Parliament: Question Time.

I had nothing else better to do today between the hours of two and three this afternoon. And often, that's intentional when Federal Parliament is sitting. Yep, it's one of my guilty pleasures: House of Representatives: Question Time, live on ABC TV. I'm such a wanker.

A few interesting things popped up in today's questions-without-notice - aside from the big issue of the day, the shady (and downright fraudulent) porkbarrelling of regional electorates, euphemistically called the Regional Partnership Scheme, before last year's election.


Treasurer Peter Costello crowed about his $600 per child Family Tax Benefit. Nothing different there, you might say. But then he continued to talk about how a radio-commentator-with-four-kids mentioned on radio that with his grand total of $2400, he bought a greyhound and called it Lumpsum. "You can't buy a greyhound with money that doesn't exist", he said, mocking the Labor Party's claim that the payment doesn't exist, in real terms.

And he was pround of that. How can you be proud of that? That's not what the Family Tax Benefit is for! Many families with children need financial relief to get by, and yet some unnamed right-wing radio shock jock - who probably earns squillions already - blows it all on a freaking greyhound! Ridiculous.


Then we have the Scoresby Tollway/Freeway in Melbourne. Here's the situation: the Federal Government is withholding Commonwealth Funds for this major road project because the State Government of Victoria is planning on putting tolls on it to help fund contruction - the Feds want the Scoresby to be a freeway and not a tollway.

But here's my beef. The Scoresby isn't a part of the National Highway network - it's a state road. But the Western Sydney Orbital, or M7 Westlink, is a part of the National Highway - and a major one at that, and hence it fundamentally should be toll-free. Yet the Commonwealth has refused to put up adequate funding for it so there's no choice but to stick a big fat toll on it.

It reeks of double standards. I'd risk blaming it on the fact that Scoresby is situated in the Liberal Party held seat of Aston, and most of the M7 goes through the Labor held electorates of Chifely, Prospect and Werriwa (which will probably stay Labor held).


I might just have to download a copy of today's Hansard tomorrow.


Listening to:
Title: Tomorrow
Artist: Silverchair
Album/station: The Best of Silverchair Vol. 1 (2001)
Length: 4.27