SOME of our elected officials seem to wonder why they
are held in such contempt by so many Australians.
Well, if they spent a tiny fraction of the money they waste on self promotion, on a mirror, perhaps they might get a hint why.
Over the past six months, governments state and federal
have been splashing money around in a desperate attempt to stimulate the economy. Taxpayer money.
Whether all, or any, of those stimulation package measures worked in saving us from the worst of the world economic gloom, or whether it was simply the underlying strength of the Australian economy, is open to
debate. But, in the case of the Federal Government, it took a surplus and did what is perfectly okay in difficult times—it spent it. That’s what it’s for, and I’ll cop that.
What does get me frothing at the mouth is the government wants us to believe that it has actually done us all a big personal favour by spending OUR money
on us. And it wants to spend more taxpayer money —YOUR money —to tell you what a great job it is
has done.
Government ‘‘guidelines’’, as part of its $14 billion spending package on schools, insist those schools display a sign advertising the fact the government has spent money there.
Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese insists the signage is not a taxpayer funded ad on behalf of the Australian Labor Party.
But why else would the government need schools to install signs saying the government has funded this or
that project? I mean, would the new classroom at Whoop Whoop South be any less structurally sound if there wasn’t some selfcongratulatory sign in front of it?
No, the government thinks we should thank it for giving back some of the money it collected off us. And if its taxpayer-funded signs are still on show at election time where most of us will do our voting, how convenient.
The Australian Electoral Commission apparently agrees,
telling the government it must move signs within six metres of school halls used as polling places on election day. So the AEC thinks they’re ALP ads too.
Of course, this kind of arrogant behaviour is hardly limited to the ALP. The Howard Government managed to set new records on spending government money on what only the most naive (or fanatical) Coalition voter would not describe as Liberal and National Party ads.
And Mr Albanese was absolutely right to point the finger at the Howard Government about it.
But, by getting elected into government, Mr Albanese and co had an opportunity to right a wrong, and get rid of this wasteful and undemocratic practice. But sadly, no.
The Victorian Government is no better. It is spending public money (again, your money) running its equally cynical ‘‘Victoria — We’re not waiting, we’re building’’ television commercials. And the reason we need this campaign? Because, the government tells us, we need a TV ad to boost our confidence in Victoria’s economy and that will protect jobs. Like I need an ad to tell me how the economy is going.
The only jobs I see it protecting are those in the advertising industry.
Ultimately, I don’t really care if the Labor Party or the Liberal Party want to spend bucketloads of money advertising what a great job they are doing or what bold
plans they have to save us from oblivion.
But how about the parties spend their own money — not our money — to do it?
Maybe that kind of advertising would be something we might respect. You know I’m right about this.
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