The questionable claiming of travel expenses by many Australian federal politicians as disclosed over the last few weeks is disheartening. If some of what I have read is true it amounts to theft. I would sack employees for such blatant and systematic misappropriation of money from a business.
What is more disappointing is the double standards being applied. One person’s dishonesty is another person’s oversight. These matters ought to be black and white. The wriggling over the last couple of weeks on some claims and the support from within especially the Coalition parties is shameful.
The only solution is for oversight of politician expenses and salaries to be handed to a commission of everyday Australians outside the control of politicians.
The way the stories are coming out, in a tit for tat game, indicates that each party knows what people on the other side have been up to and that the disclosures are being fed for political purposes.
Shame on the media in Australia for not uncovering this story sooner and for not relentlessly pursuing all politicians with the same vigor. News Corp. stands out for its double standards most recently given their pursuit of Peter Slipper.
The same politicians who are claiming travel expenses to go to weddings, buy a home, attend an AFL game or for other dubious reasons set policies that affect us and our small family businesses. They tell us there are not enough funds to more effectively support small business. They tell us that they have to increase this charge or cut that service because money is tight. Yet they vote themselves pay increases every year and too many of them rort travel and other expenses in acts of utter dishonesty.
What does this have to do with newsagents? We have been let down by politicians for decades. They have fed excuses to us for too long and those representing newsagents have, in the main, accepted the excuses. All the while the politicians have looked after themselves. We have every right to feel let down. They have not served the Australian voters or the national interest ahead of serving themselves.
I think the difference with Slipper was that he went to great lengths to deceive whereas the other pollies simply believed it was their right to have their snout in the trough. Not sure what’s worse really but Slipper is a piece of work.
A politician from WA flying to Cairns to close a house purchase and then claim it as electorate expenses is a piece of work too. All of them should be subject to oversight by people not connected with or controlled by them.
In fairness, the salary of politicians is set by an independent tribunal as established by legislation passed in 2011.
A similar independent body should oversee parliamentary entitlements.
A National Integrity Commission would not be an unwelcome idea either.
So you don’t acknowledge that Slipper set out to deceive?
Ted,
He didn’t set out to deceive any more than anyone else claiming expenses for events clearly not connected to their responsibilities as MPs. Which is to say quiet a number of them set out to deceive or, at the very least, made a claim in the hope they wouldn’t get caught.
He offered to pay the money back just as a slew of other MPs have. He was not allowed to do so simply because it had been referred to the Federal Police before he was given the opportunity.
On my first day in my first job (in the finance industry) my Manager said to me, son, in matters financial, there are no degrees of honesty.
You are either honest or you are dishonest……..
He was a pretty scary guy as well as being simply straightforward.
Yes, with a few exceptions, the media have been really weak on this issue for not hunting down the facts and exposing each case and then hounding all politicians, who by virtue of the nature of the claim are clearly on thin ice, until they yell barleys and pay it back.
The media should pursue this, starting at the top. The Prime Minister should be compelled by weight of public opinion to do what he said he won’t. Change the rules to make travel claims really clear cut and much less open to abuse.
I wonder why most in the media don’t pursue politicians over this matter with more rigour. After all, I’d be willing to bet that most journalists would have watertight controls over any travel expenses they may feel is justified as a claim.
So I don’t think politicians have enough fear of the consequences of rorting the system and they should.
Ted I didn’t say that. I think it is easy to get caught up in looking at individuals or groups along party lines. The revelations so far are damning outside of party lines.
We the people should reclaim politics and those who engage in this representing us. Every day now we let them get away with this scandal is a blight on the democracy we as a country claim to crave.
In a previous life of 27 years in Government employment expenses fraud the same as is happening in our Federal Parliament was simply known as Time Sheet Fraud. There were broadly 3 response once the claim was established as unjustified.
1, Demand Repayment of Monies fraudulently, wrongfully claimed.
2. Dismissal or other disciplinary action.
3. A Trip to see the Beak if the police would mount a case.
The other issue with this is there seems to be quite a number of Senior Politicians have caught out. This suggests very strongly that the problem is systematically entrenched and completely uncontrolled. This begs the question what standards are they using elsewhere in our parliament and we now have no assurance that their is no corruption (refer to the last 4 years of British Politics). Usually when a rort Like this Expense fraud was found there were plenty of other frauds and rorting taking place.
This whole thing is nothing but thievery.
Send The Lot of them to the Beak with Slipper and Thompson.
Peter I agree. This is a problem related to the role. It’s why politicians have to be removed from setting their pay, expense rules and oversight of those who approve their expenses. This special treatment has to stop.
Mark probably the best suggestion on thus matter was from Alan Fells that all Expense etc be published on a Website for all to see.
I would like to see this be weekly (or monthly) including any monies paid to an MP, Wages, all expenses, allowances and any other form of remuneration gratuity or gift (including donations etc from non Taxpayer sources). Further the MP should include all office staff and what they did with diaries, who they met etc. A Diary should be published for the week showing the MPs movements, (meetings with whom and why). Parliament sittings attended and missed with an explanation if needed. A record of all votes for the period and how the MP voted.