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Monday 28 July 2008

How mumbo-jumbo wastes money

The Australian taxpayer has had to stump up A$2.4 million for the dubious privilege of having a geezer in a white frock go there to spout shite. And that's on top of the genuine cost of the visit.

What happened was this: the church waited so long to tell the state government that its World Youth Day pilgrim numbers had changed that the government was "forced to install far more showers and smoke alarms than needed in schools intended to house them", according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald.

It continues:

The equipment was installed in as many as 412 schools – more than four times the necessary number – because the church waited until last month to tell the Government it would not need many of the schools requested.

As much as A$3.2 million may have been spent on the project.

Presumably, the Vatican is happy to let this go at a time when Pope Ratzo has been going on about world poverty. If the damned visit hadn't gone ahead in the first place, A$3.2 million could have helped a lot of people, both in Oz and elsewhere.

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