re: Ann: US$20.9M Debt Conversion and additio... I Did not vote...

re: Ann: US$20.9M Debt Conversion and additio... I Did not vote Labor but this is a hoax.

Detailed Analysis
?iStockphoto.com/Robyn Mackenzie


Cattle guards, which are called cattle grids in Australia are simple devices used to block livestock on rural roadways
This entertaining little story supposedly exposes the foolishness and telling lack of insight displayed by our political leaders, in this case Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. According to the story, when he was informed that there were more than 10,000 "cattle guards" in the Australian states of Queensland and NSW, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd ordered that half of these "guards" should be fired immediately, supposedly in retaliation for grazier opposition to government policy changes. The story then claims that Minister for Employment Julia Gillard (now Prime Minister) suggested that the "guards" should be retrained for six months before being fired.

Of course, the "cattle guards" that the Prime Minister was supposedly intent on dismissing, are in fact not human workers at all, but instead simple steel grate devices that are used in rural areas around the world to control the movement of cattle and other livestock. The devices are used instead of gates on many rural roads. Livestock are usually unwilling to attempt to cross the grates, so the integrity of the fence is maintained without the need for drivers to stop to open and close gates.

However, while it may be entertaining, there is no truth to the story whatsoever. In fact, the story is just an Australian version of an old prank message that has been aimed at several American political figures over a number of years. A popular US version of the hoax targets President Obama and congresswoman Nancy Pelosi :