Notre Dame Cathedral
So, Bill Shorten thinks Australia should contribute to the rebuilding of the Notre Dame Cathedral. What has France ever done for us? Should we give them money or should we look after Australia first.
As far as Australia putting money in to help restore the Notre Dame Cathedral I say
NO WAY!
Too many things in this country need building before we look at rebuilding some other countries tourest attraction. Think again Bill.
It wasn’t Bill Shorten who suggested we help France out, it was Malcolm Turnbull.
Here is the video, 'Bill Shorten flags giving taxpayer dollars to rebuild Notre Dame'
Shorten is the next PM, according to him and he is already acting in an (his) imperious way.
Malcolm Turnbull can approve nothing, he is out of politics, a dead parrot.
In the video link you have supplied from the Daily Mail (is that a Murdoch rag btw?) Bill Shorten begins by saying “I would like to echo something Malcolm Turnbull has said...”
However, he did not completely echo Malcolm Turnbull’s suggestion which was to donate taxpayer funds. Bill Shorten suggested that instead tax deductions could apply to those individual Australians who want to make personal donations. Josh Frydenberg agreed with Bill Shorten’s suggestion.
False news is alive and well and being perpetuated on this site by yourself and others.
Yes Ny 19, people often see what they want to see. Big difference between giving tax concessions to charity and giving our cash. Unconcious political bias at play maybe.
Ny19,
Surely you are not suggesting that the video is fake news because of the ownership of the media outlet?
Bill Shorten is by anyone's reckoning the odds on favourite as the next PM. It is only several weeks to the election and what he says must be taken seriously.
Until he slates otherwise in clear and emphatic words - and he could use the present PM's statement as an example - he can only be taken as proposing to do exactly as he has said in the video, to use Aussie taxpayers' money to rebuild a French State and Roman Catholic building in France.
Dismissing what I have said as possible political partisanship is ad hominem and intended to trivialise my questions and argument. It should be possible to stand up for Australian public needs first and foremost and then there can be a discussion if rebuilding another wealthy and populous nation's iconic State and religious buildings should be a new policy priority for Australian aid abroad. There would be a very long list if that is so and many in our region!
LJ
I am not saying the article is fake news. I am saying that many on here are twisting the truth to present fake news ie that Bill Shorten said he would donate taxpayer funds. He didn’t say that.
Read the article accompanying the video. Here is a summary opening the article:
'It belongs to the world': Bill Shorten calls on Australians to make donations to help rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral after it was destroyed in a huge blazeLabor leader Bill Shorten says Australians should help rebuild Notre Dame ruinsHe flagged tax deductions for those who donated to restoration of cathedral Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull suggested Australia give direct aid
Sorry, that came out squashed up. Nevertheless it clearly states that he flagged tax deductions for those who donated to restoration of the cathedral and that Malcolm Turnbull was the person who suggested giving direct aid from Australia.
Ny19
So did Bill Shorten do a backflip later? Because there he was 'echoing' Malcolm's silly virtue-signalling comments and spending other people's money. The sound track is there.
No he didn’t backflip. You misunderstood his meaning.
all the rich billionaires in France have brought the total up to ONE BILLION. more than enough to rebuild I would think. they were all outdoing each other as to how much they would contribute!
Yes NY19 Malcolm Turnbull did say that " The government should establish a charitable fund for the Notre Dame restoration" this was immediatly scotched by Scott Morrison saying the French can pay for it themselves. However and I quote " Labour leader Bill Shorten noted the brooding, gothic cathedral had been an important landmark in the days before GP'S when he visited Paris as a young backpacker, and again during early morning runs on a more recent visit. I think Australia should contribute to a restoration fund, he told reporters in Melbourne". Check it out if you like all reported in The Canberra Times.
Yes Casey but Bill Shorten did not say we should contribute tax payer funds to France as Malcolm Turnbull suggested. Bill Shorten said we could think about making donations made by individual Australians tax deductible. Josh Frydenberg agreed with him. I think Bill Shorten’s suggestion is fair enough but would be against what Malcolm Turnbull suggested.
And what do you say, Ny19? Should Australia's foreign aid be reviewed to give priority to rebuilding other nations' State and religious iconic buildings and for wealthy European countries that are easily able to afford to do their own work too!
LJ,
I made my views clear in my last sentence to Casey above and also on page 1 of the other thread about Notre Dame. Here is what I said there:
“I wonder if the obscenely wealthy Catholic Church will donate some of its $billions to restore its own building? I also wonder if France and or other countries would help us to rebuild the Opera House if it burned down?
Agree with you KSS. Happy for our government to donate taxpayer funds to help people suffering from a disaster but not to fix a building.”
Ny19,
Thank you for your most civil reply and I agree with those sentiments.
The Vatican has said that it will not contribute money for the rebuilding of Notre Dame.
If the Vatican is unwilling to rebuild it then may it rot!
The Vatican always has rattlesnakes in its pockets as far as shelling out and it is the richest country on earth, thanks to them bludging on their parishioners
If the Vatican does not care, why should we, it is obviously not that important as a religious building. Just anther building, just tear it down at the cost of the owner and put up something useful to a higher proportion of the population, like a hospital or a hostel for the homeless.
The first thing that must be done is tha the building be made safe, it is obvious that the rebuild wil ltake time. If the building is owned by the church they should pay for this.
The Vatican does not have to fund the repair.
After all there are the French Billionaires and our Billionaire Bill with the Taxpayers money who will fix it.
... breaking news! A French Millionaire (or Billionaire?) has pledged to donate whatever money needed to rebuild ... :-)
... and Nooooooo!! - Where is Bill Shorten getting allllll these extra $$$'s from? He seems to have a bottomless pit?