Another year, another polly on the ropes over expense claims. Sussan Ley has been on the receiving end of a media pommeling and the collective wisdom is she’s been a naughty minister. She has been dispatched to Coventry and the view is she should settle down and grow accustomed to her new home.
As an observer of various entitlements farragoes over the years, I think Ms Leys’ spending puts her in exalted company, somewhere between Peter Slipper and the guv’nor, Labor’s Mal Colston. Spending $21,000 in a week or so on transport is extraordinary. I didn’t even think it was possible. With those frequent flyer miles, you can forget about the carrot sticks and chardy in the Qantas club. It’s foot-long lobster subs and Moët by the schooner. Hell, they’ll get you your own plane. Maybe even let you fly it.
The Minchin Protocol always sounded like a bad novel and now as it comes to its denouement, it is about as satisfying as an EH Holden Mechanics’ manual or anything knocked out by Clementine Ford.
Full column here.
Oh well, I still think it is unedifying to see a pic of our Prime-Minister, in his undies, mid way through the hokey pokey. It kind of has me thinking of the red Wiggle. And unless you’re breaking records or a lifesaver I think the swim cap is a bit ott.
JTI,
Further to my previous.
Another ‘scam’ that should join the stone motherless dead, is that of our Pollies being paid about $275 for each night they are in Canberra and then either staying in a unit they own, perhaps jointly with another pollie or imposing a ‘veil of decency’ where they stay in one anothers!!
Which ever way you cut it, the public purse is paying pollies mortgages!!
Again a ruse expressly forbidden in normal Public Service rules!!
It can be fixed with just some ‘real world’ rules – even if the rules are specific debarring public funds to properties owned by Poliies or members of their direct family.
OMG Mr Insider if that the wretch Turnbull in those red budgie smugglers? If so please can Tony Abbott be reinstated as PM as at least he looked presentable in his buggies! The polls toll for Malcolm, he’s mere “political- cannon- fodder- in -waiting”.
If budgie smugglers are supposed to demonstrate to the world what being a real man is all about, it’s a big fail.
To be fair to fancy pants Turncoat, even Brad Pitt in that get-up wouldn’t turn my head.
Give me a man in board shorts any day of the week.
Bella
Gosh Bella. Brad Pitt in anything would always turn my head! I think he’d look better than MT or TA in smugglers too!! 🙂
Heard from Clem yet? *lol*
She was rather upset with me before Christmas, Dwight. Got a little mouthy.
she does a fine line in anger, not sure she has another gear
I’d like to say “she’ll get over it”, but Clem is perpetually outraged. Hate to be her cardiologist.
watchoo got agin repeatable business
JTI – I would take Clem being upset with you as a badge of honour.
Jeez JTI I think the clock ran out of battery power straight after the alarm went off at the election. What I can’t figure out is how some who rort get charged with fraud yet others are permitted to repay the amount ‘they’ consider fixes the annoyance of being sprung. For example can Julie Bishop casually go to a polo match with a friend on the taxpayers purse or should she cop charges like you or I would if we defrauded our employer?
It’s clearly stealing but they call it legal.
Regards, Bella
It’s called the Minchin Protocol, Bella.
They were out to get Slipper, Bella. Any excuse and it was game on. His cabcharge rorts to wineries almost seem trivial.
They seem trivial but the rorts must be stopped especially first class travel for family members, rent for family homes & sporting events for God’s sake! No exceptions ever.
Immediately, Turnbull & Shorten should do a ‘Gough Whitlam’ & announce the finish of the gravy train.
l want to know why either dodgy leader doesn’t get a sense of how betrayed average Australians feel right now.
Do the polls go down to single digit ratings?
Bella
Not really the rorts I was emphasising, Bella. It was the motive behind prosecuting them.
and now a precedent? oh dear tch tch
Of course they were out to get him. But the question remains why did the AFP investigate that and not the Ashby issues?
Because they weren’t after Ashby
No. One wonders why not though…
All the shenanigans with Slipper as speaker in the Gillard government I would imagine. Ashby was used to get him.
However looks as though Ashby is a trouble maker – or else his ego has become massively inflated. He’s causing a fair bit of angst in One Nation.
To become a politician it seems one must have an overdeveloped sense of entitlement. It does not matter what side of polyticks you are on all that matters is that you suck as much blood from the poor punter while you can
yes
now vote for me you damned plebeian
promise I’ll deliver every thing…everything, everything
JTI,
If we put to one side the indisputable arrogance of the ‘political class’ and their individual stupidity in not so structuring their affairs as to at least give the appearance of ‘reasonableness’; we are left with the core of the problem – the politicians ‘self-certify’ their claims.
In the general ‘public service’ sector where entitlements are derived from the public purse this is most unusual. I can confidently assert, from personal experience that individuals such as Chiefs of Service, Departmental Secretaries etc certainly do not.
From my experience such individuals either designate a ‘key subordinate’ with intimate knowledge of the rules etc or in cases such as ‘spouse travel or ‘overseas travel’ the travel request is forwarded up the chain, to The Minister or equivalent for approval before any bookings are made.
I would recommend to the Prime Minister that a permutation of this system should be established; there may need to be ‘gradings’ of administrative requirements perhaps for Prime Minister / Leader of Opposition / Cabinet Ministers / The Rest.
As a first measure such obvious ‘over the top entitlements’ such as family travel, pro-forma designations of ‘Government Business’ or ‘Electoral Business’ should be killed stone motherless dead!!
Basically, as you would agree; our current and past crops of politicians have clearly demonstrated they can not be trusted to disburse public funds associated with their duties (or otherwise). They therefore have no one else to blame if more tedious or inconvenient administrative obligations are imposed.
I am pretty sure that the top echelon of the public services are more than adept at organizing benefits and pensions to suit themselves.
At least the other unelected career criminal gets caught and does the time without putting up too much of a fuss. Not this mob. Most of us wouldn’t have the effrontery to stick our heads above the parapet after being caught doing this sort of stuff, but these spivs will keep on coming back.
Jack
Please, Please remove that photo of Malcolm – it’s revolting..
We are all going to have to look at it for a week and it kind of churns the stomach.
At least Tony had some muscles.
As to whether Malcolm will be around is a moot point. The expectations of pretty well everybody in this country are out of proportion to the economy’s ability to deliver.
Until we go through a lot of hurt, nothing is going to change.
No.
as a former iceberg swimmer i can say there are plenty worse bodies down there, mine included.
Mine included but I am not an iceberg swimmer
I am not too sure about all of this belittling of bodies that goes on. It serves no purpose at all and says a lot about people who think it is amusing.
Once there used to be some respect for the position of PM but that seems to have gone by the board.
Turn images off
Yes please.
done
Great article but please get rid of that picture!
No.
Yeah, how about a trigger warning? That image cannot be unseen
That twerp is wearing a bathing cap. I wonder if that is because he is scared his toupee will scare the animals