Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett would feel right at home in Washington among pork barreling conservative Republican congressmen and women. That is, he appears to see nothing inconsistent with, on the one hand, attacking welfare recipients and urging government to stop spending so much money on them, while on the other having your paw out for taxpayers’ dollars to fund a project of dubious worth.
Mr Kennett re-entered the political fray yesterday by flogging one of the right’s horses — the welfare system. He told a local government talkfest that too many Australians — 40 percent he says — are getting some form of welfare.
“The trend line is getting to the stage where more and more people are receiving rather than contributing. We have slowly been allowing ourselves to destroy the independence that every male and female should have, and the acceptance of personal responsibility,” Mr Kennett apparently told the meeting.
Of course, Mr Kennett added, he doesn’t mind welfare going where it is genuinely needed.
One assumes Mr Kennett thinks that the football club of which he is President, Hawthorn, is one of those cases of genuine need. Mr Kennett buttered up former Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon over a game of golf or two a couple of years ago to squeeze $15 million out of him so that Tasmanians could have the name of their state emblazoned on the Hawthorn jumper, and for the Hawks to play a few games each year in Launceston.
No doubt Mr Kennett thinks that this $15 million is better spent on his football club, rather than on those lazy low income earners and welfare bludgers who sleep rough every night, or have to wait three years for important medical assistance.
But Mr Kennett is not Robinson Crusoe when it comes to conservative hypocrisy on the issue of where government puts its money. In Washington, it is generally right wing Republicans who are as keen as mustard to slash welfare and demonise the disadvantaged, while ensuring at the same time that their mates in business get every bit of pork they lobby for and a bit more for good measure.
In fact, according to lobby group Citizens against Government Waste, which each year produces a record of congressional pork barreling called the “Pig Book”, the leading pork barrel exponents who between them have appropriated over $US30 million for their business friends and support groups back in their home states, are Mississippi Republican Thad Cochran and his fellow party member Robert Bennett from Utah.
Naturally, both Senator Cochran and Senator Bennett voted for the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act which the Bush Administration used to slash $US 40 billion from welfare spending.
Jeff Kennett would no doubt understand their logic, even if the rest of us can’t.
Perhaps my critics can answer this question – should governments be in the business of sponsoring sporting teams? And can they quantify the benefit to Tasmania’s GDP of the sponsorship – I doubt it.
TO say this article is completely off the mark is an understatement. You don’t need to be right wing to think that limited means tested welfare such as baby bonuses are rubbish.
Or to see that the Tasmanian government’s sponsorship deal with the tasmanian government is a successfull business arrangement that provides a return on investment.
Harsh indeed Mr. Barns. Perhaps Mr. Kennett in his discussion on welfare might enlighten us to how the average Victorian might exploit the Poker Machine taxes to enable those less fortunate in our community to join the Hawthorn Football Club of which Jeff is President to get a year long free feed, clothing and salary.
As I recall Hathorn ripped out $2million from Poker machine taxes that were supposed to be paid to the slack and apathetic ( or should that be pathetic) Victorian Govt to subsidise the costs Hawthron incurred in running its football club, paying its players (remember all those photos of players visiting sick children out of the goodness of their hearts, well think again as Jeff and his mighty hawks claimed every dollar they could to cover player salaries, travel, petrol, taxis etc etc etc for the time each player spent on each visit.
The players would not have even thought of such an action, so who did.
Perhaps Greg Barns might like to ask Mr. Kennett, or his Board, or club CEO or maybe Jeff might enlighten the welfare recipents of the state just how these things are achieved. Imagine each being paid 30% of the salary of a hawthorn player, welfare would not be needed then Jeff. They could be spoken of in glowing terms, high achievers, able to buy state of the art facilities, free to concentrate on their hobby each day all while other Victorians are pushing the buttons on the poker machines Hawthorn has in a strategically selected locations milking dollars from those that can least afford them. If you intend to visit such a location it will not be in leafy Camberwell or Hawthorn more likely right where those welfare recipients, Jeff sticks the boots into, live. An interesting thought just crossed my mind, “is Jeff biting the hand that feeds his football club, its players and its management staff”?
Without getting its snout into the Pokie Tax trough Hawthorn might have made a loss this year, imagine then what he would have said then!!
I agree with the above commentators. Greg Barns straying from the law and justice is a pitiful thing.
Mind you Barns demonstrated no natural justice in his treatment of Kennett’s essential point.
40% of the population receiving some form of welfare is nuts and that is allowing for the many buts and howevers…..
Written from the heart I’m sure Greg, but we need to accept a painful and initially unsympathetic principle – welfare should make life survivable, not comfortable. When it becomes comfortable, as it is in this country, people stop working. To have people in situations where they do not need to work or contribute is a social disaster. You only need to go, for instance, to the dole-fed suburbs of south west Sydney or the aboriginal townships of the outback to see this effect. (I note that I work in the first and have spent substantial time in the second.)
Now before a whole bunch of well-meaning people come stamping over this comment with talk of poverty lines and hardship, dispossession and marginalisation, the hugely disproportionate luxury of the wealthy, etc. please consider the words of Noel Pearson regarding the poison of welfare. Even better, go to either of the locations/areas I’ve mentioned and have a look at what actually happens when people are excused the task of looking after themselves.