Australian election: Early exit polls point to Tony Abbott win

[BookMan]

Brandis, what were you thinking?

Ministers claimed costs for wedding trip

Two of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's most high-profile ministers claimed thousands of dollars in taxpayer entitlements for attending the wedding of close friend and Sydney shock jock Michael Smith.

According to travel expenses lodged with the Department of Finance, the duo collectively billed taxpayers nearly $3000 for flights, hire cars and incidental expenses incurred on the trip.

Senator Brandis claimed $1700, including more than $1000 on return flights, $143 on a hire car and the overnight ''official business'' allowance designed to cover accommodation and incidentals.

http://See Full Article

[AlexRRR]

Brandis, what were you thinking?

Ministers claimed costs for wedding trip

Two of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's most high-profile ministers claimed thousands of dollars in taxpayer entitlements for attending the wedding of close friend and Sydney shock jock Michael Smith.

According to travel expenses lodged with the Department of Finance, the duo collectively billed taxpayers nearly $3000 for flights, hire cars and incidental expenses incurred on the trip.

Senator Brandis claimed $1700, including more than $1000 on return flights, $143 on a hire car and the overnight ''official business'' allowance designed to cover accommodation and incidentals.

http://See Full Article

Happens in business all the time, I even know normal aussies who tell white lies on there income tax

[samran]

Brandis, what were you thinking?

Ministers claimed costs for wedding trip

Two of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's most high-profile ministers claimed thousands of dollars in taxpayer entitlements for attending the wedding of close friend and Sydney shock jock Michael Smith.

According to travel expenses lodged with the Department of Finance, the duo collectively billed taxpayers nearly $3000 for flights, hire cars and incidental expenses incurred on the trip.

Senator Brandis claimed $1700, including more than $1000 on return flights, $143 on a hire car and the overnight ''official business'' allowance designed to cover accommodation and incidentals.

http://See Full Article

Happens in business all the time, I even know normal aussies who tell white lies on there income tax

Haha. Except for the stinking hypocrisy from brandis who was the attack dog over Craig Thompson.

[BookMan]

Brandis, what were you thinking?

Ministers claimed costs for wedding trip

Two of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's most high-profile ministers claimed thousands of dollars in taxpayer entitlements for attending the wedding of close friend and Sydney shock jock Michael Smith.

According to travel expenses lodged with the Department of Finance, the duo collectively billed taxpayers nearly $3000 for flights, hire cars and incidental expenses incurred on the trip.

Senator Brandis claimed $1700, including more than $1000 on return flights, $143 on a hire car and the overnight ''official business'' allowance designed to cover accommodation and incidentals.

http://See Full Article

Happens in business all the time, I even know normal aussies who tell white lies on there income tax

Haha. Except for the stinking hypocrisy from brandis who was the attack dog over Craig Thompson.

He has been quick to act on this case...

Senator George Brandis has paid back $1683.06 in taxpayer-funded entitlements he claimed after attending the wedding of a close friend, shock jock Michael Smith, despite saying he did nothing wrong.

Fairfax Media exclusively revealed the thousands of dollars in travel expenses the Attorney-General claimed after attending the wedding on the NSW central coast, which was also attended by Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce.

Mr Joyce claimed a lesser amount for a Comcar to the hotel he was staying at near the wedding reception venue.

In an unapologetic letter to the Department of Finance, Senator Brandis said he considered the costs were within parliamentary entitlements, "since they were incurred in the course of attendance at a function primarily for work-related purposes".

See Article HEre

[samran]

If he was within his rights, why pay it back? Cause he got caught...

[Sing_Sling]

Disgusting . . . he should excuse himself from public office . . .

The difference between someone like Brandis doing this and me doing it is that I am not expecting the public to pay for my fun.

[David48]

If he was within his rights, why pay it back? Cause he got caught...

... and that what was missing from the public debate ... was it a legal deduction or not?

That aside ... I reckon he paid it back because it was 'perceived' to be wrong.

You can be technically right and morally wrong ... I reckon he was morally wrong ... and judged according by both the Media and the Australian Public.

Pails into insignificance though when compared to the actions some of the NSW Labour Party and that Federal Politician from the Federal Labor Party craig-thompson-is-arrested

[BookMan]

If he was within his rights, why pay it back? Cause he got caught...

... and that what was missing from the public debate ... was it a legal deduction or not?

That aside ... I reckon he paid it back because it was 'perceived' to be wrong.

You can be technically right and morally wrong ... I reckon he was morally wrong ... and judged according by both the Media and the Australian Public.

Pails into insignificance though when compared to the actions some of the NSW Labour Party and that Federal Politician from the Federal Labor Party craig-thompson-is-arrested

Brandis shouldn't have even tried to claim it. He is Attorney general now so it reflects even more poorly against him and he was shadow attorney general when he made the claim. .

I don't think you can justify the claim on any technicality. He claimed it because he didn't think the expense would be scrutinised. The technicality (justification for the claim) is something that Brandis put forward anyway

[Sing_Sling]

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone here watched the ABC series 'Rake'? Quite good at pointing out the foibles of our pollies . . . just because it wears a suit doesn't mean it had credibility.

