individual,

Don't get your knickers too far in a knot. Earlier in the term we were criticising Rudd for working his staff so hard they were leaving in droves. Now we are apparently criticising him for pampering them too much. We all have short memories I guess.

Desmond is right. On the scale of things this is an insignificant issue, for Howard, Rudd, Keating and Hawk. That have all done things I utterly detest. (You might rightly guess from this I am still reeling from Conroy's announcement earlier today that they plan to proceed with mandatory internet filtering. With MM leading the opposition it might just happen.) While agreeing they are absolutely atrocious, almost the worst imaginable, there have been a few that are even worse. In fact fiscally and in most other ways, they seem to have done a better job than say Bush, Brown, Blair and most of the other governments in the free world and all of the governments in the non-free one.

Seriously, when it is all said and done, in the last couple of decades our pollies have served us very well indeed. Provided they continue in that vein I am personally willing to forgive them spending a few grand to ensure they are well fed and look their best during a week of hard bartering in Copenhagen. And it will be a hard week. Too much food, too much booze, too much late night reading and far too little sleep while recovering from jet lag. And all while under enormous pressure to deliver the result in an environment they have very little control over. Good luck to them.

For me the fact that they spent $850 per night for accomodation and $51 for soup is very refreshing. I plan a great christmas with a big fat carbon footprint - no atoms spared

To Belly and cohorts,
If we follow the example of our leaders which is a much truer position of the state of their heart, with John Howard we would have all been fiscaly responsible and paid down our debt. If we follow Kevin Rudds example we would all be seasoned travelers using debt to fund our extravences.

So let me get this right Foxy. What you seem to be implying, is
that if little Johnnie, who did around 10 years as PM, spends
money on new furniture etc, that is a crime, but if your Kevie
pees money up against walls, that is ok then.

You are hardly biased are you? :)

Richie ten you do your non existent God no service in matching Minchin denials.
From your extreme Christian view point you seem to be say, indeed are, that if Johny short bottom had been in control, ok his wife, we would not have had the GFC.
Yabby, come in terms of dollars spent and averaged out at those days rates it would be generations of our leaders who spent big on our tax's.
It is a beat up, we hardly want our leaders to sleep in the park and eat out of a sugar bag.
Security alone demands leaders not stay in the corner motel.
Remember this story came from an Australian news paper, desperate to sell papers they long ago became comic books.

The whole point is that they are attending a crisis summit on global warming and how best to reduce emmissions without breaking the backs of our ecconomies.

Now how can a Pm expect his citizins to 'cut back' when he shows little or no attempt to do so himself.

Did they all catch a bus to the venue, or, as I would expect, did they all have private cars, each of which would be large enough to carry at least 5 or 6 passangers. All fossil fuel burners.

This is not about your 'he said, she said' finger pointing grade five antics you lot carry on with. This is about our future and the future security of thousands of jobs as, you can be assurred that if running costs for small businesses increase much more, they will simply fold.

It dosn't matter what someone else did, that was then and this is now.

If Krudd is serious about climate change, then he must lead the way himself or others will simply ignore him and say, 'why should we, he doesn't!

And Belly, as for predicting the future. The outcome from Copenhagen will have a lot to do with this.

This is why Krudd backed away from his threat of a DD election. Because inside he really wants to see what the rest of the world is doing. His failed ETS may well backfire on him but we will wait and see.