John Howard has denied his decision to underwrite a Tasmanian hospital earmarked for downgrading is cynical pork barrelling ahead of the federal election. Regular readers might recall that health funding fell well short in the Australian budget some months back.
Health and particularly hospitals are a state responsibility. But having failed to fund the states sufficiently the Feds are now attempting to point score with targeted funding; just another example of a steady move to centralised government in this country.
But it is about politics and the Howard government is cherry picking issues and electorates. While the move in on aboriginals in the
While they under fund education delivery by the states they are targeting special funding to targeted sectors, particularly Catholic and various other religious schools. That funding, oddly enough, was for school bloody chaplains! Why the hell would a religious school need a special chaplain?
If it isn’t pork barrelling then it is pure, bloody minded political posturing. Not that it seems to be helping them in the polls. Ironically the majority of potential voters see the opposition leader as a younger, more attractive John Howard.
Meanwhile I’m still pushing to get a credible independent candidate up in Lyne. Not that I have stopped supporting my brother Robin. More that I am convinced we must break the hold of the two major parties (and their hangers-on) on our countries politics. It might be a long fight, but there is a great opportunity to get it rolling now.
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