I HAD intended to write this week about plans in the Federal Budget to slash the red tape tying up small business.
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I have spent the past day or two mulling it over in my head, ready to commend the initiative, spearheaded by Michael McCormack, the Minister for Small Business and our local member, for recognising the importance of small business to our economy.
There was going to be praise for the initiative and recognition for the hard work, dedication and just plain guts it takes to run one’s own business. I still believe these comments stand, but more recent events have overtaken us.
In short, it’s immensely difficult to think about tax cuts when news is filtering through about the bomb blast in Manchester.
What decent human being can look at images of a heartbreaking line-up of wounded children and not want to weep?
As I write this, the death toll stands at 22, with at least 60 injured by what is believed to have been a nail bomb detonated by a lone suicide bomber.
How has it come to this?
How have we reached the point where a concert by Ariana Grande, which is going to have been attended by huge numbers of young fans, was considered a legitimate target?
Exactly what threat does a concert hall full of teeny-boppers present?
A concert like Grande’s is somewhat of a rite of passage for modern kids.
How excited they would have been, heading off to a “grown-up” concert to see their idol in the flesh and enjoy not only the music, but the joy of looking around a room and realising you a shared a common love with thousands and thousands of like-minded others.
And then, there is a bang and joy turned to confusion, which turned to fear and then utter horror as blood and injuries and chaos ensue.
The British newspapers have already noted that this attack occurred on the anniversary of the murder of soldier Lee Rigby, in 2013, in Woolwich, south-east London.
And those same newspapers – at least the online editions – have rammed home the horror of this latest incident by reproducing the social media posts of frantic family and friends who are trying to find loved ones who may have been caught up in the chaos.
While some posts are followed up with subsequent good news, others are still reporting the ominous “not been in touch” line and a devastated Grande has put her concert tour on hold.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was right when he described the incident as “vile”.
In the days that come, there will be claims and counter-claims as the bomber is identified and his or her motives are confirmed.
But for now, those who have lost a loved one, or seen a loved one left bloodied and broken in hospital, should be in our thoughts.
As always, the horror of the attack is that it was committed at a place any of us could have been.
Who hasn’t been to a concert? A show? A movie. What parent hasn’t wanted to share an experience like a first concert with their child?
The everyday quality of the venue amplifies the horror of the attack
There are no excuses, no justifications and just no reason to strike children. It takes a special kind of evil to consider something so innocent as a legitimate target in an ideological war.