I have not paid much attention to the “Pre-Budget” leaks announced in recent days, nor, regardless of the allocation of government spending due to be announced later today, will I be particularly surprised.
Virtually every household in the country knows that to live within their means is to decide how best to spend each dollar, and where necessary, to make sacrifices. To spend on entertainment or holidays before covering rent, mortgage etc, is folly, and most get their priorities right, at least most of the time – unfortunately some do not. The reality is, an honest person can only spend a dollar once. Likewise Government has a “fixed income” (the tax take), and faces the conundrum of how to carve it up to best serve the needs of the people (by way of the budget). Inevitably, there are instances where, in order to pay for the bribes and false promises made to retain power, dishonest politicians commit to spending more than the Government “earns”, thereby transferring this debt to the tax payers of the future (our children and grandchildren). Every dollar spent on cynical “bribes” comes at the expense of something eminently more worthwhile – health, education, etc. Two fairly poignant examples are the multi-billion dollar slush fund provided to NZ First (and more specifically, the ex-Minister of Porn, Shane Jones) as the price of their allegiance, and the funding of first year university students (perhaps erstwhile acolytes of left leaning parties of the future). One wonders why this “caring and inclusive” Government would invest so much in first year university students, predominately the sons and daughters of the middle and well to do families, when our teachers so desperately deserve greater resources. Perhaps today’s budget will prove that cynicism, cronyism and corruption have been consigned to the past – I suspect not. What to do in Brisbane on a sunny Saturday - checkout the river, the inner city attractions, or drive 120 km to the Eumundi Markets - easy, so we cranked up our wee Hyundai i30, and off we went.
Cruising along the M1 is to reminded that one thing Australia has plenty of of wide open spaces, and new riverside homes advertised complete with a berth for your boat for $439,000. When you consider how much the Auckland City Council bilk out of every new section (and I’d guess between $50-$100k), it is easy to see why there is such a marked variance. Anyway, cruising at the posted 110km (other than for periodic and inevitable roadworks) Eumundi appeared soon enough, and after snagging a car park on the main drag, we joined tourists and semi locals alike in wandering around, checking out crafts, vendors of the weird and wonderful, whilst resisting the temptation of German sausages, churros and home baked wares. I wandered behind, trying to be unobtrusive, invisible and inoffensive - a struggle for someone of my size to be sometimes, but I tried, and in so doing appreciated that people watching brings its own rewards - the pretty, the ugly, the big and the small, the heavily tattooed and the alternative- all creatures under the same sky. We wandered up and down the various stalls, in a fashion that only a woman could appreciate or understand, checking out this and that, occasionally stopping long enough for something to pass scrutiny and join the spoils. We came across a couple with a 2 year old male German Shepherd - a very good natured whopper of a dog, and an interesting contrast to Nala, still a pup, but with paws the size of saucers, indicators of what is yet to come. The highlight of the day was not a fairly average steak and cheese pie from a main road bakery, but a brother and sister of probably 10 and 8 respectively taking turns at belting out boggie woggie on an old piano outside the local fruit shop - extraordinary. Don Malcolm +64 21 924 114 |
Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
|