Well I for one dont really understand this. Why would our little football club get $9.6 million for our 12 games a year? Even in the context of Government budgets, $9.6 million is an ENORMOUS amount of money. Costello talks about it being for the community - schoolkids games dont need an upgraded stadium to fit 200 people into the ground.
I think the answer lies in that Governments of all political persuasions with a big majority will spend all their money in stitching up the areas they already have and throw the rest at marginal seats. If you look at where state Labor are spending all of their money, the slant towards current Labor seats is just overwhelming. The more marginal a seat is, the more money gets thrown at it. eg. Monaro and Murray Darling. The results of this strategy are two-fold: sitting Government members can claim the credit for lobbying for the money (in this case Costello credited Bruce Baird); and underfunding of capital works in seats that the Government doesnt hold means that sitting Opposition members can't take credit for pressuring the Government into spending in their areas.
The part I dont quite understand is that we are so far out from an election that the announcement is a little unnecessary politically. But perhaps the timing of the opening of the grandstand will coincide nicely with the next election. It also might be about Costello boosting his profile and standing in Sydney, particularly after he was criticised by not using the Sharks as a platform for doing so earlier.
I thought the fact State and Federal Governments throwing enormous amounts of money at St George, Wests, Parramatta, Newcastle and Penrith etc was completely ridiculous and going against what Government should stand for. But now I'm all for it! What a great day for the Sharks.
Remember - it's only a rort if you're not in on it!
