Reports today confirm one of the Government’s worst kept secrets. It has no idea how to deliver its so-called Cleaner Car Rebate Scheme, and has broken its commitment to a 1 January 2011 start date whi le it wrestles with the intractable problem of finding a good way to implement a terrible policy.

The announcement of Cash for Clunkers was always a hastily-devised election stunt, cobbled together on the run by Julia Gi llard in an attempt to di vert voters’ attention from other Labor problems and failures.

It was an ill-conceived thoughtbubble based on exorbitant pricing of reduced carbon emissions, an open invitation to scammers from Keysborough to Karachi, and ignored a stream of international experience which shows that such policies create a string of economic and social problems.

However, the Government is now intent on scrambling to patch up all the faults in the scheme rather than ditching it altogether.

Ms Gillard, Mr Swan, Ms Wong and Mr Carr shouldn’t be pussyfooti ng around and tryi ng to postpone the introduction of another bad idea.

For once in their careers, they need to bite the bullet, act decisively and send this abomination to the wrecking yard immediately.