Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 30 June 2011 (apologies for delayed publication):
Government deserts northern Australia but spends $3 million so others can “share stories”
Today the Department of Climate Change will begin taking applications for grants of up to $250,000 so that organisations can “share their stories and demonstrate the opportunities associated with Australia moving to a clean energy future.” 1
We are almost morphing from political propaganda to straight out political bribery. $250,000 is more than I and one of my staff get paid combined so that someone can write a Labor pop-up book. I bet you Rhys Muldoon will be all over this one.
This “Climate Change Grant Program” will cost $3 million. Coincidentally, that is the same amount that Labor has offered those affected by this Government’s overnight ban on live cattle exports.
While people in the north of Australia are told to get by on the dole, the government is handing out to others cheques of $250,000 so that others can “share stories” for a clean energy future. I bet you there would be quite a few people in the north who would like to “share stories” mainly about a Green-Labor-Independent free future.
Fair dinkum, what is going on here? The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland and the Green-Labor-Independent government. This is bizarre. This is more money we are going to be borrowing from overseas for something that would go down very well at a hothouse, talkfest at a community forum in Nimbin.
1 http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/government/programs-and-rebates/climate-change-grant-program.aspx
Barnaby Is Right 
I object …
As the Senate technically are elected by the people (no preference puns please) … I request that they intervene …
Maybe an avocado and some lettuce may heed this call, however in my time space I doubt that, their ego’s are bigger than the watermelon’s and they think that they are the champion of the people… after listening to an avocado and the new lettuce last night I nearly gagged … I read their policies on their website this morning and realised that someone made a huge error in preferences .. like wtf
No one is going to stop this sham and now no one will stop the Government spending monies on worthless exercises like these….
AND no, I do not know how this party, with such a blatantly stupid manifesto on taxation, schooling and the economy in general, can get to this position .. at least with a motto of ‘keep the bastards honest’ was a ‘fair dinkum’ attempt to solicit values from the Government of the day.
Yes I know .. go on all you tree huggers and lettuce leafs have a dig at my comments ….