Australia's health minister resigns in growing expenses scandal

[webfact]

Australia's health minister resigns in growing expenses scandal

REUTERS

 

Sussan Ley, Australia's Minister for Sport, speaks during a media conference in Sydney, Australia, July 25, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Health Minister Sussan Ley said on Friday she had resigned from her Cabinet position amid an expenses scandal that has proved to be an embarrassing start to the year for embattled Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

 

Ley's resignation from Cabinet will force a reshuffle on Turnbull, the first since he took power in 2015. A Newspoll on Monday found Turnbull and opposition leader Bill Shorten to be the most unpopular pair of political leaders in 20 years.

 

Keen to temper the political fall-out from Ley's resignation, Turnbull said his government would implement an independent body to monitor and adjudicate on expense claims by members of Australia's parliament.

 

"Australians are entitled to expect that politicians spend taxpayers' money carefully, ensuring at all times that their work expenditure represents an efficient, effective and ethical use of public resources," Turnbull told reporters in Sydney.

 

Turnbull already faces a tough year ahead, with a fractious upper house Senate stymying his legislative agenda, mainly focused on spending cuts and tax reforms meant to balance the national budget, after an unconvincing election win last year.

 

He is also facing growing discontent within his own party, with resentment still simmering after he toppled previous leader Tony Abbott in a party-room coup in 2015.

 

Ley is a high-profile casualty of a scandal that is engulfing Turnbull's conservative government amid growing revelations that several Cabinet ministers had claimed expenses for trips that had coincided with personal activities.

 

Ley, who is also the minister for aged care and sport, had been fighting calls for her to resign after it was revealed she had made expense claims for several visits to the Gold Coast, a holiday destination in Queensland state, including one when she said she purchased an investment property on impulse.

 

Ley said in an emailed statement she believed she did not break any rules by claiming expenses for the trips but had decided to resign after embarrassing the government.

 

"I accept community annoyance, even anger, with politicians' entitlements and it demands a response," Ley said.

 

(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Paul Tait)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-01-13

[NumbNut]

And to think this dope used to work for the tax office, so she can't claim ignorance can she.

 

The moment these fleas get voted into power its snouts in the trough. In what other business would it be acceptable to buy real estate for your own private purpose on company time? 

 

 

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, NumbNut said:

And to think this dope used to work for the tax office, so she can't claim ignorance can she.

 

The moment these fleas get voted into power its snouts in the trough. In what other business would it be acceptable to buy real estate for your own private purpose on company time? 

 

 

 

Agree, and what also bothers me is the gall to just go ahead and do this, and it's not only this woman who, as mentioned, should know better.

Regardless of appropriate ethics, this subject has  a lot of recent history and therefore it's not surprising there is more scrutiny of expenses.

Plus seems they don't consider the negative impact on their party.

Wow.

 

[elgordo38]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

"Australians are entitled to expect that politicians spend taxpayers' money carefully, ensuring at all times that their work expenditure represents an efficient, effective and ethical use of public resources," Turnbull told reporters in Sydney.

I am sure glad he got this whole statement out without choking on his words. Its one thing to belly up to the government trough and its another thing to pig out to much. Your not sharing the what do they call that oh yeah "the swill" with your fellow politicians. They will oink if the trough is empty. 

[namoi]

no wonder people are voting for one nation/greens etc,, that desperate they even voted for "the human headline", one lot is owned by the bank and the other by the unions and pensioners get pissed on by the lot of them, the forgotten generation no one wants to help or know about 

[dinsdale]

Dumb and Dumber

[Ulic]

Politicians around the world are all the same. Snouts in the trough as soon as possible once elected. The only thing that restrains them is a free and independent press.

[louse1953]

On 1/13/2017 at 3:35 PM, scorecard said:

 

Agree, and what also bothers me is the gall to just go ahead and do this, and it's not only this woman who, as mentioned, should know better.

Regardless of appropriate ethics, this subject has  a lot of recent history and therefore it's not surprising there is more scrutiny of expenses.

