Throw another dollar bill on the barbie., page 1

THE Federal Government will provide $5 million to support Afghanistan elections in 2009/10. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made the announcement after returning from Afghanistan where he met with Australian troops deployed in the region. Of the funding, $3 million will go towards helping the United Nations and Afghanistan Independent Electoral Commission (AIEC) set up a national voter registration camp to sign up more than two million voters.
The remaining $2 million will be used for electoral education programs run by the AIEC and the Asia Foundation, which has been providing electoral guidance and support to the Afghan people since 2005. "For the elections to be considered free, fair and credible, the international community needs to ensure that the Afghanistan Independent Election Commission is sufficiently resourced," a statement from Mr Rudd's office says. "Ensuring there is broad and equitable participation by all Afghans, including women and displaced persons, is critically important for building the legitimacy and credibility of the election process."
Afghanistan will hold its presidential and provincial council elections in 2009, while parliamentary elections will be held in 2010. In 2008-09, the Rudd government will provide a further $62 million in development assistance to Afghanistan.

Source

I know that $5 million is NOTHING on a international scale, but I was just wondering WHY the HELL does Australia have to pay for a useless run-down country like Afghanistan.

And then another $62 million in the development assistance?
WHY should the tax payer have to help another country out whilst it has its homeless, past veterans of war on the street. We didn't cause any problems in Afghanistan, so why should we help fix it?
We won't gain any respect, we won't gain anything from it.

$62 million can buy a lot of houses, a lot of food.. giving money to Afghanistan is CERTAINLY a lost cause as I'm sure that the money will go unnoticed and unappreciated.

I'm sick of the Australian government splurging the taxpayers money on other countries (1bn to help the Indonesian economy, a country that pretty much HATES Australians.. but love the money we give them from tourism).

When will we learn that we should take care of our own before being the Loan-Shark of the southern-hemisphere, why is it that we are to weak to say "No". Why do we spend $10 million on a bike track that simply allows cyclists to pass over a highway, what possible revenue will be gained by such a project?

It seems I am more patriotic then my own government, who force us into laws and other crap that we don't even want/ need. YET our government rarely sticks up for itself internationally.

I'm sure by now if you're still reading you'll understand my thread title.

This concludes my rant, Mods.. If I posted in the wrong section please relocate it to the right section.

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