If you thought doing nothing about a GST deal that hands extra money to a state with a $3.5 billion operating surplus was not enough to really irritate people, try announcing you're sending them one of the country's most famous paintings to really rub it in.
Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles - as vibrant and striking as it was expensive and controversial - is off on a holiday to Western Australia next year while the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra has repairs and a facelift.
If the building works demand a serious and lasting closure, put the highlights of international art on the road together rather than farming pieces out to a network of far-flung relatives.
