'Did anyone bring an egg for this guy?' Australian PM gives places of worship $55mn for fence & CCTV
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was accused of hypocrisy after he announced $55 million in grants for security upgrades at religious schools and places of worship in the wake of the New Zealand tragedy.
The money will be given to the country's mosques, churches, synagogues and religious schools so that worshipers can "practice their faith in safety," Morrison said on Monday at a meeting of the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce in Melbourne.
The grants range from $50,000 to $1.5 million, and are expected to cover the cost of security upgrades such as CCTV cameras, lighting, fencing and alarms.
We’ll deliver $55 million for grants that will prioritise safety enhancements at religious schools and places of worship, such as CCTV cameras, lighting, fencing, bollards, alarms, and security systems.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) March 18, 2019
Morrison said the money will be available through the "acceleration and extension" of a community fund that supports local schools, preschools, community groups and local councils. The prime minister also promised that religious organizations will be given priority access to public funds. "It grieves me that this is necessary, but sadly it is," he said, alluding to the recent terrorist attack on a New Zealand mosque that claimed the lives of 50 worshipers.
Also on rt.com Aussie Senator gets EGGED after comments blaming Muslims for NZ mosque shooting (VIDEO)However, angry comments poured in as local TV streamed Morrison's speech on Facebook. Most users were quite skeptical about the prime minister's appeal.
One person suggested that Morrison was simply "point scoring" in the wake of the Christchurch tragedy, while another called the prime minister "a puppet" who is unable to make "Australia strong."
Tensions also flared on Twitter as many people questioned the need for such generous expenses.
What an outrageous grandstanding waste of taxpayers money. How dare you.
— AngryMan (@AngryManAust) March 18, 2019
WTF....is he on about, just wild spending taxpayers money
— 🇦🇺mikeaubrey🏳️🌈 (@mikeaubrey2) March 18, 2019
Commenters suggested that authorities should put more effort in controlling extreme right-wing groups, reforming gun laws, and enhancing "ground first response capabilities" instead of wasting money on "useless infrastructure."
So rather than pouring $55 Mill into useless infrastructure, how about increasing on the ground first response capabilities, have the courts hand out adequate sentences to offenders, fine tune gun laws & talk to people who actually work in the industry rather than the bureaucrats
— Nigel C Brown 🇦🇺🇬🇧🇺🇸🇿🇦 (@nigelbrown61) March 18, 2019
Spend the money on stopping hate speech, shutting down extreme right wing groups, etc......but suppose that might put you and your mate Dutton at risk.. .
— Col In Paradise (@ColInParadise1) March 18, 2019
A number of people chose to react sarcastically, with one wondering if there's anyone who had brought an "egg for this guy" in reference to the incident involving Australian senator Fraser Anning on Saturday. Anning, who had earlier said that the shooting in a Christchurch mosque highlighted the "growing fear over an increasing Muslim presence" in both New Zealand and Australia, was attacked by a teenage protester with an egg as he was talking to reporters in Melbourne.
A 28-year-old Australian-born man named Brenton Tarrant killed 50 people in a mosque in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand on Friday. The shooter livestreamed the attack on Facebook using a GoPro camera. Shortly before the rampage, he posted a lengthy 'manifesto' in which he called for "revenge" against "Muslim invaders."
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