is being ‘given’ to us, and disappointed it’s taken this long, without much lobbying (or lobbying that I’ve seen anyway)
As for why Coles is doing this now? At the moment they’re going a massive marketing campaign, aren’t they? With the ‘3 for 2′ ads on TV for a start.
This was sent to me the other day and I think sums up my thoughts on this:
Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of tampons and proceeded to the checkout counter.
The man at the counter asked the older boy, “Son, how old are you?”
“Eight,” the boy replied.
The man continued, “do you know what these are used for?”
The boy replied, “not exactly, but they aren’t for me. They’re for him. He’s my brother. He’s four. We saw on TV that if you use these you would be able to swim and ride a bike. Right now, he can’t do either.”
So i’m gonna be gross here, if they are s uch a luxury item how’s a bout we rock up on the steps of parliament at that time of the month and just bleed down our legs.
Do you reckon they might change their minds then???
Ps also hate the ad that says you can’t sleep how you want on your period, balderdash!
Every month I stomp angrily into THAT aisle, so annoyed that around $10 of my money has to be spent, so I don’t care why, what, where or who came up with that decision at Coles – but good on ‘em for putting it out there.
Oh Love to you too wollywally!! Mwa Mwa hugs and kisses! xxoo
Megan I am with you, and if I might say can’t stand toilet paper ads too, yes lets ban them from tv for good,love to all ooxx
I’ll tell you what I hate, every single tampon and pad advert ever made. That blue liquid? The way they talk about “fluid”. Every single woman in them who ever wore white pants. All of it drives me nuts. They should be banned from television.
At first I thought this was brilliant but then cyncial me realised that Coles were probably just screwing the suppliers for that extra 10% discount and not cutting their costs one bit.
I wouldnt change my shoppping behaviour for this but it is an interesting publicity stunt and I think its a great topic to bring to everyones attention.
They really should be cheaper, but what are we going to do? Not use them?
Stuff it they should be bloody free!
I don’t even use tampons or pads but this is a brilliant marketing ploy from Coles, I hope it pays off for them. Like pinkteacup said- it’s not the cost, it’s the principle.
Oh, and yes I definitely hate the term ‘feminine hygiene product,’ it makes a period sound dirty and almost something to be ashamed of. But I have no idea what else this group of products could be called… everything I come up with sounds even more icky.
yes, it is probably a bit of a sales gimmick, they’ve been doing GST rollback for years now…There is a long list of vitally neccesary items that attract GST Pads and Tampons being at the top, then condoms, and bandaids, and antiseptic, bandages, toilet paper and soap.
I’d love to see us living without these things and often wonder how much the government makes out of these things…
I’m with you Emma – the savings is not great, and it’s a pretty obvious marketing ploy by Coles, but on principle it would probably affect where I shop.
On a lighter note – HATE the term FHP too, but not as much as I hate the current pad/tampon ad they are currently showing here in Vietnam (the talking is in Vietnamese, so not 100% sure what they’re advertising). The by-line at the end of the ad says “Have a happy period!”………ummm, I don’t think so???????!!!!!!
i saw the Coles add last night and was so excited i drove my husband mad – but, what a great publicity grabber. Don’t know who is doing their marketing but SHE is a genius!
I am a man, last time I checked, and even I remember the headlines about the GST on tampons when the GST hit list was configured. I would have thought it was common knowledge among women… but, I guess, no one has really bothered to pick up the topic and run with it for years.
It’s good that you’ve raised it Mia. From a personal point of view, I never agreed with the tax at all.
To put it into perspective the whole luxury vs. necessity thing was a great way to separate the milk/un-processed raw foods from the processed deli items. It was based on the fact that you could buy a base model (un-processed) without GST or get the cooked, half-cut of chicken with GST (added service on it).
My question was always, “where is the base model on a necessity like tampons?” Fact is, it’s needed, so shouldn’t be taxed.
