Repressive police state, massive government spending, millions left dependent on Big Nanny, probably for years – what wouldn’t a leftist love about our governments’ panicked responses to the Chinese virus?
Which explains why they’re jumping on the bandwagon with obscene haste. Left-wing activist group GetUp, despite its protestations of impartiality, has resolutely attacked the conservative parties from its very inception. Yet, suddenly, they’re in love with the Coalition government – at least, so long as there’s a buck in it for them.
The GetUp activist group is trying to cash in on the popularity of Scott Morrison’s coronavirus measures with a plea for donations that it says will fund a campaign supporting government policy.
GetUp’s vow to spend big on “ads, polling and a comprehensive report” backing the government’s COVID-19 strategy appears a remarkable about-face after years of attacking Coalition policies and urging voters to put its party candidates last on ballot papers.
Well, not that remarkable, really, considering that GetUp has long been passionately dedicated to raking in as much cash as they can get their hands on – most of which goes straight in the leaders’ pockets. Despite vociferously campaigning against foreign political donations, GetUp trouser hundreds of thousands in foreign cash. At the same time as they were publicly railing against big banks, GetUp was taking kickbacks from banks. GetUp also used last summer’s bushfire disaster to tout for donations.
But claiming to support the Morrison government is so shameless that even their ovine followers are arking up.
Disenchanted former GetUp team leaders and volunteers are sceptical, claiming the organisation has seized on public support for the government in difficult times as a revenue raiser to prop up its own finances as the majority of its spending goes to $7.2m in salaries for Mr Oosting and other staff.[…]
Queensland Liberal Amanda Stoker […said] “GetUp never let the truth get in the way of scamming a buck.”
An ex-GetUp volunteer said: “[…]This is just another cynical GetUp move to bolster their coffers.”
Cynically chasing donations to line their pockets, GetUp are just staying completely in character. So are opportunistic leftists suddenly cheering on the Morrison government:
Some people might be surprised that the head of a progressive think tank would praise a conservative prime minister.
Not me, pal. Because it’s blatantly obvious that you’re salivating at the prospect of finally getting the socialist nanny-state you’ve always wanted.
This is the great foolishness of the Morrison government’s panicked, knee-jerk response. Once the socialist genie is out of the bottle, good luck getting it back in again – at least, before the economy is completely destroyed and we’re all eating our own pets to survive.
In fact, these “progressive” vultures are making no bones about wanting to make the temporary measures permanent.
“Temporary and targeted” will not be enough. We are going to need a permanently bigger public health service; long-term big government industry policy so Australian manufacturing thrives; and direct government investment to stimulate aggregate demand and provide direct jobs to build the new, better, more resilient economy.
As I recently wrote: “We are being driven like panicked lemmings over the cliff of ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics’”.
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