contd.,

Anyone with any maturity at all realises that the minute politicians are elected, they seem to rise to the occasion where using available taxpayer money is concerned.

It has always been a standing joke among politicians and the press corps that backbenchers and especially Senators spend their days working out what new entitlements to claim, particularly associated with travel.

The partisanship in the thread is one-eyed and that is always a hindrance to improvement. First, the benefits for the large and growing number of wasler ex-PMs needs to be cut back and NO, they should not be paid in lieu for any entitlements lost.

In the (vain) hope of elevating the thread above the usual trite 'Gotcha' games of partisan politics, taking advantage of entitlements and more is common among leaders in the public bureaucracies and in private sector too.

Regrettably, CEO's (and senior managers) are in the perfect position to take advantage if they wish. Some take the highly unethical step further, where they come to regard the organisation's/agency's assets as their own. That syndrome has become apparent where leaders of unions are concerned too.

The only protection is for Boards and members to insist on regular independent audits. The red flag for corruption is decision-makers refusing, delaying, restricting the scope and otherwise rolling logs in front of audits.

The lessons for the taxpayer are obvious but lost in the murky world of partisan politics and spin. Of course executive producers and journalists like to claim some entitlements too.

@Poirot, Friday, 17 July 2015 11:27:29 AM

If you held your feverish forum game of 'tit for tat' for a while you might realise that the example is from State politics, where the procedures are different to federal refurbishments being reported recently. Faulty comparison for a number of reasons.

Now what about addressing the nub of the problem, which extends across political parties and public and private sectors?

Dear runner,

You are concerned about the "illegal boat trade."

I am concerned about the lack of compassion for those risking the perils of the boat trade.

Currently there are around fifty million refugees. Poverty, war and oppression have caused them to flee their homes. There is no pressure on me to leave my home. I doubt that I would be better anywhere else. I sympathise with those who are not as fortunate. The government of Australia has passed laws who penalise people who have worked at or observed what goes on the detention centres and write or speak about what is happening in those centres. It is reasonable to think that conditions there are deplorable. Why else would the government want to prevent those conditions from being made public?

We can only take in a small portion of the refugees, and we can only alleviate the conditions that cause the situation to a limited extent. However, we are not doing what we can do. Foreign aid wisely applied can alleviate the conditions which cause the flow of refugees. The Abbott government has cut back on foreign aid. Returning refugees to the source of their oppression will condemn some of them to more oppression and even death. The Australian Navy has turned Tamils fleeing Sri Lanka over to the Sri Lankan Navy. The Australian Labor Party has concurred in the actions of the current Australian government. The Australian government and the Labor opposition share a lack of compassion.

Perhaps some of the animosity against the Greens is their compassion and caring in regard to asylum seekers. This reflects poorly on the other parties.

We can try to get together with other fortunate nations to change the situation. We can try to alleviate the desperate conditions in some countries. Limiting the flow of arms, population control, education – especially for women and equitable sharing of the earth’s resources are some of what can be done. Instead of seeing how tough and mean we can be let’s do what we can to make matters better.

Good question, otb.

"Now what about addressing the nub of the problem, which extends across political parties and public and private sectors?"

Now there's a "nub" of the problem is there?

So you weren't just using it to bash the Greens?

"If you held your feverish forum game of 'tit for tat' for a while..."

Lol! - that's rich coming from you : )

Paul,

I not interested in IQs. But if you believe Xenephon, who talks a lot but has never achieved anything, is not a twit, then we are on different pages.

Taxpayers are being taken for the proverbial ride.

From July - December last year Madam Speaker racked up
over $400,000 of taxpayers funds for overseas travel.
And not only that but now she's racked up over $5,000
dollars on a helicopter ride to attend a Liberal Fund-raising
event in Victoria while being provided with a driver and a
car to travel the 75 kilometre trip. She opted for a dramatic
entrance via helicopter instead. Mind you this was in no way
related to her job as Speaker. Neither was
this fund raiser in her electorate. Not job connected in any way.

Obviously no one told Madam Speaker that the Age of Entitlement
was over.

How many PMs are we keeping at the moment. not to mention
GGs, state members and so on.

While Mr Abbott pursued Slipper with a passion and did not allow
the man to pay back his car fare fees - and destroyed his career.
One can't help but wonder what if any action will be taken
regarding Madam Speaker's behaviour.

What's good for the gander should be good for the goose.
However - we should not hold our breathes. It seems that
fingers can only be pointed to just one-side of politics,
and that side gets pursued by Royal Commissions whilst the
Liberals continue with their noses in the public trough
telling the rest of us to "tighten out belts," and that the
"Age of entitlement" is over. Not for some it seems!

http://newmatilda.com/2015/07/16/calls-grow-chop-her-will-tony-abbott-check-bishops-privilege