Cancel the fireworks – Not that simple

There’s a facebook status doing the rounds at the moment that reads:

Not my idea but a damn good one……..Wondering if it is possible if as a country we ask the government to forget any firework displays around the country on Australia Day and instead donate all the money to Queenslanders as financial support? Put this up as your status if you support this statement

There are several fundamental problems with this well-meaning idea:

1. Australia Day is less than a fortnight away. Any contracts that Local Councils have with pyrotechnics suppliers for fireworks would have been signed and partially if not fully paid for months ago, because the pyrotechnics companies have to order and prepare them.
2. Pyrotechnics suppliers have a limited number of events throughout the year from which to earn their money. This meme is effectively asking them to donate a huge proportion of their annual earnings to the relief campaign, and that’s clearly unfair. It’s either that or sue the Councils for breach of contract.

With all the misery that Mother Nature has visited on the country in the last couple of weeks, it’s perfectly understandable that many people don’t feel like watching fireworks or celebrating – Australia Day or anything else – but this one is literally a case where the show must go on.

And don’t even get me started on that other meme “SHAME SHAME SHAME AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT” that’s getting about:

Indonesian Tsunami..Australia gives $1 billion in aid, Pakistan floods..Australia gives $66.5 million in aid. THE WORST floods in Australian history destroys homes, towns, life and businesses…Australian government donates a lazy $1 million.. pull your finger out of your ass Anna Bligh and Gillard start looking after your own! SHAME ON YOU.

That’s just stupid. There’s no need to go all Tea Party.

The federal and state governments are already ploughing money into this by virtue of the emergency services, relief services and deployment of the military etc. All the immediate stuff like shelters and temporary accommodation, again, it’s the Australian governments paying for that.

You can’t compare this to donating money to relief efforts in Pakistan or Haiti or Aceh – the situations are totally different. Those funds go to relief agencies like Red Cross or Oxfam and so on who are in that foreign country, who spend/disperse that money as effectively as they can.

In any case, this is a classic ‘be careful what you wish for‘ scenario. If the federal government fronted up with a big wheelbarrow of money, how long do you think it would be before the same people pushing this “SHAME” story around the ‘net would be castigating the government for it? All it would take would be a story on ACA/TT about someone ripping off the system. Look at the insulation scheme and building the education revolution: perfect examples of good policy, well executed in a crisis situation that the government got unfairly ripped to shreds over by various sections of the media.

I can hear the ACA promo even now: “Shonky builders! Ripping off devastated flood victims! And you’re paying for it!” 

No, the emergency isn’t over yet, it’s still Brislantis up there. There’s not much more the government could be doing at this stage. Let’s wait and see what happens in the months ahead.