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Rudd cuddles up to greedy extreme capitalists
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In a week when the focus should have been on the annual deluge of political donations data, another cut in official interest rates to record lows, continuing bailouts of mid-sized countries and Barack Obama’s remarkable attempt to curb executive pay on Wall Street, Kevin Rudd has played a bizarre game. There he was last night in Sydney joining with Rupert Murdoch to pay tribute to Frank Lowy. Surely the author of that essay in The Monthly should have instead been slating both of these ageing billionaires for their greed and extreme capitalism. The Westfield founder still hasn’t adequately addressed his questionable tax haven behaviour which was explored by Four Corners last October and led to his son Peter Lowy pleading The Fifth. Given that the ATO is now having another look at Lowy’s tax affairs, it is inappropriate for the PM to be eulogising his contribution to society whilst continuing to accept cash contributions from Westfield to fund his party’s political campaigns. Instead, surely the PM should be calling for Frank to cut his greedy $16 million annual salary, something which was debated at last year’s Westfield’s AGM. Even worse, it is Westfield which has been privately leading the charge for the establishment of Ruddbank to bail out the commercial property sector and Westfield which benefits enormously from all these cash handouts to shoppers. No wonder Frank praised Rudd’s $42 billion spending spree in front of Malcolm Turnbull last night. The PM has also repeatedly quoted from Westfield’s February 3 update on retail sales to justify December’s $10 billion welfare handout and the plan to do another $12 billion next month. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by all this given that on Monday we learnt Lowy’s empire had made the usual $200,000-plus donation to the ALP in the 2007-08 financial year. In today’s dollars, Lowy has slipped more than $5 million to the ALP since Bob Hawke, who also attended last night, became Prime Minister. Sadly, we haven’t even had a decent debate about it because the PM has created the mother-of-all diversions. The Murdoch press has been surprisingly soft on Rudd’s spending spree and, not surprisingly, Rudd has been grovelling away to the Murdochs. Rather than calling for Rupert to cut his outrageous $US28 million salary, our Kevin instead dropped in to hand-deliver a birthday card to his mum and joined Rupert to salute the equally greedy Mr Lowy last night. News Corp has this morning revealed a $10 billion loss — the second biggest in Australian history after Rupert’s $12 billion effort in 2000-01 as this list shows. However, none of the journalists or analysts on this morning’s 66-minute conference call bothered to ask about the $US8.4 billion in writedowns or whether Rupert would be shedding some of News Corp’s jets or cutting his $US28 million salary. This sort of weak journalism is just sad — the PM and Rupert Murdoch should be under extreme pressure for their behaviour right now. I let fly at the press gallery in this debate with Michelle Grattan and Lenore Taylor on Fran Kelly’s Radio National Breakfast program this morning. Hopefully, some other braver hacks will take up the fight. |
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13 Comments
I’m staggered that the Mayne dichotomy is a bag of cash preserved for some even further out catastrophe than the one we are faced with a opposed to a “stand and watch” strategy where recession/depression, unmitigated, drives wage and salary earners and their families into unemployment. Never mind the misery, look at the balance sheet. It is a balance of crises issue, surely - do we deal with the bush fire or wait in case it floods? We have to deal with the current threat to our survival. And Stephen’s infrastructure spending won’t do it. I am hoping that Stephen was barracking for infrastructure during the boom times - when, if action had been taken by a government otherwise focused on bribes and stunts, the GDP boosting benefits would be being felt now. Oh dear, except if the infrastructure was in coal and iron ore export ports and in railways to support them, the demand for commodities would be drying up. You mightn’t like the Rudd/Henry package, but the answer to what we need NOW sure ain’t the infrastructure for the commodities of the old economy. We should have been doing what Swanny used to bash on about - think creatively about what we should do after the boom ends - is that Costellos counterfiet bellows of mirth I can hear echoing throughthe Great Hall? Or is it the weeping for the Rudd/Swan Government’s trashing of green industry support? If it’s a choice - it has to be Rudd/Swan and not, gawdelpus Mal/Julie.
One half of the old adage is still true - don’t offend the Murdochs or else you will gatted bagged out of office.
“Brave hacks”? - most of them are scared smellyless in holding on to their jobs and their “access” to attempt to hold the executive to account
I am staggered. I am in 100% agreement with every single point that Stephen Mayne makes here. Moreover, I heartily concur with the points he made on Fran Kelly’s Radio National Breakfast program this morning. Thanks for the link.
One has to wonder if the Canberra press gallery as it is presently constituted and operates could be changed because It obviously needs a catharsis. I t certainly does not operate as the Fourth estate.
The Prime Minister, Ken Henry…. sorry that should be Kevin Rudd ( or should it?) is given open slather.
