The fire that destroyed a large part of Notre Dame Cathedral has caused an outpouring of generosity that has seen millions of dollars pledged towards its restoration.

Bill Shorten apparently sees a contribution as a vote-getter, but should Australia kick in?

Australia as a nation should not. But I'm sure many Australians will as individuals, and rightly so.

Do you mean should Australian aid finally go to something useful? Sure, why not.

Of course not! And Morrison said it's not going to happen. It's a shame that the fire occurred, but it's up to the French, with whom we have no particular ties, to sort it out.

Of course we should.

Notre Dame does not just belong to Paris. It
belongs to the world.

We have always helped people in times of need.
Australians have always rallied around those
who needed help. Australians now need to
show solidarity once again with the people of
France.

An Australian fund could be established to
support the restoration and this would as our
former Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull suggests
enable individual Australians and foundations
to make a contribution if they wished.

The Australian Government could also make
a contribution if it wanted to.

I had always assumed that Notre Dame was owned by
the Vatican. But I've since learned that in 1905
a French law was passed stating that the Cathedral
was the property of the French state. Therefore
the responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep
of the building falls under the responsibility of
the French Monistry of Culture.

They certainly could use all the financial help
they can. Hopefully, the Vatican will still come
and help by any means they see fit.

I shall be contributing to whatever fund is set up.

Foxy,

It does indeed belong to the French Government and if it was not insured adequately against fire, then that is their misfortune; whilst I'm not against helping the uninsured where they cannot afford the cost this hardly applies to France.

France has a population of 65,428,142 (2019), so a couple of bucks per person ought to go a long way towards a rebuild.
This time they could use fireproof materials, like metal roof frames and build the spire out of aluminium and use aluminium cladding on the roof,

Had they used the better materials available in the 1920s, when it was last rebuilt, this disaster could have been avoided and the insurance would have been less.

It's a French Government building so that Government is solely responsible for it.