[Peetwo]

Update to 'snouts in the trough' -

Yesterday's announcements - of inevitable pulling the pin by 'Ley down Sally err..Sussan' and 'Malcolm in the Middle' finally doing something to close the tap (just a little) on the seemingly unlimited trough gorging going on in Can'tberra - all prove that 24 hours in politics is a bloody long time...

So here I am trying to catch up, 1st via GD a Pickering offering...

An example of 'snouts in the trough' Pickering style!

Only Larry can highlight the disgusting long term trough dwelling habits of politicans in a succinct yet humourous manner. Susan Ley and Tony Bourke;

LEAVE ME ALONE
... I'm only doing what comes naturally
Larry Pickering
Four-time Walkley Award winning political commentator and Churchill Fellow, has returned to the fray over concern that the integrity of news dissemination is continually being threatened by a partisan media.
BLOG / FACEBOOK

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Tue 10 Jan 2017 10:20:47 am/1512 COMMENTS

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Having a bonk buddy on the Gold Coast creates a problem for any red blooded Canberran politician. Nothing happens on the Gold Coast that interests Federal politicians except gigolos and hookers. Sussan Ley can justify a flight to Brisbane, then a comcar to the glitter strip to visit some er, “clients” of the welfare budget who happen to live not far from the bonk buddy's bin-cleaning business.
 
But an upgraded hotel room with champas in bed is more appropriate for important people. 

The trouble starts when Sussan has a sudden urge to buy an investment property while there. It makes a lie of why she originally said she was there. Therefore she can’t take the comcar back to Brisbane. She has to pay for a cab fare with her comcar following dutifully behind her. Oh dear.

The Press gallery has very little to amuse itself over the new year period so the little darlings pore over Senate Estimates to see how politicians have been misspending our taxes. Only Liberal politicians take their interest of course, otherwise Labor’s Tony Burke would be sharing Eddie Obeid’s cell.

Burke flicked his wife and kids to enjoy life between the legs of his young attractive office mail girl, a Ms Laris. (Well, she looks sort of okay if you squint your eyes a bit.)
 


Their whirlwind multi-Continent tour (holiday) cost taxpayers exactly $225,000. But the Press gallery doesn’t want to upset the wrong Party and the Libs won’t mention it for fear of retaliatory revelations by Shorten or Wong.



Regardless both the budding love birds travelled first-class along with two departmental officials with Mr Burke’s out of pocket expenses totalling an extra $48,951. 

On return, Burke promoted Ms Laris from mail girl to chief of staff on triple her salary and he stipulated that from then on his new love must accompany him on all of his domestic and overseas trips. And she does. 

Wow, one of them must have been a damned good shag!

But this is how it works for the average member and every politician does it: There is a wedding you simply must attend on 14/10/2017 at Nar Nar Goon, Vic. But there is no way that you intend paying the cost of getting to and from there, because you are important. 

You are an important politician! I mean does Barack Obama pay for the 747 that takes him to his golf lessons?

So you get your secretary to phone the local Nar Nar Goon Lions Club (note phone, do not leave an email trail just yet) suggesting the Federal politician will be in Nar Nar Goon on the weekend of 14/10/2017 and if the club president would kindly send a letter asking the politician to address the Lions meeting, the politician will be only too happy to accept. 

The letter duly arrives and your secretary duly accepts the request (this time by official email) and voila, suddenly all the costs of attending the wedding are now met by the taxpayer, plus a free inedible Lions’ dinner that you excuse yourself from eating, plus accommodation and all you have to do is talk shit to a few blank faces for 20 minutes.

I mean a comcar driver can now take you from Tullamarine to Gippsland and return with free accommodation for the weekend and the politician can of course arrange for upgraded accommodation, all on the taxpayer.

Just ask Tony Abbott, he knows how it all works, but Malcolm Turnbull is rich and doesn’t need to take any risks.

And you thought “swindle dockets” were only used by travelling salesmen?

Good luck Nick. Poliies are like cockroaches and not even a nuclear war could stop their mission. In this case, hoovering the taxpayer of every last cent!