Good series as well

[BookMan]

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone here watched the ABC series 'Rake'? Quite good at pointing out the foibles of our pollies . . . just because it wears a suit doesn't mean it had credibility. Good series as well

One of my favourite all time series. Brilliant stuff. New series due out soon.

The Americans are remaking it with Greg Kinnear. US series also due for release this year!

[Sing_Sling]

 

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone here watched the ABC series 'Rake'? Quite good at pointing out the foibles of our pollies . . . just because it wears a suit doesn't mean it had credibility. Good series as well

One of my favourite all time series. Brilliant stuff. New series due out soon

As an Easter suburbs Sydney-boy I'm Looking forward to it immensely . . . sadly I'm reliant on torrents and there are precious few seeds . . . my wife is a solicitor and finds the show frighteningly realistic . . .

Nothing quite as corrupt as the NSW Labor Party . . . let's see how low the Libs can drag themselves

[David48]

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone here watched the ABC series 'Rake'? Quite good at pointing out the foibles of our pollies . . . just because it wears a suit doesn't mean it had credibility. Good series as well

One of my favourite all time series. Brilliant stuff. New series due out soon.

Agreed .. excellent program.

Every most Aussies like a lovable larrikin!

Plus sticking it up the stiffs is great.

I really enjoyed Crownies as well, sadly didn't make it past the first series .. don't know why.

apparently, there was a spin-off series, but I never got to see it.

We need more quality programs like this ...

[BookMan]

 

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone here watched the ABC series 'Rake'? Quite good at pointing out the foibles of our pollies . . . just because it wears a suit doesn't mean it had credibility. Good series as well

One of my favourite all time series. Brilliant stuff. New series due out soon

As an Easter suburbs Sydney-boy I'm Looking forward to it immensely . . . sadly I'm reliant on torrents and there are precious few seeds . . . my wife is a solicitor and finds the show frighteningly realistic . . .

Nothing quite as corrupt as the NSW Labor Party . . . let's see how low the Libs can drag themselves

ABC iview has the episodes online 2 weeks after each one airs, if you can access that.

This torrent aggregator is quite useful for finding torrents:

http://torrentz.eu/search?f=rake

[BookMan]

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone here watched the ABC series 'Rake'? Quite good at pointing out the foibles of our pollies . . . just because it wears a suit doesn't mean it had credibility. Good series as well

One of my favourite all time series. Brilliant stuff. New series due out soon.

Agreed .. excellent program.

Every most Aussies like a lovable larrikin!

Plus sticking it up the stiffs is great.

I really enjoyed Crownies as well, sadly didn't make it past the first series .. don't know why.

apparently, there was a spin-off series, but I never got to see it.

We need more quality programs like this ...

Janet King was the name of the spin off series. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/crownies/characters/JANET_KING.htm . Not sure if it has run yet?

Crownies was too expensive to make apparently and only got average ratings.

[samran]

If he was within his rights, why pay it back? Cause he got caught...

... and that what was missing from the public debate ... was it a legal deduction or not?

That aside ... I reckon he paid it back because it was 'perceived' to be wrong.

You can be technically right and morally wrong ... I reckon he was morally wrong ... and judged according by both the Media and the Australian Public.

Pails into insignificance though when compared to the actions some of the NSW Labour Party and that Federal Politician from the Federal Labor Party craig-thompson-is-arrested

I'm from the Paul Keating school of politics. If I'm in the right, I'd tell them to get stuffed. Brandis is an attack dog, a QC and an eloquent bloke who could probably convince you that a pair of 7's beats a straight flush. If he was in the right, he could have easily argued the case without raising a sweat.

They went after Peter Slipper for half the amount that Brandis was stung for. There are police charges against Peter Slipper, why not Brandis?

[David48]

If he was within his rights, why pay it back? Cause he got caught...

... and that what was missing from the public debate ... was it a legal deduction or not?

That aside ... I reckon he paid it back because it was 'perceived' to be wrong.

You can be technically right and morally wrong ... I reckon he was morally wrong ... and judged according by both the Media and the Australian Public.

Pails into insignificance though when compared to the actions some of the NSW Labour Party and that Federal Politician from the Federal Labor Party craig-thompson-is-arrested

I'm from the Paul Keating school of politics. If I'm in the right, I'd tell them to get stuffed. Brandis is an attack dog, a QC and an eloquent bloke who could probably convince you that a pair of 7's beats a straight flush. If he was in the right, he could have easily argued the case without raising a sweat.

They went after Peter Slipper for half the amount that Brandis was stung for. There are police charges against Peter Slipper, why not Brandis?

No idea why the Police haven't gone after Brandis ... maybe because it was technically right and morally wrong ... I don't know and I'm not defending his actions.

One thing I do know ... if there was a hint or a sniff of impropriety, the Labour Party will chase him ... and chase him hard ... as they should do.

.

[BookMan]

All of Brandis's expense claims will be under scrutiny now. Bloke should have come and seen me...I would have given him a good deal on books

Attorney-General George Brandis defends $13,000 taxpayer-funded library

Attorney-General George Brandis has defended as within his rights spending nearly $13,000 of taxpayer funds over the past four years on his personal library.