One last point: Shaving cream is a luxury. We men are quite comfprtable growing a beard… I can’t say the same you you guys without tampons etc.
Of course it’s a cash grab – if it was truly genuine, they would have not put the tax on them 10 years ago! But that being said, they should never have been taxed in the first place.
It’s ridiculous that women should be taxed for items that are a mature womans necessity.
This was one of the reasons why I started using a menstrual cup and cloth pads, these will last at least ten years and I never have do the late night run to the shops thing ever again!
And yes, I’m pretty sure that disposable nappies and also incontinence products attract GST as well.
I was still in school when the GST came about, to busy playing sport and doing assignments at the last minute to watch ABC News, so wasn’t aware there was a tax put on FHP.
It truly is laughable. Remind me… What year is it? I can’t believe that in this day and age we have to debate against this rubbish. What a waste of time. Tampons are the last thing that springs to mind when I think of “Luxury”.
When it comes down to it… It’s not the cost, I think it’s the principle.
I noticed someone commented that “monthly pills are not taxed”. Actually, if you want/need to get a pill more complicated than the entry level one, the PBS doesn’t cover as much of the cost. Many women get horrible reactions to some pills, including acne, weight gain, depression, migraines, or loss of libido. (Sorry, I should say some women, not many). These women often need more expensive pills.
Apparently (according to some doctors I’ve spoken to) Australia is about ten years behind NZ in approving “better” (less side effects, different formulae) pills, (both for sale in Australia and for subsidies that make them affordable), because the approval committee is made up of old, old-fashioned, grumpy white men who don’t believe in pre-marital sex, at least for women.
This is hearsay, but I’ve heard it from a few doctors now. Might be worth looking into.
And yes, the govt. sucks for not removing the GST from pads & tampons (woo! tampons. Much less disgusting than “feminine hygiene products” – That phrase always makes me think of vaginal deodorant.). No way are tampons “Luxury items”.
I agree they are hardly a luxury item, love KerriSackville’s march idea.
My son recently found some really big ‘bandaids’ that he had great delight in using to make beds and etc for his toy stuffed rabbit.
I would definitely shop at Coles – not for the saving, but for the principle. Even if it is a “cynical marketing ploy” at least they’re highlighting the issue. And hopefully will shame the current hypocritical government into taking some action.
And yes, the fact that TAMPONS incur a luxury tax would almost be funny if it wasn’t so horrendously infuriating. Luxury? Seriously – in what universe? I was appalled at the time, and just reading this post has made me angry all over again!
I had no idea there were extra taxes on tampons. But I am VERY happy to hear that the prices will be dropping. Its such an obvious argument that its unfair to charge us more for being a woman that im not even going to start!
i don’t think its really a money issue… it’s more the principle of the matter. I prefer a certain brand of tampon/pad so i pay more. Does not worry me in the slightest. having to pay a tax does.
I hate GST altogether, everything is so damn expensive and my weekly shopping bill is rising all the time. I shop at Coles, well Coles online so I’ll benefit and it’s a smart move on their behalf. Hopefully this will push the Government to look at the bigger picture but I doubt it!
You can actually buy reusable pads – much the same as you can buy reusable cloth nappies. There is also a thing out there called a moon cup or something like that which works in a similar manner to a tampon, but is reusable. So there are other options out there besides pads and tampons from the supermarket, if you were inclined to use them.
Personally I would rather use the disposable ones, but I am not going to change where I shop just because Coles is reducing the price by 10%. I mean, what does that equal anyway? On a $5 packet of pads, that will mean a saving of 50 cents. Whoop dee doo.
Totally agree!! This has pissed me off for years and I was just talking about this to my husband! He can choose to shave or not, and if he doesn’t have shaving cream he can use soap, or some other foaming agent (as he has been known to do when I’ve neglected the shopping!) however we have no other alternative other than using a towel (eeww gross!!) or being house-bound for a week! Or maybe this is their ploy to keep women inside the house…? (Note the tongue firmly in cheek):)
I too would have loved to see Johnny getting pelted with tampons!
