In theory, back in the days when Liberals believed in anything at all, property rights were part of their intellectual underpinning.
So, jaded as I am, I was just a little surprised to see Brendan Smyth disputing the right of the Labor Party to maximise the return on the sale of its assets.
- The unseemly stoush within the Labor Party is being carried on without addressing the real moral question of the action – should the Labor Party be allowed to sell their poker machine clubs for a massive individual profit? asked Shadow Treasurer Brendan Smyth.
“When poker machine licences were provided to the clubs industry, the understanding was clear that they were intended for the benefit of the community, not the profit of any individual party,” said Mr Smyth.
“They were not provided so an organisation – let alone a political party who is also supposed to be the watchdog and regulator – could build private gambling empires and then reap obscene windfall gains.
One suspects Brendan is jealous that no-one’s ever paid to go to a Liberal Club.