Piers Akerman proves why both he and The Daily Telegraph have such lowly reputations

This was what Piers Akerman said in The Daily Telegraph on 14 June 2009 when he pointed the finger at Kevin Rudd and shouted I accuse!:

On Monday, May 25, Rudd stood in Parliament and said: "Today the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs also activated the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment to provide further assistance to help those in northern New South Wales affected by the flood disaster.

The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment will be a one-off immediate payment of $1,000 to adults and $4,000 to children. Claims for assistance can be made through Centrelink.

"Today, in recognition of the severe damage to local communities in northern NSW, the Government has agreed to a request from the NSW Premier to extend the current assistance being provided to small business and to primary producers in the flood-affected areas in northern NSW.

"This assistance will include one-off grants of up to $15,000 for small businesses and primary producers that can provide proof of expenditure on flood-related recovery. The New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority will administer these payments.

"I have also today authorised this assistance for people affected by the earlier floods in New South Wales in late March."

Notice that Akerman's last sentence in this quote is a separate paragraph and so appears to apply to all payments/grants mentioned?

Akerman then goes on to state:

But on Tuesday, May 26, Rudd's office advised Hartsuyker that contrary to what the PM had said on Monday, the victims of the March 31 flood would not be eligible for the one-off cash payment, only those affected by the May event.

Very nicely implying to his readers that it is Rudd, not he Akerman, who is lying about who promised what.

But Hansard clearly shows that what Kevin Rudd actually said was:

Today, in recognition of the severe damage to local communities in northern New South Wales, the government has agreed to a request from the New South Wales Premier to extend the current assistance being provided to small business and to primary producers in the flood affected areas in northern New South Wales. This assistance will include one-off grants of up to $15,000 for small businesses and primary producers that can provide proof of expenditure on flood related recovery. The New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority will administer these payments. I have also today authorised this assistance for people affected by the earlier floods in New South Wales in late March.

Now it is evident that what had been agreed to was that small business and primary producers (caught in that earlier flooding which Nationals MP Luke Hartsuyker had apparently approached Akerman over) will be afforded the right to apply for a one-off grant. Not individual home owners.

I really feel for everyone caught by flooding on the NSW North Coast, but Luke Hartsuyker's cynical political ploy utilizing the likes of Akerman is doing more harm than good.