Of course it is marketing by Coles, with rivals such as Aldi undercutting the market and talk of other rival supermarket chains being allowed into Australia they have to pull up their socks somehow. Who does the bulk of shopping in Australia? women so of course they are trying to rub us the right way.
As for the tax on necessary items…what about dishwashers…lol
Equally appalling is that, as quoted in the article, the current government, when in opposition complained about this, but now have decided not to change or review it.
And this info was delivered by a spokeswoman…WTF?
Yes, Indie, nappies do attract GST, but condoms don’t…WTF?
So let me get this straight, the things women use to maintain their ‘feminine hygiene’ are taxed but the pills women take to ease the period pain are not? I’m with Kerri, politicians don’t seem to get the importance of an issue until it enters their realm of experience. To draw similarities between shaving cream and tampons is completely ridiculous! Maybe they think that periods are like those ridiculous adverts with the tiny bit of blue dye in an eye dropper, I wish?! Society will always benefit from more truth and reality and I think the advertisers should start by tossing out the eye dropper and bringing in a jug!
Just out of interest I wonder if nappies and bandages attract GST??? I will be buying mine FHP from Coles and I wish I had seen Howard being pelted with tampons!
Coles is sooo generous – we’ve only been price gouged for the last nine years! I’ve outfoxed them though and had a hysterectomy earlier this year.
The fact that these products attract GST really irks me, they’re very different to shaving cream. Men can go without shaving cream and all they get is a hairy face, which doesn’t really do it for me but it’s still socially acceptable. The consequences of going without tampons is a little less socially acceptable, they are not discretionary purchases.
However, I still think this is a marketing exercise! I highly doubt that the Government is going to voluntarily reduce their taxation revenue in the current economic climate. It won’t get me to shop at Coles, their fresh produce is crap and at the one near me the shelves are always half empty.
‘Making money out of the monthly’ made me crack up laughing. How apt!
I really do resent having to fork out about $10 a month on a necessity product because I truly believe that if men got their periods, pads and tampons would be FREE.
I do I do.
A marketing ploy yes, but a good one nonetheless. The GST on tampons is something that I get cross about every time I have my period – it is not a ‘luxury item’!!
I don’t know if I would bother to go to Coles just for the discount though..
kzmet gave me an idea:
I think we should all march on Parliament House (will have to be staggered to correspond with our particular times of the month) WITHOUT these ‘feminine hygeine products’ in place to prove they are not a luxury item.
My prediction: GST will be very quickly overturned.
HATE the term “feminine Hygiene Products”….almost as much as I hate “Panty Liners”….
I don’t shop at coles – I’m a Woolies girl myself, but shall look at the cost and if it’s worth it I’ll make the effort to go to coles and buy them, probably on principle more than anything else.
I’ll never forget watching the news and seeing John Howard get pelted with tampons…an historic moment for womankind….
No!
They are not a luxury item, yes probably bit of a marketing ploy by Coles, but still a step in the right direction.
Women don’t deserve to be punished for it, aren’t periods punishing enough ?
I hate the term ‘feminine hygiene’ so much! It makes us sound so dirty. My puberty talk with my mum would have been a whole lot less uncomfortable if she hadn’t kept referring to them as ‘feminine hygiene products’!!!
ps i REALLY hate that ad on tv that says you can’t sleep how you want to when you have your period. I think it is so inaccurate and would surely be freaking out young pre-pubescent girls?
I was really angry about this when it first came in all those years ago, I remember having a very colourful arguement around the dinner table with my Dad about it (he is a die hard liberal, with a little l apperently) which if memory serves, I won.
Still annoys me, won’t be going to Coles especially though, their aisle layouts annoy me amongst other things. Interesting as a marketing gimmick, re: the beard shavers thing, I think a beard is a lot less visually confronting than the results of no sanitary products…