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Wondering how you can help the Morrison Government save $500 million on their War Memorial upgrade, and maybe redirect the money towards fighting climate change?
Never let it be said that in Australia, we don’t know how to honour our war heroes!
The good news is we already have one of the largest war memorials on earth. The great news is that the Morrison Government is planning a half billion dollar upgrade… because let’s face it, you can never spend too much taxpayer money lionising war.
Sure, the Liberal-Nationals had to cut $110 million from the nation’s peak scientific body, the CSIRO, to pay for it, but then climate science is “crap”… so says our former Prime Minister who oversaw the cuts.
And granted, the Morrison government has steadfastly refused to spend $500 million to provide a fleet of firefighting aircraft to tackle Australia’s seemingly ever-expanding bushfire seasons, but they did spend $17 billion on Joint Strike Fighters (and even upgraded them, after it was realized they can’t fly in bad weather), and another $50 billion on attack-class submarines (although, sadly, they may be obsolete when they come into service in 2030).
But if, like us, you’re one of those hand-wringing lefties who worries about directing money to where it’s needed, but you still want to honour our soldiers, you could follow the lead of Adelaide Airport Ltd, a company with a 50-year lease to operate Australia’s fifth largest domestic and international airport.
As part of a recent upgrade to the airport, they’ve designed a cheap but effective way to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice (and some who didn’t) with some flash new toilet facilities, replete with plaques for people to read while they ‘do their business’.
Or possibly it’s just a comment on media… either way, Sir George Herbert Wilkins remains Australia’s only official war photographer to receive a combat medal (the Military Cross), and one of the few to be honoured with a urinal in an airport dunny.
Lest we forget… to flush.
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