What we call pork-barrelling is investment … you want to call that pork-barrelling, you want to call that buying votes, that’s what elections are for.
John Barilaro, deputy premier of New South Wales.
To be fair to Barilaro, he expanded the point with more explicit truth-telling: “If we fund a non-government seat, it’s only because we want to win them at the next election.”
Join the conversation
The Crikey comment section is members-only content. Please login or sign up for a FREE trial to engage in the commentary.