No doubt Kevin Rudd would also get a briefing from Frank Lowy about things in Israel.
I am 100% in agreement Stephen.
Last night I heard an academic on PM (I think) arguing for tax credits for only industries that will take us forward into the 21st Century. The stategy he put forward was to reward investment by the private sector and to encourage growth and employment . I thought hallelujah praise the lord, someone is actually looking for accountability in this flash of cash. He also recommended removal of payroll tax and the whole lot would cost a darn sight less than $42 billion.
Do not lose heart - I heard those eco dullards with you this morning as well and couldn’t believe they were allowed out alone. I do not know how you managed to keep your cool.
Push the Libs and Greens a lot harder until they see that this kind of spending hasnt worked anywhere else and if you take the bailouts in the US - the 200 or so busimneses who have received props have share prices that have fallen at four times the level of those that have not received government handouts so we know how the market feels about this stuff.
I urge the business people who are not party to the boondoggle that is about to be perpetrated upon the Australian people to speak out immediately. This is an outrage and insanity unless one was deliberatley trying to hollow out the Australian economy.
You are spot on with your comments about Frank Lowy but nobody seems to care. Many years there was a tax claim by the ATO for close to $30 million (check) which seemed to go via Liechtenstein and he settled for about $3 million. A number of ATO staff resigned in protest. Then he was rewarded with a seat on the board of the RBA, awarded our highest medal and so on and on. If this were the USA he would be doing time!
Now the Rudd bank is loaning Westfield billions to tide them over since their properties are not worth quite as much as they have borrowed. Amazing.
The article was about Rudd meeting billionaires with obscenely high salaries, yet the anti-zionists in our midst turn it into an excuse to bash Israel. Back into your holes guys..
Dare I say the backbone of the ezine today.
Why would one expect anything else from a politician of the calibre of the current Prime Minister. He will seize any photo opportunity even if it involves influential tax avoiders and media moguls.
I’m beginning to believe that as Jo Bjelke-Petersen eventually morphed into Peter Beatty that Kevin Rudd is morphing into John Howard as a master of wedge politics and a groveler to the rich and powerful.
No doubt Kevin is sucking up to the Zionists who masquerade as the Jewish lobby and from the spin doctor perspective this must carry more weight than the negative aspects of the alleged tax avoidance and the efforts of Lowy junior to avoid incriminating himself in US Senate hearings by refusing to testify.
Go Stephen.
The corruption endemic in Australia’s political and commercial circles will not be easily changed. The Labor Party has been bought and intends to stay bought. The Liberals were bought and would be still if they could. Makes the introduction of regulation and limitations on the salary of CEOs etc almost impossible. Obama shows Rudd up for the little man he is.
You’re right about political donations and politicians hobnobbing with powerful interests with money. But I thought what I heard of what you said on Fran Kelly Friday made you sound like Turnbull’s chief of staff. It is wrong that the government expects decisions of such magnitude to be rushed through with little or no discussion - a habit they may have picked up from the previous government. But if it is a competition between the same amount of money spent on targeted assistance or on tax cuts there are lots of reasons to favour the targeted assistance (it could of course be better targeted from a policy rather than political point of view, and arguably each of the $950 payments is too large - maybe much too large).
Same with the various proposals to help businesses (payroll tax reduction; payment of super guarantee levy for small business). Ultimately we want better businesses to survive and less efficient ones to fail (gracefully if possible). So if they can’t appeal to consumers then they shouldn’t get direct support - all things being equal. Although much of the handout money will go to businesses that pay rent to Westfield, lots wont and they won’t all get it equally.
The alleged aversion to deficit spending is also short sighted, as is the argument that we should keep some powder in the locker. Essentially nobody has a clue on exactly the right amount of money and the timing. But on balance this looks better than doing nothing (-> 4 year long Depression if 1930s are a precedent) or handing out money in ways likely to become permanent.
The Rudd package may not be right. But for you and Turnbull to be so absolutely certain that you have got it worked out better and in Turnball’s case to take his bat home is hubris, nothing more.
And finally it is a bit rich for Turnball and co to complain about handouts to ordinary people but not say boo about obscene payments to the coal industry as part of the CPRS (& the rumour is they’ve got their hands out 4 more).
I am still dumbfounded that Rudd has survived the Ian Tang/Stanley Ho Sting! What is the Chinese level of investment now in Australia - is it time yet to hand over the keys and get a rickshaw license?
We have become a wretched country and we have yet another wretched PM.
Another very incisive article Mr Mayne. Duplicity is not only a sin, but it is also very dangerous,but the very diplomatic KRudd thinks he can fool people this way. Thanks!