As is usual with almost anything political, the media, web blogs and forums react very quickly with comments, and many are often not exactly accurate.
The subject of Kevin Rudd and the A$60,000,000 discussed with Indonesia is one example.
According to some people, Australia is giving A$60 million to Indonesia so that they can stop buying meat from Australia.
According to Kevin Rudd, the funds are designed to help boost Australian companies’ investment in the Indonesian beef industry.
Even the Jakarta Post seems to have understood it the way that Rudd has intended it. Read how their statement is worded:
Australia agreed to disburse A$60 million (US$55 million) to finance a 10-year initiative on Indonesia’s beef and cattle industry during a bilateral talk between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and visiting Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, on Friday.
Australia “agreed to disburse”. They did not say Australia agreed to pay us…
The $60M will be paid to Australian companies, over ten years, and they will hopefully benefit financially from the growing Indonesian Meat market, with tax then coming back to the ATO on their profits.
In theory it sounds good ! But then, so did the Roof Insulation project, and the Water Desalination project, and the Mary River Dam, and the…. etc etc
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