Plus seems they don't consider the negative impact on their party.

Wow.

 

Still claims she did nothing wrong.They are never wrong,according to them.

[elgordo38]

On 1/13/2017 at 6:11 PM, namoi said:

pensioners get pissed on by the lot of them, the forgotten generation no one wants to help or know about

Thats us and the further we move away from our home countries the more of an orphan we become. Its amazing how little they want to give us and yet still want to extract from us. 

[simple1]

On 13/01/2017 at 9:11 PM, namoi said:

no wonder people are voting for one nation/greens etc,, that desperate they even voted for "the human headline", one lot is owned by the bank and the other by the unions and pensioners get pissed on by the lot of them, the forgotten generation no one wants to help or know about 

 

One Nation representatives are just as perverse, if not more so than the main stream parties with their open support for discredited conspiracy theories, legal disputes with the Courts etc etc. Why anyone would vote for the likes of One Nation is really weird, even as a so called protest vote

[elgordo38]

4 hours ago, simple1 said:

 

One Nation representatives are just as perverse, if not more so than the main stream parties with their open support for discredited conspiracy theories, legal disputes with the Courts etc etc. Why anyone would vote for the likes of One Nation is really weird, even as a so called protest vote

I guess in a sense we are one nation due to our similar physical characteristics. The One Nation concept is indeed an interesting one. The only advantage I can see is that big business has a captive audience and they will try and force their one price policy fits all. 

[Si Thea01]

They're all liars, cheats and thieves.  They do not care about the country's debt, tell the pensioners and others to tighten their belts whilst they pig out at the trough.  They call them entitlements, the clowns are not entitled to anything.  They're supposed to be work related expenses.  Just imagine what would happen in the private sector.  They'd be investigated, charged with fraud and locked way for some time.

 

They're worse than leeches and truly it's about time that the Australian public woke up and stopped being walked over by the public servants.  It is not only happening in all parties but also in the hierarchy of the public service, State and Federal and even local government. And it's getting so bad that they are taking their whole bloody family on holidays at the taxpayer's expenses.  Unless the people put it to them, then they deserve everything they get  and if it's not curtailed then Australia will do a Greece within10 years.

[White Christmas13]

On ‎13‎/‎01‎/‎2017 at 2:15 PM, NumbNut said:

And to think this dope used to work for the tax office, so she can't claim ignorance can she.

 

The moment these fleas get voted into power its snouts in the trough. In what other business would it be acceptable to buy real estate for your own private purpose on company time? 

 

 

Mmmmhhm you forgot to mention and paid by the employees as well

[elgordo38]

1 hour ago, Si Thea01 said:

They're all liars, cheats and thieves.  They do not care about the country's debt, tell the pensioners and others to tighten their belts whilst they pig out at the trough.  They call them entitlements, the clowns are not entitled to anything.  They're supposed to be work related expenses.  Just imagine what would happen in the private sector.  They'd be investigated, charged with fraud and locked way for some time.

 

They're worse than leeches and truly it's about time that the Australian public woke up and stopped being walked over by the public servants.  It is not only happening in all parties but also in the hierarchy of the public service, State and Federal and even local government. And it's getting so bad that they are taking their whole bloody family on holidays at the taxpayer's expenses.  Unless the people put it to them, then they deserve everything they get  and if it's not curtailed then Australia will do a Greece within10 years.

In the US the GAO just finished their government audit with a 34% failure rate. The government has had a failure rate for 20 years now but still stumbles along. Any business held to that measurement would be long gone. 

[optad]

The shit ful thing it is a monthly roll call of ministers indulging. [called a rort]. Every other pension or benefit has been stripped from the workplace. They keep theirs and screw it to the hilt.

 

Why haven't they just secured the parameters from which these flucks cannot dip into the well? These MP's are hardly special, ie were hardly selected for expertise in any particular area.

 

Simplify parameters, and sack infractions by a non partisan body and charge them. Not hard. Tired of this.