[First filed: February 05, 2009 @ 19:58]
Like a drunk waking up after a week long bender, rather than shaving, showering, ironing a shirt and getting to work – instead we’ve found a bottle of bourbon and we’re going to have one last hurrah before we face the music.
The Chief Minister proudly announces that the ACT is going to get $350 million of “stimulus” money once the minor party Senators have been sufficiently bribed in the upper house to pass the package next week.
- “The ACT’s share of the package includes: $229.3 million in upgrades to buildings in every primary school and $102 million for social housing. Eligible Canberrans will also have access to free ceiling insulation for homes, up to $950 in one off cash payments and a temporary tax break for small and medium size businesses buying eligible assets.”
Enjoy it while it lasts.
- Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.
— To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
– Robert Herrick, 1648.
UPDATED: To make sure we don’t spill a drop Mr. Stanhope has now announced that the Chief Executive of the Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services, Ms Sandra Lambert, will glory in the title of “ACT Nation Building Co-ordinator-General”.
- “She will join Co-ordinators based in each state and the Northern Territory to oversee the rollout of the planned infrastructure and construction and liaise with the newly-created Commonwealth Office of Co-ordinators.
“Ms Lambert will lead a team of senior public servants tasked with delivering on the ACT’s share of the Rudd Government’s $42 billion stimulus package,” Mr Stanhope said.
“In signing up to deliver this unprecedented, one-off funding from the Commonwealth we need to ensure the ACT is able to roll out a record number of new capital works projects for our schools and in excess of 400 public and community housing dwellings.”
UPDATE: Never one to miss a chance to kick man who’s down, Mr. Stanhope is calling on Zed Seselja to hurry up our slice of the pie by in turn demanding Malcolm Turnbull call off the Senate’s inquiry into the package. Why not ask Zed to wish for gold bricks to fall from the sky while he’s at it?
ANOTHER UPDATE: Zed has expressed his dismay at being used as a punching bag just hours after coming to an agreement to work co-operatively on how to spend all this money as quickly as possible.