“Stingy” for giving money to the homeless? That’s what social media labelled Malcolm Turnbull recently after he was snapped dropping $5 into the cup of a homeless man in Melbourne.
The picture of the PM, who had a money clip in his other hand, was posted by Guardian columnist Van Badham who captioned the photo: “Check Malcolm’s right hand, then check his left hand — and you’ll know why this photo doesn’t even need a caption.”
Now Graham Long, the chief executive and pastor of The Wayside Chapel, has come to his defence in an impassioned plea in his regular Inner Circle column.
What did he have to say about the PM and his “human reaction” as our PM called it?
A human reaction
Mr Long asks readers to:
“Guard against the constant drip of the media that would cheat you out of your humanity.
Sometimes I’ve been involved with something that has included a politician and I’ve been astonished by the venom that is poured out upon them by social media. Once Tanya Plibersek made a wonderful gift to me by speaking at an event for which she had to sacrifice her time with next to nothing to gain for herself.
After the event, social media was deluged with comments assuming the worst and lowest of motives. It was wrong and a judgement not against Tanya but against our culture that is losing the possibility of seeing anything positive.”
Malcolm Turnbull not “stingy”
He then goes on to talk about Mr Turnbull’s charitable act:
“Now I never tell anyone to vote for any political party and I don’t mind when people criticise government policy or lack thereof, but to call Malcolm Turnbull “stingy” is an outrage.
When I came to The Wayside Chapel, we had next to no staff, taking more risks than Evil Knievel by running seven days a week in the hands of uncoordinated, mostly unsupervised, good-hearted volunteers.
Our building was 40% condemned and deteriorating by the month. I conducted weddings standing in an inch of water in our old Chapel. We seriously considered whether Wayside had met its end.
Yet we rebuilt the place, beginning with literally not one dollar and we finished the project debt free.”
How did they do it?
While Mr Long says they received help from Premier Nathan Rees and Federal politicians Kevin Rudd and Anthony Albanese, half the project was funded by private citizens with Lucy and Malcolm Turnbull “the first two to jump in with us.”
“Malcolm has been here many times, sometimes with cameras and many times without. He’s put on an apron or sometimes just sat and spoken with homeless people in our community.
Many times since those days when we were on the brink, the Turnbulls have helped us with breathtaking generosity.
I happen to know that the help we’ve received is just the tip of their charitable iceberg. “Stingy” is not a word I’d ever use to describe our PM. Imagine the story in the media if the PM had put $100 in the cup? Our culture will be crippled and miserable when we become incapable of seeing an act of compassion.”
Homeless left begging?
Mr Long doesn’t need to look far for evidence to support his claim that we are losing our “possibility of seeing anything positive.”
Melbourne’s own Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has argued against people giving money to people on the street, saying they should make their donations to service providers instead.
“If you give money, food, clothing, blankets and other goods to the homeless, you are entrenching homelessness and making it easier for them to stay on the street,” he wrote in an opinion piece earlier this year.
Asked by 3AW radio host Neil Mitchell why he gave the man money when people are asked not to, Mr Turnbull said he “felt sorry for the guy and I think that we should all remember, ‘There but for the grace of God goes me’.” Words we should all remember?
Based in Sydney’s Kings Cross, the Wayside Chapel has been providing community services to the homeless and those affected by drug abuse and mental health issues since 1964.
