And it’s the iceberg keeping the wine chilled at Parliament House.
The Bronwyn Bishop saga has brought a whole new meaning to the term ‘BB Cream.’ Tony Abbott did his best to provide the sunblock and hide the blemishes, but in the end, BB has been creamed… Bronwyn Bishop has resigned as Speaker.
So the most polished woman in politics will no longer be queen of the Parliamentary chamber. So that’s it, right? The punishment fits the crime and the problem is solved? No way. This is just the beginning. And so it should be.
The Prime Minister has declared a “root and branch review” into politicians’ entitlements. Most say it’s an announcement Mr Abbott should have made weeks ago, when BB’s penchant for maximum travel comfort was first exposed. I say it’s an announcement that could and SHOULD have been made by multiple Prime Ministers years ago, even decades ago.
The person who’s made the most sense on the Speaker’s high rolling transport fetish is the social hand grenade of the far right, Mr Barnaby Joyce, “You start throwing rocks and there won’t be a person left in Parliament, because everyone will have some issue somewhere.” Touché’ BJ! Touché’!
Independent Nick Xenophon is also on the money (so to speak). “This is not about Bishop – it’s about taxpayers being treated as pawns by both sides.”
And, as a taxpayer, there’s something else you should know – politicians aren’t the only ones hopping on the gravy train. Confession time:
As a simple girl from country Queensland on a junior journo wage, my first taste of wine came from a goon bag and my idea of a cheese platter was a cheap camembert, a few green grapes and a couple of Jatz crackers. Boy, did that change when I entered the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
I quickly learnt the difference between a shiraz and a pinot noir, as well as which quince pastes team best with the right vintage cheddar. This new found love of fine dining was courtesy of the many functions I attended hosted by both sides of Government, many of which were on the taxpayer’s dime.
One of my favourite political commentator’s Malcom Farr put it best, “Bronwyn Bishop is a surrogate for the feeling people have for all politicians.” He’s right, but if we journos hop on our soap boxes about the perks of Parliament, we need to take some responsibility ourselves. I’ve lost count of the number of political parties I’ve attended where I know the chicken kiev certainly didn’t come from a frozen Home Brand box.
Politicians are out of touch, and so are many political reporters. Bronwyn Bishop is an easy target.
My point is, take it from someone who’s worked inside Parliament House. Everyone has their hand in the honey pot. No matter who you are or where you come from, it’s almost impossible not to get a little drunk on power. It starts with an innocent gin and tonic during a flight on the PM’s private jet. Next thing you know, you’re sipping Moet and eating caviar canapé’s at a private garden party at Kirribilli.
Bronwyn Bishop’s transport bonanza is a small speed bump on a very rocky road. Don’t get me wrong, I think our politicians need to be paid well. Like them or not, the majority work very long hours. I’m quite happy for them to travel business class when they represent our great nation and I’m down with them having sweet superannuation packages. But I’m pretty certain there are millions upon millions of dollars to be saved if everyone takes a small haircut with their pollie perks.
So as a journalist, what is my duty here? As a voter, what is your duty? Our responsibility is this: any time anyone from any political persuasions publicly parade their deep concerns for education, health care, the homeless, welfare reform or a budget surplus ever seeing the light of day, there’s a pretty clear cut area where they can trim the fat.
If we have a government that’s made a slogan out of telling Australian’s “we need to live within our means,” surely that responsibility starts at the very top.
What do you think about the spending habits of politicians?
For more on Bronwyn Bishop, try these stories:
Bronwyn Bishop resigns as Speaker after pressure over expense claims.
“Bronwyn Bishop isn’t sorry for what she did. She’s just sorry she got caught.”
Top Comments
"If the President does It, that means it’s not illegal" - Richard M Nixon, April 6 1977
I think I'm largely alone in this site in thinking that Abbott is actually quite a cunning strategist as opposed to the general view here that he's an idiot (who is simultaneously the devil incarnate who eats lightly roasted puppies and kittens in his spare time) but I do think he is rather smarter than he is given credit for. My theory, which will be shown to be true or false in the next few weeks, is that the reason why he hung on to Bishop so long was because he knows that quite a few ALP members have done the same or worse so he is allowing Shorten the time to nail his colours to the mask. When this misconduct is revealed, Shorten either has to cut these people loose or be shown up as a massive hypocrite.
(I actually do begrudge pollies business class by the way. No public servants except CEOs get to do the same and if it's good enough for them it should be good enough for politicians, particularly backbenchers)
gest, from The Australian today.
"Finance Department papers show, Mr Burke charged $70,619.59 for a one-week trip in March that year to Switzerland, Britain and France “to attend the OECD environment policy committee ministerial meeting, the Planet Under Pressure Conference and to conduct a series of high-level meetings”
Tony Burke, the lead attacker against Bronwyn Bishop managed to spend an average of $10,000 per day on an overseas jaunt. Cue the outrage.
1) Abbott can't sack the Speaker.
2) Bishop resigned on her own accord and the only reason it took 3 weeks is because her ego was in the way.
3) It makes no sense to try and show up Shorten, because Abbott was already exposed a massive hypocrite. He constantly attacked Slipper for $900 while he defended Bishop for over $300 000 (with more revelations still being investigated).
4) This whole issue took the focus away from the Royal Commission.
I can't find any cunning strategy in Abbott's actions. The reality is politicians on both sides have abused the system. The difference is they have payed back the costs straightaway. Bishop was addicted to privilege and refused to pay back the costs and apologise until she was exposed.
Burke was overseas for ministerial meetings. Basically, he is guilty of spending $70 000 when he could of spent much less.
Bishop spent $300 000 for a personal overseas trip to apply for a union leadership role, $5000 on a helicopter ride to a Liberal Party fundraiser, $6000 for a chartered plane and more revelations currently being investigated.
Context matters.
Brett, I guess "context" is important when you're booking your kids on business flights to Ayers Rock as well, courtesy of the taxpayer?