They say when trouble comes close ranks, and so the white people did.
-- Wide Sargasso Sea
I include the above quote not because the following has a racial angle, but because of the sudden ecumenical spirit displayed when politicians on opposing sides of the political divide banded together to defend the system of parliamentary entitlements in Australia.
A few weeks ago, the Speaker of the House (of Representatives), Bronwyn Bishop, whose job it is to keep 'order' in the House, came under fire for chartering a helicopter to fly from Melbourne to Geelong (about an hour apart by road), and charging taxpayers $5,227 for the privilege. The function she attended -- a Liberal party fundraiser -- is allegedly within Department of Finance rules as a relevant part of a Minister's job (and is therefore a business expense). She also charged taxpayers for the expenses involved in attending the wedding of a Liberal party member, and spent $88,000 on a two week trip to Europe to lobby for a plum job (also charged to taxpayers), unrelated to her role as Speaker of the House. Ground transportation alone on this field trip was $1,000 a day.
When the helicopter incident was discovered, Bronnie paid the money back, but did not apologise, saying she'd done nothing wrong. After three weeks of media attention and calls for her to resign, Bronnie finally did apologise in an apology that must be heard to be believed. Apparently it is possible to combine unfettered grovelling and no contrition or sincerity. But during the apology, she pointedly refused to resign.
Well, another week later, and she's decided to resign. All the while, our prime minister continued to defend her, saying 'the system' was to blame, as if any system could replace common sense.
And, predictably, the cries of 'witch hunt' come from the Liberal-National party defenders, the cries of 'sexism' from unhinged feminists, and basically silence from the political opposition -- the outrage at Bishop's actions is probably the closest thing to real populism I've seen lately, neither manufactured nor shaped by any political party.
Well may the opposition be silent -- glass houses are terribly fragile. And even when the prime minister calls for a 'root and branch' review of the entitlements system, he still believes and has said that attending a political party fundraiser is part of a member of parliament's job because you meet 'all kinds of people' there.
And until a new Speaker is nominated, Ms Bishop is still on her $341,000 salary.
One wonders how any of them make ends meet.
-- Wide Sargasso Sea
I include the above quote not because the following has a racial angle, but because of the sudden ecumenical spirit displayed when politicians on opposing sides of the political divide banded together to defend the system of parliamentary entitlements in Australia.
A few weeks ago, the Speaker of the House (of Representatives), Bronwyn Bishop, whose job it is to keep 'order' in the House, came under fire for chartering a helicopter to fly from Melbourne to Geelong (about an hour apart by road), and charging taxpayers $5,227 for the privilege. The function she attended -- a Liberal party fundraiser -- is allegedly within Department of Finance rules as a relevant part of a Minister's job (and is therefore a business expense). She also charged taxpayers for the expenses involved in attending the wedding of a Liberal party member, and spent $88,000 on a two week trip to Europe to lobby for a plum job (also charged to taxpayers), unrelated to her role as Speaker of the House. Ground transportation alone on this field trip was $1,000 a day.
When the helicopter incident was discovered, Bronnie paid the money back, but did not apologise, saying she'd done nothing wrong. After three weeks of media attention and calls for her to resign, Bronnie finally did apologise in an apology that must be heard to be believed. Apparently it is possible to combine unfettered grovelling and no contrition or sincerity. But during the apology, she pointedly refused to resign.
Well, another week later, and she's decided to resign. All the while, our prime minister continued to defend her, saying 'the system' was to blame, as if any system could replace common sense.
And, predictably, the cries of 'witch hunt' come from the Liberal-National party defenders, the cries of 'sexism' from unhinged feminists, and basically silence from the political opposition -- the outrage at Bishop's actions is probably the closest thing to real populism I've seen lately, neither manufactured nor shaped by any political party.
Well may the opposition be silent -- glass houses are terribly fragile. And even when the prime minister calls for a 'root and branch' review of the entitlements system, he still believes and has said that attending a political party fundraiser is part of a member of parliament's job because you meet 'all kinds of people' there.
And until a new Speaker is nominated, Ms Bishop is still on her $341,000 salary.
One wonders how any of them make ends meet.
