In these bleak times, it's nice to be reminded of just how extraordinary people can be.
Take lawyer and businessman John* (who did not want to use his real name), who rolled up to the Box Hill Centrelink this week and started handing out $100 notes, or as he calls them, "lettuce leaves".
"I came here as a six-year-old from a village in Greece and this country has been good to me," he said.
"I was watching the queues at Centrelink – all those people lining up just so they could buy food for their families – and it made me sick to my stomach. I couldn't take it anymore."
John went to his bank and withdrew the maximum amount of $10,000.
"I started at the back of the line so I didn't miss anyone," he said. "I still had money left over so I went in the building and made sure everyone inside got some too.
"That day they just needed instant relief. These are just innocent people who, through no fault of their own, can't put food on the table.
"There is a lot of wealth in this country and we can ship some of that off so people can get back on their feet, that's all there is to it.
"If everyone who is a little better off can take out what they can and hand out some lettuce leaves, do you know how much better we will be?"
(As reported in The Age on 27 March 2020)
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