AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald
By JOANNE MCCARTHY May 28, 2014
THE Abbott government’s decision to reallocate money from the child sexual abuse royal commission to its inquiry into the former government’s home insulation scheme is an own goal for a few reasons.
It reinforces the widespread belief this government puts politics before just about anything.
By transferring money from a royal commission that has so comprehensively proven it was needed to another that was too easily labelled a political witch hunt, the government is giving critics a free kick and an easy target.
It reinforces the belief its public statements on sensitive subjects should always be received with a healthy dash of cynicism.
At a Senate committee hearing in February, Attorney-General George Brandis answered ‘‘No’’ when asked if there had been any offsets from other inquiries to fund the government’s $19million home insulation royal commission.
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