Today it will be West Australia’s turn for a little largesse from the visitor. Yesterday it was Queensland and $6 million for a Steve Irwin wild life reserves. Friday’s gift was $1.25 million to provide the young people of northern Adelaide with an opportunity to explore careers in the advanced manufacturing and related industries. On Thursday there was $1.179 million for the City of Tea Tree Gully. The day before that – $50,000 for every school in the country and $1000 to 225,000 home owners.

John Howard is on the campaign trail and electioneering is not just about the items that make the headlines in the major dailies and the network television news at night. The Government gravy train stops at a lot of local stations. Just take a look at the list of the Prime Ministerial giveaways over the last two months. John Howard truly believes that all elections are local:

22 July – The reserve protects more than 135,000 hectares of high conservation value bushland on Queensland’s Cape York, and was established with more than $6 million from the Australian Government’s National Reserve System Program.

20 July 2007 – I am pleased to announce that the Australian Government will provide $1.225 million over four years for the continuation of the Northern Advanced Manufacturing Industry Group Project, to provide more young people in northern Adelaide with an opportunity to explore careers in the advanced manufacturing and related industries.

19 July 2007 – I am pleased to announce today that the Australian Government has given in-principle approval for funding of up to $1.179 million under the Regional Partnerships program to be negotiated for the Harpers Field Development project at the City of Tea Tree Gully.

18 July 2007 – Today I announced that in addition, the Commonwealth will provide up to $50,000 to ensure every Australian school can install a solar hot water system and a water tank. These Green Vouchers for schools … Today I announce some further steps to bring solar hot water within the reach of Australian families. We intend to provide an additional $1,000 per household so that up to another 225,000 homes can upgrade to an energy saving solar hot water system.

12 July 2007 – I am pleased to announce that the Australian Government will fund a Medicare eligible Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) unit in north-west Tasmania. This unit will serve both the north-west and the west coast regions, effectively from Devonport to Strahan and Queenstown. This is the first of three new sites which were funded in the 2007-08 Budget to improve access to MRI services in under-serviced metropolitan and regional areas. This Budget measure brings the number of Medicare eligible MRI units in Australia to 115 compared to only 18 in 1998.

12 July 2007 – I am pleased to announce that the Australian Government will commit $1.85 million to Stage 2 of the Ulverstone Showground upgrade.

6 July 2007 – The Prime Minister and Premier Steve Bracks have agreed to additional assistance to help communities, small business owners and primary producers recover from the devastating damage caused by the floods in the Gippsland region of Victoria. To assist small business owners and farmers, the Prime Minister and Premier have agreed to jointly funded recovery grants of up to $15,000 for eligible small businesses and primary producers. The Prime Minister and Premier Bracks have also announced the establishment of a $1,000,000 Community Recovery Fund with equal contributions from the State and Commonwealth.

4 July 2007 – I am pleased to announce that the Australian Government will contribute up to $10 million towards a pipeline to improve water supply security in Bega Shire. The 20 kilometre pipeline will be used to transfer water from borefields near the lower Bega River to the Yellow Pinch Dam for use in dry times.

30 June 2007 – I am very pleased to announce that the Australian Government will provide the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) with a $25 million capital contribution towards the establishment of the Australian National Rugby Academy (ANRA) at Ballymore in Brisbane.

29 June 2007 – Given the extensive damage, I have authorised Commonwealth support in the form of cash payments to people who have suffered serious injury, or lost their principal place of residence or had that residence rendered uninhabitable for a period of 48 hours as a direct result of this disaster. This will be over and above the support being provided by the Australian Government under the long standing Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements … The additional relief will amount to $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child.

29 June 2007 – Today I am pleased to mark the 20th birthday celebration of Red Nose Day. I urge all Australians to support the very important work of SIDS and Kids in reducing sudden and unexpected infant deaths across Australia. The Australian Government will contribute $80,000 to assist SIDS and Kids in raising awareness and helping prevent infant deaths.

28 June 2007 – I am pleased to announce today a $1.8 billion package of assistance for people with disabilities, their families and carers. This assistance will be available from 1 July 2007. It is on top of the $3.275 billion which the Commonwealth has already offered to the states and territories for delivery of disability services.

27 June 2007 – It gives me great pleasure to announce the outcome of Round One of the National School Chaplaincy Program. The overwhelming majority of schools made a strong case for the benefits that new or enhanced school chaplaincy services could provide to students in those schools. Accordingly, I have decided to allocate an extra $25 million to the program, enabling the Government to provide funding to 1392 schools in Round One, a total of almost $77 million over three years. This commitment brings the total value of the program to $115 million over three years and allows for $38 million to be allocated in Round Two. More than over 1500 applications from individual school communities were received for funding under this program of up to $20,000 for three years.

27 June 2007 – The Australian Government will provide up to $26.8 million for a new school to replace the current Amberley State School in Queensland.

27 June 2007 – I am pleased to announce with the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Malcolm Turnbull, that the Queensland Government has satisfied funding conditions for the Australian Government’s contribution of $408 million to the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme in south-east Queensland.

20 June 2007 – Reduced water allocations are placing great strain on many farmers and their communities. The Australian Government has put in place a range of new measures to support farmers and communities through this time. … The Country Women’s Association (CWA) plays a valuable role in supporting drought-affected families across Australia. The government is providing an additional $8 million to the CWA to enable it to continue to distribute emergency grants to families for household essentials and to fund community activities and events to help boost the morale of drought affected communities. … For those eligible farmers that wish to re establish outside farming, the maximum FarmHelp re establishment grant has been increased from $50,000 to $75,000.

14 June 2007 – Prime Minister John Howard and NSW Premier Morris Iemma have agreed to additional assistance to help communities, small business owners and primary producers recover from the devastating damage caused by the floods in New South Wales. The Prime Minister and Premier Iemma announced the establishment of two $500,000 Community Recovery Funds with equal contributions from the State and Commonwealth.

10 June 2007 – The violent storm and subsequent flooding in the Central Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales has caused extensive property damage and a significant number of fatalities. … Given the devastation, I have authorised Commonwealth support in the form of cash payments to people who have suffered serious injury, or lost their principal place of residence or had that residence rendered uninhabitable for a period of 48 hours as a direct result of this disaster. This will be over and above the support being provided by the Australian Government under the long standing Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.