It’s a great ANZAC day tradition.
First, get out to a moving morning services, and reflect silently on the true horror of war. Follow it up with a game of two-up at your local. Then, in a final act of respect, try to cash-in on the mass slaughters of the 20th century by associating your brand with dead Australian soldiers.
Last year, it was Woolworths trying to work its “Fresh Food People” slogan into the ANZAC legend.
But this year an even more unlikely campaign is being attached to Australia’s preeminent nationalist myth.
You may remember Coalition MP Stuart Robert was dumped from the Turnbull Ministry earlier this year after an investigation found he had fallen short of expectations after an ill-fated and seeming inappropriate trip to China.
Not content with that disgrace, Robert today attempted to utilise the national day of remembrance to bolster support for the government’s campaign against Labor’s planned changes to negative gearing.
Stuart spent yesterday tweeting memes attacking Labor’s plan to grandfather the investment tax policy, which would return billions to the budget and arguably ease rental prices.
Then, on April 25, he had this to say.
Yes, At the going down of the sun over our multiple investment properties, We will remember them.
The transparent effort to tap the political capital vested in the memory and mythology of ANZAC day didn’t go down too well for Robert, and the MP was flooded with criticism on Twitter.
Around two hours after his tweet, Robert then sent a non-apology Tweet which was mysteriously deleted then sent again.
The original offending Tweet has since been deleted.
We contacted Robert’s office to ask what his source for the claim about soldiers negative gearing was, but no word back yet.
Meanwhile, the legend of the ANZAC day negative gearing Tweet can thankfully be saved here forevermore – lest we forget.
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