Gobbledock's reference to NX is quite opportune because the next offering is from Saint Nick courtesy the Advertiser (Ps Luv the cartoon.. ):

Cartoon by Roy

[/url]Opinion
[url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion]Nick Xenophon: Thanks to Sussan Ley, it’s no wonder so many Australians feel they’re being played for mugs
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/cce48b1c715d7edca0b7fcb0dd5e0f84?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storyheader/index&t_product=AdelaideNow&td_device=desktop[/img]
Nick Xenophon, The Advertiser
January 12, 2017 9:30pm
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/cce48b1c715d7edca0b7fcb0dd5e0f84?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storymeta/index&t_product=AdelaideNow&td_device=desktop[/img]
ENOUGH is enough. No wonder so many Australians can’t stand politicians, and in the process lose trust in our democratic institutions. No wonder so many Australians feel they’re being played for mugs.

The latest pollies expenses scandal – triggered by stood-down Health Minister Sussan Ley and her “impulse” buy of a Gold Coast apartment while claiming parliamentary travel expenses – shows what a shemozzle the system is.

And maybe it tells us a deeper truth about how out-of-touch the political class can be with the rest of the community. How can pollies be trusted to fix the nation’s problems when we can’t even get our own house in order? It doesn’t have to be like this.

Pollies do need to travel to do their jobs.

But the current system is as clear as mud, and too often (like now) the mud seems to be sticking to all politicians.

I’ve found Sussan Ley personable and decent to deal with as Health Minister and she claims “I have nothing to hide – I have not broken any of the rules”.

The problem is, the rules are broken and, with it, the public’s trust. There being no less than four independent reviews into pollies’ perks in the past five years – including an Auditor-General’s investigation in 2015.

The most recent review – with its findings released last February – was triggered by the Bronwyn Bishop “Choppergate” scandal in 2015.

Remember that? Bronwyn Bishop had billed taxpayers $5227.27 for an 80km helicopter flight from Melbourne to a golf course in Geelong to attend a Liberal Party function. At the time, then PM Tony Abbott said he wanted the system overhauled with a “root and branch” review to make the rules clearer.

media_cameraHealth Minister Sussan Ley faces continuing scrutiny over her travel entitlement claims. Picture: SIMON DALLINGER

Channelling Mick Jagger’s “well this could be the last time”, Tony Abbott told an Adelaide radio station “I hope it’s the last time” the party was rocked by such a scandal.

But the root and branch review, instead of being a big stick to reform the system, has turned into a twig.

With its 36 recommendations, it called for increased transparency and made the quaint point that some parliamentary travel had been “inside entitlement but outside community expectations”. Translated from bureaucratic language, it means they failed the pub test.
Increasingly, it seems a lot of claims will be laughed out of the pub before they can be tested.

Back in September 2015, I introduced legislation into the Senate that would have established an independent watchdog for pollies’ expenses, required monthly reporting that goes online for all to see, and given taxpayers the right to complain to the watchdog and significantly increase penalties for non-compliance.

Currently, an MP caught out on a dodgy claim only has to pay back the amount of the claim with a 25 per cent penalty. It needs to be at least double – and four times as much for repeat offenders.

There’s nothing like pinching a pollie’s hip-pocket nerve to make them change.
Back then, the major parties said my Bill wasn’t necessary because of the Abbott-instigated review. A lame excuse given this review and three others like it had been ignored.

Next month, I will reintroduce the Bill and my warning to colleagues is: ignore it at your peril.

Of course the Pickering post and the NX article was all before MIM's MR & press conference yesterday, which suggests that the power of the press and NX can be a strong motivator for proactive action when your the PM...

MTF...P2  

Ps Q/ Does this mean our GA frequent flying miniscule DDDD_MNFI Chester is going to have drive himself home at the end of each parliamentary sitting week??


 
 


Surely not, after all he is the miniscule for transport and needs to be seen to be promoting a sector of the industry that he oversees...


Pps Hmmm...hope his books are all in order, not a good look if Barnaby was to lose his photogenic filter...