"All of the acquisitions are clearly within the entitlement," Senator Brandis told Fairfax Media on Tuesday, two days after paying back nearly $1700 in entitlements that he claimed after attending the 2011 wedding of radio announcer Michael Smith.

Senator Brandis and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce could face an investigation into their use of travel entitlements for the Smith wedding. On Monday, Mr Joyce, the Agriculture Minister, said he had sent a cheque for about $650 to the Department of Finance.

See Full Article Here

[David48]

All of Brandis's expense claims will be under scrutiny now. Bloke should have come and seen me...I would have given him a good deal on books

...

You could have thrown in a few 'cook books' with the deal!

Respect Mr BookMan ... <deleted>' funny!

[Sing_Sling]

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone here watched the ABC series 'Rake'? Quite good at pointing out the foibles of our pollies . . . just because it wears a suit doesn't mean it had credibility. Good series as well

One of my favourite all time series. Brilliant stuff. New series due out soon.

Agreed .. excellent program.

Every most Aussies like a lovable larrikin!

Plus sticking it up the stiffs is great.

I really enjoyed Crownies as well, sadly didn't make it past the first series .. don't know why.

apparently, there was a spin-off series, but I never got to see it.

We need more quality programs like this ...

Janet King was the name of the spin off series. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/crownies/characters/JANET_KING.htm . Not sure if it has run yet?

Crownies was too expensive to make apparently and only got average ratings.

Sorry to go back to this, but all this talk about pollies has made me want to have a shower . . .

Tried to find Janet King on a Sumo - no luck

[BookMan]

CLIVE Palmer has knocked off a Greens senator to nab a third Senate spot in Western Australia.

The Palmer United Party's candidate Zhenya Wang secured a seat in the upper house after preferences were formally distributed today.

He beat current serving Greens Senator Scott Ludlam to secure the spot.

Mr Palmer's party took the fifth spot in WA, ahead of Labor's Louise Pratt who nabbed the last spot.

Senator Ludlam suggested he would call for a recount in the WA results.

"Thanks to everyone who went through this wait with us. checking for recount possibility; meantime your support means a lot," he posted on his Twitter account.

See Article Here

[AlexRRR]

_{Of course you realize mr BM that the Palmer party will fracture before the next election, and the reason is, he's a loud mouth that make's it sound simple and that's the problem it is to simple,( Palmer policy's) not much depth and its all about making him and his mates even more wealthy, once the country gets going there will be less ears for him to yell into.}

_{Resembles One nation and the Nazi party of the 20's and 30's....tell them what they want to hear...}

[Sing_Sling]

How can a country with 25 million people have so many bloody awful pollies and so much corruption . . .

Simply amazing

[AlexRRR]

Its called greed...................there is a lot of it about.

[Sing_Sling]

Yes, indeed . . . it just seems we have more of it than most

[BookMan]

Well... Abbott has paid back some money now and another 3 of his ministers are in the spotlight for expense rorting. I opposition they went on the attack about any government ministerial misspending and now it transpires they were doing it themselves

Expenses scandal spreads

• Abbott repays expenses after Mirabella wedding
• Big bucks for MPs' Bollywood adventure
• MP explains tour de good luck

Fairfax Media can also reveal that a cycling enthusiast from Queensland, Labor MP Bernie Ripoll, enjoyed several stages of the Tour de France during a taxpayer-funded ''study tour'' to inspect the country's bicycle infrastructure. The study tour cost taxpayers $5474 but Mr Ripoll said he used five days of ''personal time'' to watch the cycling event, as he was entitled to do.

On Sunday, Fairfax Media revealed that three Coalition MPs - Julie Bishop, Barnaby Joyce and Teresa Gambaro - had claimed more than $12,000 in travel expenses to return from a lavish wedding in India where they were guests of billionaire Gina Rinehart.

Mr Abbott also confirmed he repaid $1095 spent in travelling to the wedding of former colleague Sophie Mirabella seven years ago. The return of the money was prompted by media inquiries last week.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/expenses-scandal-spreads-20131006-2v2jh.html

[itchybum]

How is Abbot going to bring up the Pussy Riot with Putin ?

[midas]

Absolutely hilarious. They just can't help themselves. First UK now Australia

Labor frontbencher Mark Dreyfus called for a "serious investigation", describing a "pattern of behaviour by Coalition MPs".

However, later on Tuesday, it emerged that he would also return more than $400 ($370; £234) in incorrect expenses.

Bit of the old pot calling the kettle black there Mark

Australia PM Tony Abbott in expenses row

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24439974

[BookMan]

Absolutely hilarious. They just can't help themselves. First UK now Australia

Labor frontbencher Mark Dreyfus called for a "serious investigation", describing a "pattern of behaviour by Coalition MPs".

However, later on Tuesday, it emerged that he would also return more than $400 ($370; £234) in incorrect expenses.

Bit of the old pot calling the kettle black there Mark

Australia PM Tony Abbott in expenses row

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24439974

Becoming comical really.

Just goes to show how cynical major politicians have become in Australia. Rorting expenses i now just part of the job