There is something terribly misanthropic about this sentence:
PS. Click to donate to help our campaign against Labor’s flood tax
This is the flood tax intended to pay for the rebuilding of Queensland’s public infrastructure, and the sentence appeared in an email sent by Tony Abbott. I know it’s your job to oppose things Tony, but for the time being could you possibly focus your fundraising efforts on the unfolding disaster itself and not on your own political career?
The ABC reports that:
A spokesman for Mr Abbott says the link was added by the Liberal Party headquarters.
Oh good, so it wasn’t just one person but rather an institutional problem. How comforting.
Looking at the larger picture, Annabel Crabb points out that it surely doesn’t matter exactly how we pay for the rebuilding; whether the money comes from an extra tax or extra government debt. What matters – especially in the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi – is that the government has a plan. It doesn’t have to be the best plan, conforming to conventional political ideology – just a workable plan. A little bipartisanship wouldn’t hurt.