The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer has disclosed that the Australian government contributed $A12,023 ($US9,150) towards the costs of a five-day speaking tour by the conservative Canadian commentator Mark Steyn [3]. In response to a question [4] from Opposition Shadow Minister for Finance Lindsay Tanner, Downer explained that Steyn was funded under a program that "targets senior foreign journalists and editorial staff with the capacity to influence editorial content and/or generate informed international media coverage of Australia." Steyn's tour was co-sponsored by two free-market think tanks [5], the Institute of Public Affairs [6] and the Center for Independent Studies [7]. Steyn also spoke [8] at an event for The Conservative, a quarterly magazine aimed at fostering debate within the Liberal Party of Australia [9].