Sunday was a big give away day as the Coalition upped the ante with its electoral bribes by announcing (or was it re-announcing?) billions of dollars of new road works down the east Australian coast. Prime Minister Howard in Sydney, Treasurer Costello in Melbourne and Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile in Brisbane all stepped before the television cameras to say their bit.

The good news from such blatant attempts at electoral bribery came on Sunday night’s television news. The bad news was yesterday in the Adelaide Advertiser with the paper mightily peeved that there were no funds for “SA’s highway of death.”

But never fear, Johnnie Howard is here. Yesterday the Coalition extended its largesse to the Croweaters and The Advertiser applauded.