Federal Labor backbencher James Bidgood believes we are “in the end times” and that the Book of Revelations predicted the onset of the current downturn.
The Australian
Labor is well-placed to deal with a religious nutter in caucus predicting the end of the world after successfully neutralising climate change minister Penny Wong.
Mr Bidgood told a gathering of Christians at Parliament House that the Bible predicts “we are going towards a one world bank.” No-one from the World Bank was available for comment.
The first-term Dawson MP believes that the October 1987 stockmarket crash was linked to a Christian-sponsored protest held in London the previous April. If the link is genuine, major churches will begin a programme of short-selling.
Mr Bidgood told his audience that they should say “What would Jesus do?” Sadly, the only detailed information we have on Christ’s views on financial-market regulation is that he didn’t want it happening in the Temple.
ASIC banned this practice in 1998.
The Opposition has seized on Mr Bidgood’s comments. If the world ends before 2010, Malcolm Turnbull could be correct in predicting that Kevin Rudd will lead a one-term government.
Mr Bidgood is already under a cloud after being accused of attempting to sell reporters a picture of a man trying to set himself on fire. The move has been condemned as in poor taste, since everyone knows how much pressure Wayne Swan is under at the moment.
Mr Swan spent two minutes trying to find a match, but authorities intervened before Mr Rudd could supply one.