I don't really care what political party you support. We each have our own reasons for supporting Liberals, Nationals, Labor, Greens, Pup or even an Independent. That's your business not mine. What I do care about is, the fact that we are all being treated with absolute contempt by greedy politicians. I would like to think we could pull together to send a very strong message that we won't tolerate it any longer.
We have a lot to thank Bronwyn Bishop for. If it hadn't been for her fall from grace the extent of the misuse of taxpayer funds would have remained hidden. Bronwyn was named, shamed and she eventually stepped down from the Speakers role. It is yet to be proven that she committed fraud but she was hounded out of office nevertheless. Whilst many of us were disappointed, we along with the majority said, fair enough.
Over the last few days, we have discovered that the chief attack dog Tony Burke. has committed abuses far exceeding anything levelled at Mrs Bishop, but he is standing firm. To add insult to injury he was today supported by Christopher Pyne. Why? Because Mr Pyne is equally guilty of gross misuse of taxpayers money. They are all feeding from the same trough.
The cry 'it is within the rules' is wearing very, very thin. It may well be, but it certainly doesn't meet the electorates expectations or the fair and reasonable test. It also begs the question, if 'it' is within the rules then why was Mrs Bishop hounded out of office? I'm loath to say this, but I must. Was Mrs Bishop singled out because of her job and because she is a woman? An easy target. After all, even Christopher Pyne joined the 'get rid of Bronwyn' cheer squad toward the end.
We need to send a very strong message. Enough. Taxpayers and others within the electorate have been asked to give up benefits and forego some of the election promises. Whilst there have been protests, the majority of Australians have 'taken it on the chin'. For us to find out what has been going on the Canberra (for years) is galling.
So how do we send a message? We could organise protests but most Australians aren't interested in that For me, my student protest days are long gone. But, we do have the power of social media. We can tap into thousands of voices, we can get the message quickly and we can gauge the response.
What I am proposing is that we target Tony Abbott, Bill Shorten, Richard Di Natale and Clive Palmer. As leaders of the major parties they need to come together and agree to fix this. This has to be a collective responsibility not one party or government responsibility. Our messages are along the lines of the following.
THE OBJECTIVES:
To make it very clear to our elected political representatives that lavish perks will no longer be tolerated. This includes but is not restricted to the following list (this is in no particular order)
Personal travel; reason, class, mode and destination.
Family travel entitlements (as above).
Travel for personal staff (as above).
Attending overseas conferences. Is it associated with their portfolio and does it delivers a quantifiable benefit to the electorate.
The acceptance of free gifts; including overseas travel.
THE DESIRED OUTCOME::
A revision of the policy that will see the removal of all current perks that do not deliver a return to taxpayers/voters.
Publication of the revised policy that has been assessed by an external third party; Is it reasonable, does it benefit the electorate, is it consistent with current business practice.
The removal of any currently approved gratuities that places the receiver in a position of a conflict of interest. If any gratuities are permitted, there can be no additional claims under expenses eg Comcars, airfares, accommodation. These are personal expenses paid for by the politician.
WHAT:
A twitter campaign. I suggest we kick this off on Sunday. We bombard the leaders (and include our local MP's if they are on Twitter). I'm happy to spend sometime putting some stuff together. Anyone who wants to help is most welcome.
If you think this is worthwhile. Send me a DM or RT. Dependant on the response we can decide if it's a worthwhile plan or not. This is about Voters vs Politicians.
