Dear Robert Doyle, this might explain why people are so angry.

“It was the most exclusive of events: a $500 minimum per head gala fundraising dinner last week for a right-wing think tank. Tony Abbott, Gina Rinehart and Rupert Murdoch took turns sharing the stage. Andrew Bolt was MC. Tony praised his fellow key-note speakers, especially Rupert, and promised the crowd a “big yes” to many of the think tank’s list of 75 policies to radically transform Australia.

So what, exactly, is on this mob’s wish list?

Public broadcasting – gone. The ABC to be broken up and sold off, SBS to be fully privatised.

Corporations to be allowed to make secret payments to political parties.

Medicare gone for most Australians.

A return to WorkChoices, just by another name.

The clean energy fund and the renewable energy target – scrapped.

Funding for sport and arts – including the Australian Institute of Sport – axed. Same for science, with the CSIRO to be privatised.

It goes on. Never before has the extreme conservative agenda been laid out so clearly.” (From Getup Newsletter)