6 August 2009

Torch relay farce bill gets slapped on the ACT

| johnboy
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I think it’s fair to say the Beijing Olympics torch relay was not an event most in the ACT remember fondly.

The Liberals’ Brendan Smyth is now pointing out that we’re paying for 3/4’s of the deal rather than the promised half.

    In an embarrassing and costly rebuke from Jon Stanhope’s Federal Labor colleagues, the ACT community has been left with three quarters of the over $2 million bill for the Olympic torch relay, Shadow Treasurer, Brendan Smyth, said today.

    “This is another embarrassing snub for the Chief Minister from his Federal Labor counterparts, after they reneged on a deal to pay half of the cost for the Beijing Olympic Torch relay,” Mr Smyth said.

    “Unfortunately for ACT taxpayers, Mr Stanhope’s inability to negotiate a suitable deal has left our already struggling economy further under pressure.

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Agreed re the good hyperbole.

China should have been told to shove the torch up their arse when their forces landed in Canberra with the torch. The plane should have been detained for a few hours on the ground for a photo op then sent on its way.

Maybe so, but good hyperbole.

Granny said :

Torch relay … grrrr … don’t talk to me about the torch relay. It was the first successful invasion of Australian soil by a foreign power in two hundred years. And it was terrifying.

Hyperbole much?

moneypenny26129:11 pm 07 Aug 09

Does Brendyn Smyth or his media minder live here?

Check out this para from his press release:

“Despite Mr Stanhope’s continued calls for greater autonomy he has made no progress with Federal Labor. The Federal government still refuses to pay for the Russell car park and the proposed upgrade of Constitutional Avenue and the ACT missed out completely on the Federal road infrastructure money.”

I could be generous and blame the MS Word spell-check. But I won’t.

Ah we here elsewhere on Riot that one G. Gretch was invovled in this fiasco, what a surprise. Brendan failed to mention that.

Stanhope’s a loser. Unfortunately most of his government is not much better, and as for the other two mobs… Where, oh where is someone competent to lead us out of mess.

Stanhope was on ABC radio yesterday afternoon trying to explain all this – and in the process highlighted three other instances where an ‘agreement’ with the Feds hasn’t turned into cash in the bank – Majura parkway was one he mentioned.

He’s the only politician I know that is stupid enough to go on record and explain instances where he’s proven to be a great wet lettuce when it comes to negotiating with the Feds. He is hopeless.

In the CT today, is states: “Nothing was put in writing”.

How useless were the public servants (Cappie-Wood from CMD, Godwin Grech from Treasury and Shergold from PM&C) involved that they didn’t even document the so-called agreement.

And Stanhope just sailed blithely on thinking that the Commonwealth would honour this non-agreemnt.

Whackers all.

Can we pass the bill onto the Chinese Embassy? If media reports are to be believed they organised the demonstrations and I presume employed the creepy Chinese guys I saw videoing the students to make sure that they behaved appropriately (including, interestingly enough, making sure that all discussions/confrontations with pro-Tibet protesters were caught on film). I also have some interesting photos of the event.

Torch relay … grrrr … don’t talk to me about the torch relay. It was the first successful invasion of Australian soil by a foreign power in two hundred years. And it was terrifying.

“Mini potentiates” love the grandiose. How did Stanhope ever think that this benefited the lives of his constituents. The extra cost should come out of his pension.

Well I enjoyed it – the crowd was pretty interesting and even fun in parts, before it all got bit heated. (I have some interesting pics of the heated parts too.) As a nice bonus, one of my two chinese housemates mistook my enthusiasm for the relay experience as supporting his political ideals and finally let loose with what he really thought should be happen to Taiwan (military attack) and showed me the letters from the chinese association sent out to drum up nationalist pride and attendance at the relay – which were a totally fascinating insight into a particular aspect of chinese society.

Holden Caulfield said :

Thugs spend money too.

Yeah but how much extra do you have to spend on police because there are thugs present? I doubt their spending exceeds the cost of policing them.

Would they spend $1.5m over the course of a day? I don’t think the figures would reflect that, which would surely suggest this was a dud investment.

Let’s face facts, Canberra got screwed by this.

Holden Caulfield4:44 pm 06 Aug 09

Dante said :

And what exactly did the torch relay bring to Canberra, except for busloads of nationalist Chinese who beat up and spat on my friend and his brother as they unfurled a Free Tibet banner?

I doubt it brought $1.5m into the local economy.

Thugs spend money too.

Is anyone really suprised about this news?

Exactly

I thought paying half was too much. What a waste of money.

So that thing that made my trip to work an hour longer than normal is costing me money? Fantastic!

And what exactly did the torch relay bring to Canberra, except for busloads of nationalist Chinese who beat up and spat on my friend and his brother as they unfurled a Free Tibet banner?

I doubt it brought $1.5m into the local economy.

I can’t believe I was seriously considering joining the community choir they put together to sing on the day, before about three nanoseconds had elapsed and I gave myself a very stiff uppercut.

Is it just me or is there a pretty strong link between the words “Olympic” and “farce”?

Coming from the man who’s government at the time painted the grass at Bruce Stadium to appease SOCOG. Brendan I’d shut up now if I were you mate.

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